1. Actions and Behaviours
Alex Miller – Senior Engineer - Alfresco

2. Agenda Breaking it down Behaviours Actions Demo Questions
How to build simple repository tier extension
Expose that extension through Share UI
Uses a basic Purchase Order/Inventory content model
Example code available

3. Breaking it down

4. Why Action and Behaviours?
Extend beyond content models. Make extensions smart. Encapsulate features. React to changes.
Why they are useful
Where are they used
TODO: find some existing examples

5. Content Model + Behaviours Actions = Smart Repository Extension
Sum of the Parts …
Content Model + Behaviours Actions = Smart Repository Extension
Content – data structure and constraints
Behaviours – interaction, consequences and restrictions
Actions - execution

6. A Simple Extension

7. Behaviours Observer Pattern
Extension listens for events published by repository services

8. Architecture Services can be used, or provided by, extensions
the NodeService for accessing the nodes in the DB
the ContentService for accessing your documents' content
the SearchService for searching against properties, paths, content etc.
Services define policies
Node service defines NodeServicePolicies
Before/On Add/RemoveAspect, Create/DeleteNode, Create/DeleteAssociation and many more.
Behaviours can be Java or Javascript

9. Binding Behaviours
Extension code can implement policy interfaces and register with policy component, to execute custom code on service events
Method name can be different from policy interface definition, parameters must match.

10. Types of Bindings
Service – fired every time the service generate the event
Class – most common, fired for a particular type or aspect
Association – fired for a particular association or association of a particular type
Properties – fired for properties of a particular type or with a particular name

11. Code Example – Javascript Behaviour
Bind class behaviour
<bean id="onAddAssetAspect" class="org.alfresco.repo.policy.registration.ClassPolicyRegistration" parent="policyRegistration" >
<property name="policyName">
<value>{
</property>
<property name="className">
<value>{
<property name="behaviour">
<bean class="org.alfresco.repo.jscript.ScriptBehaviour" parent="scriptBehaviour">
<property name="location">
<bean class="org.alfresco.repo.jscript.ClasspathScriptLocation">
<constructor-arg>
<value>alfresco/extension/scripts/onAddAssetAspect.js</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>

12. Code Example – Javascript Behaviour (2)
Javascript implementation
logger.log("onAddAspect policy code for devcon:asset");
var assetNode = behaviour.args[0];
var assetTitle = assetNode.properties["cm:name"];
// Get the issue creator's address.
var assetCreatorId = assetNode.properties["cm:creator"];
var assetCreatorPerson = people.getPerson(assetCreatorId);
var assetCreator Address = assetCreatorPerson.properties["cm: "];
logger.log("asset creator address = " + assetCreator Address);
//create a 'mail' action
var mail = actions.create("mail");
mail.parameters.to = assetCreator Address;
mail.parameters.subject = "Asset '" + assetTitle + "' has been added";
mail.parameters.from =
// But we'll keep it simple
mail.parameters.text = "Asset was created";
// execute action against the issueNode
mail.executeAsynchronously(assetNode);

13. Code Example – Java Behaviour
Bind class behaviour
public void init() {
policyComponent.bindClassBehaviour(OnAddAspectPolicy.QNAME,
DevconModel.ASPECT_ASSET,
new JavaBehaviour(this, "onAddAspect”,
Behaviour.NotificationFrequency.EVERY_EVENT));
policyComponent.bindClassBehaviour(OnDeleteNodePolicy.QNAME,
new JavaBehaviour(this, "onDeleteNode",
policyComponent.bindClassBehaviour(OnRemoveAspectPolicy.QNAME,
new JavaBehaviour(this, "onRemoveAspect", }

14. Notification Frequencies
Every time
First Event
Transaction Commit
When should policies fire?
Every time – default – every time the event is fired
First Event – first time for a particular node, within a transaction
Transaction commit – once, after the transaction has commited
Won’t cause tx to rollback
Node may have been deleted during tx.
Use with care

