Building Value-Added Solutions with GroupWise 5

Articles and Tips: article

GARY ASHTON
Product Line Manager
GroupWare Division

01 Sep 1996

Shows how GroupWise 5 is the only integrated, advanced Internet/Intranet messaging product on the market today. Describes how GroupWise will embrace such standards as TCP/IP, SMTP, MIME, S/MIME, X.400, HTML, CGI, POP3, IMAP4, and NNTP.

Introduction
GroupWise 5 Integration with Net2000
GroupWise 5 Components
Product Analysis and Market Opportunity

Introduction

Novell GroupWise 5 is the only integrated, advanced Internet/Intranet messaging product on the market today. It also delivers robust support for the third-party development community. When an ISV (Independent Software Vendor), Integrator or Messaging Administrator looks at the total picture, GroupWise 5 is the only messaging platform of choice for building customized solutions. It offers the only common data store for all message object types. It is scalable, reliable and offers a single point of administration for all users and object types on the system. These facts have been proven to over 90,000 users per event at the last 6 NetWorld-Interop trade shows, where every attendee was able to communicate via the Internet with contacts back home and at the trade show.

These facts add significant value to the underlying API standards supported by GroupWise 5, including the GroupWise Object API and C3PO interfaces, along with MAPI, CMC/CSA, COM, OLE, OCXs, Message Logging, Tokenization, and NDS which are all supported in the GroupWise 5 environment and which will be examined in this special edition.

The same intrinsic value brings great opportunity to the ISV and customers alike when used with the Internet/Intranet community. Standards like TCP/IP, SMTP, MIME, S/MIME, X.400, HTML, HTTP, CGI, POP3, IMAP4, and NNTP will be described in the context of how GroupWise 5 will embrace these standards now and in the future.

GroupWise 5 Integration with Net2000

Novell's Net2000 initiative is a broad-ranging corporate strategy for simple, seamless third-party development and it is an integral part of the GroupWise 5 customization message. Standard development tools and access methods like C, C++, Java, ActiveX, Visual Basic, Delphi and NetBasic are all supported and used within the Net2000 and GroupWise 5 strategy.

GroupWise 5 has made significant enhancements in opening up advanced workgroup computing interfaces and access methods for developers. Since these components and services are delivered as part of the GroupWise 5 product, developers will be able to access them smoothly and easily. Things like the rich message store, document store, message transport, and workflow capabilities will be made available via the GroupWise 5 engine. Developers can access these components and services through a number of standard tools and access methods including COM, OLE Automation, DDE, OCX/ActiveX, C/C++ and CGI.

The table below gives a comparative list of GroupWise 5 components, tools and access methods.

Standard Tools and Access Methods

Component and Services	COM	OLE Automation	DDE	OCX/ActiveX	C/C++/J++	CGI
Component Handler	*	*
Object API	*	*		*	*
Custom 3rd-Party Objects (C3POs)	*	*		*	*
JAVA Applets					*	*
HTML Templates					*	*
MAPI	*	*		*	*
ODMA (Doc Mngmnt, Workflow)	*	*		*	*
Address Book UI	*	*		*
Address BookMAPI Services Provider Interface	*	*		*
Name Completion Control	*	*		*
Tokenization	*	*	*	*
MTA MessageTracking/Logging and Transport Extensions					*
NDS Schema Extensions via NDS API					*
ODBC via InForms 4.1 Translator			*
GroupWise 4.1/GroupWise 5 CMC/CSA Server-Based API					*

GroupWise 5 Components

Components work together like a crew, with the GroupWise Component Handler acting like a crew foreman. Although the Component Handler does some component work, it mainly oversees and connects components to deliver services to the client. As a foreman hires and evaluates, the Component Handler supervises GroupWise component creation and authenticates objects.

Custom 3rd-Party Objects (C3POs) will be able to modify the GroupWise 5 information store and client interface. The Address Book and Name Completion Control will be wrapped as OLE Custom Controls (OCX or ActiveX), which you can drop into your solution from Delphi, Visual Basic or any other OCX-compliant development tool.

The table below shows the relationship among component building blocks.

COM

OLE

Automation

GroupWise ComponentsActiveX, C3POs, Address Book, Name Completion Control and others

COMPONENT HANDLER LAYER

OBJECT LAYERIMAP4, POP3, LDAP, NNTP, Object API, MAPI, CMC, CSA, ODMA,Tokens, GroupWise Objects

Components access GroupWise 5 objects from Windows by using COM, OLE Automation, and scripting from Windows. Post-GroupWise 5 plans include Mac OS and Internet Standards access. The Component Handler and Object layers form a GroupWise component interface.

As Net2000 provides the network services necessary to distribute and manage objects and components across the network, GroupWise 5 components will also be accessible and will be managed from the Net2000 component management service, NDS. The integration of GroupWise 5 interfaces into the Net2000 component management services enables network-wide development access to advanced messaging, calendaring, workflow, and communication services.

The GroupWise 5 environment coupled with Net2000, represents the most robust and cross-platform Internet/Intranet messaging solution in the marketplace today. Proven over time, it couples scalability with performance like no other Internet/Intranet solution. GroupWise 5 offer the most flexible set of development tools and access methods for third-party developers within a network environment. For a more complete examination of the GroupWise 5 Architectural Design, refer to the Development Architecture section of this special edition.

Product Analysis and Market Opportunity

GroupWise 5 brings to GroupWise customers and third-party partners a more open and robust development environment well-suited to the newest directions of the high-tech marketplace. As developers analyze the Internet/Intranet market dynamics, they will see that Novell's GroupWise 5 is well positioned to take advantage of the ActiveX or Java/HTML development path:

Specific GroupWise 5 Interfaces and tools which utilized the ActiveX path are found in the NCC (Name Completion Control) and Address Book OCXs, the GroupWise Object API, C3POs (Custom 3rd Party Objects) and MAPI articles of this special edition.
Specific GroupWise 5 Interfaces and tools discussed which utilize the Java/HTML path are found in the WebAccess and Creating Compelling GroupWise 5 Internet/Intranet Solutions articles of this special edition.

The opportunity to certify through the Yes GroupWise program will be offered to any developer producing a shrink-wrap product or offering a combination of services in a customized software solution. For further information refer to the Novell DeveloperNet Program at 1-800-REDWORD.

* Originally published in Novell AppNotes

Disclaimer

The origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell. While Novell makes all reasonable efforts to verify this information, Novell does not make explicit or implied claims to its validity.