Introduction to the JSAPI
Actuate 10 introduces the Actuate Java Script API (JSAPI) which is a light-weight and comprehensive AJAX-based JavaScript library that enables integration of Actuate BIRT report content with virtually any web front end to build highly compelling composite applications or Mashups without compromising the native interactivity of the content. This next generation API enhances the integration capabilities of the Actuate Platform by offering a robust and secure mechanism to embed any BIRT content into other applications in an extremely easy and rapid fashion.
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Architecture
As shown below, the Actuate JSAPI library communicates with BIRT Deployment Kit or Information Console over HTTP and this communication conforms to the REST principles (Representational State Transfer). When leverating the iServer or iServer Express, the Information Console application in turn communicates with iServer using Web Services to furnish the services. When leveraging the BIRT Deployment Kit, communication between the client side JavaScript and the Deployment Kit web application is still over HTTP conforming to the REST principles. The difference with the BIRT Deployment Kit is the reporting services are directly built into the Deployment Kit web applicationi. This architecture enables loosely coupled but tighter integrated applications thus improving the time to deploy such applications.
Key Features
There are 3 main categories of services offered by the JSAPI.
These are described in detail below.
Integrating Actuate content or parameters into existing web pages (BIRT)
With Actuate 10, HTML developers can easily embed interactive BIRT reports or interactive reportlets into existing standard HTML pages using the new JavaScript API. This comprehensive API is modeled to enable organizations to build rich mashup pages that display both Actuate and non-Actuate content side by side.
Prior to JSAPI, the report submission and viewing workflow consisted of a dedicated parameter page (requester) to collect parameters and then a report output page to view the report output. This workflow required the user to navigate back to the parameter page and re-specify new parameter values. JSAPI improves upon this classic flow by enabling developers to embed the parameter collection component directly into the report output. Thus any subsequent changes to parameters can be done without leaving the report output window.
Adding custom interactivity to report content (BIRT)
In today's world, organizations are focusing heavily on delivering information in-context and through a familiar taxonomy. For example, although the terms sort and filter may be universal in the reporting world, some web applications may benefit more from enabling actions such as "Sort" and "Filter" through other UI gestures such as providing a pre-defined set of radio buttons and so on. The new JavaScript interactivity API enables HTML developers to insert custom actions on a report output document and enable interactions such as those available out of the box in Actuate interactive viewer through these custom actions.
Enabling construction of mashup pages (BIRT)
Mashups are increasing becoming popular vehicles to deliver interactive content. Today, a single mashup can display content pulled from different sources. In addition a single mashup can display a set of related items wherein a change to one item causes the rest of the items on the mashup page to change. The new JavaScript API allows developers to insert BIRT reports or reportlets into mashup pages and these APIs also enable developers to link different components of a mashup page including BIRT reports to interact with each other.