15. Code Example – Java Behaviour (2)
Java Implementation
public class AssetBehaviours implements
NodeServicePolicies.OnAddAspectPolicy,
NodeServicePolicies.OnRemoveAspectPolicy,
NodeServicePolicies.OnDeleteNodePolicy {
public void onDeleteNode(ChildAssociationRef childAssocRef,
boolean isNodeArchived)
assetRemoved(childAssocRef.getChildRef()); }
public void onRemoveAspect(NodeRef nodeRef, QName aspectTypeQName)
assetRemoved(nodeRef);
public void onAddAspect(NodeRef nodeRef, QName aspectTypeQName)
assetAdded(nodeRef);

16. Common uses for behaviours
Built in “rules”
Service call back extension points
Calculated properties
Complex constraints
Auto-casting
Provides a “Smart Model”
Custom copy behaviours
Insure new id is generated
Prevent aspect from being copied at all
Model restrictions
Behaviours can throw exceptions
Runtime exceptions cause transactions to be rollback
Enforce model constraints such as read-only properties
Behaviours can be disabled from other services
By type
By node
Per transaction
All

17. Actions

18. What are actions? A unit of work executed in the repository
Have parameters and return a value
Can executed synchronously or asynchronously
Reusable
Implmentation of the GoF “Command” pattern

19. Architecture

20. Anatomy of an Action

21. Code Example – Executing an Action
private void sendMail(NodeRef nodeRef, String siteGroup, String subject, String html) { Action mailAction = ActionService.createAction(MailActionExecuter.NAME); mailAction.setParameterValue(MailActionExecuter.PARAM_SUBJECT, subject); mailAction.setParameterValue(MailActionExecuter.PARAM_FROM, mailAction.setParameterValue(MailActionExecuter.PARAM_TO_MANY, siteGroup); mailAction.setParameterValue(MailActionExecuter.PARAM_HTML, html); actionService.executeAction(mailAction, nodeRef, true, true); }
assetAdded and assetRemoved delegate to this method, which use the “Mail Action” to send notifications to all members of a site, when an asset is added or removed.

22. Custom Actions Extend built-in actions
Implemented in Java or JavaScript
Available in Share UI
Executable as a rule
Conditions can be implemented in Java or Javascript
Convient way to execute a unit of work, asynchronously.

23. Code Example – Custom Action Implementation
public class AddItemActionExecuter extends ActionExecuterAbstractBase {
private static final String NAME = "create-purchase-order-items”;
private static final String PARAM_ITEM = "item";
@Override
protected void addParameterDefinitions(List<ParameterDefinition> paramList) {
paramList.add(new ParameterDefinitionImpl(PARAM_ITEM,
DataTypeDefinition.NODE_REF, true,
getParamDisplayLabel(PARAM_ITEM), false, null)); }
protected void executeImpl(Action action, NodeRef actionedUponNodeRef)
NodeRef item = (NodeRef)action.getParameterValue(PARAM_ITEM);
nodeService.createAssociation(actionedUponNodeRef, item,
DevconModel.ASSOC_PURCHASE_ORDER_ITEMS);

24. Code Example – Custom Action Share Configuration (1)
<config evaluator="string-compare" condition="DocLibActions"> <actions> <action id="add-item" type="javascript" label="action.add_item"> <param name="function">onActionFormDialog</param> <param name="itemKind">action</param> <param name="itemId">add-item</param> <param name="mode">create</param> <param name="destination">{node.nodeRef}</param> <permissions> <permission allow="true">Write</permission> </permissions> <param name="successMessage">message.add_item.success</param> <param name="failureMessage">message.add_item.failure</param> <evaluator>evaluator.isPurchaseOrder</evaluator> </action> </actions> … </config>

25. Code Example – Custom Action Share Configuration (2)
<config evaluator="string-compare" condition="DocLibActions"> … <actionGroups> <actionGroup id="document-browse"> <action index="0" id="add-item"/> </actionGroup> <actionGroup id="document-details"> </actionGroups> </config>

26. Custom Action – Share Configuration (3)
<config evaluator="string-compare" condition="add-item"> <forms> <form> <field-visibility><show id="item"/></field-visibility> <appearance> <field id="item" label-id="add-item.field.item"> <control template="/org/alfresco/components/form/controls/association.ftl"> <control-param name="forceEditable"> true </control-param> <control-param name="startLocation"> {doclib} </control> </field> </appearance> </form> </forms> </config>

27. Common Uses of Actions
Implement new features
Rules
Scheduled Tasks

28. Quick Demo

29. Questions?