once:radix Documentation

Getting Started

With minimal training, once:radix allows developers to quickly build and deploy sophisticated browser-based applications. It is built on a number of best-in-class open-source projects. These include:

  • PostgreSQL – The world's most advanced open source database.
  • JasperReports compiles reports on the server, drawn from the SQL database, then returns them to the browser in PDF or RTF format.
  • Apache Tomcat application server manages external communication and web services.
  • Apache Lucene – search engine for the help system.
  • Mozilla Rhino handles server-side Javascript operations.
  • Mozilla browsers – Firefox and Camino host the Rich Internet Applications – oCLI, oED, oADMIN, oHELP and oLOGON. (See below for more details.)
once:radix consists of seven main components:     
once:adminoADMIN manages communication between the backend database and the system administration application.
once:client oCLI manages the delivery of screen and report layouts to client application engine (oCLI) and the storage and retrieval of data within the SQL database.
once:editoroED manages the storage and delivery of screen layouts to the screen design application.
once:helpoHELP manages the delivery of help pages and the search function (performed by the Apache Lucene search engine) to the browser application.
once:logonoLOGON manages logging on, logging off and the creation of public users by the application.
once:SecureServer oSS is the nerve centre of the system, maintaining system security, processing requests from external applications through a series of Java servlets caching data for optimal performance and logging system activity.
once:webAPI owebAPI manages the storage and delivery of print layouts to the report design application – i-Report (from JasperSoft). These reports are handled by JasperReports which also interfaces with oSS to build reports in PDF, CSV and a range of other file formats.

oLOGON is loaded automatically into each browser when logging on to oSS. It provides access to oCLI, oED and oADMIN (subject to security access privileges) and oHELP.

Other file formats are handled by the browser's helper applications. PDF files are usually handled by Adobe Acrobat, CSV files by Microsoft Excel and RTF files by Microsoft Word.

System Requirements

once:radix requires a server with the following minimum specifications (shown in bold) for application developers.

Memory1GB RAM (Recommend 2 GB for deployed systems.)
CPU Pentium Dual Core or Core 2, or equivalent (Recommend Xeon or equivalent for deployed systems.)
Application Disk Space1 GB (Recommend 10+ GB with RAID 1 or 5 for deployed systems.)
Other Recommend Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), CD/DVD drive and external backup for deployed systems.
Operating SystemLinux or Windows XP or Vista or Mac OSX 10.4+ (Recommend Linux or Windows 2003 Server for deployed systems.)
ClientAny machine able to run Mozilla Firefox or Camino.


Note: There is considerable performance improvement by adopting the recommended specifications in deployed systems.

Installing once:secureserver

To install, start and stop oSS, please refer to the instructions provided with the installer package.

Configuring once:secureserver

Depending on your requirements, you may need to change the configuration settings in some or all of the following: configuration.dat, postgresql.conf, pg_hba.conf, server.xml, tomcat-users.xml and branding.dat.

Please refer to the once:secureserver Directory Map for more details.

For most The remainder of this section assumes that the server has been installed and is operational.

Configuring your web browser

When connecting for the first time, you must configure your browser to allow signed applets and popups to be received from the server. These provide special functions in once:radix that are essential for its operation. They are disabled in the browser and should not normally be accepted from any other server, unless you know they are safe to use.

Signed Applets

  1. Launch your web browser.
  2. Enter about:config in the address field at the top of the new window.
  3. Press the enter key.
  4. Type sig in the Filter field.
    signed.applets.codebase_principal_support will be listed among the options displayed.
  5. Double click the signed.applets.codebase_principal_support option to change its Value from false to true.

Your server address, username and password

To access the system, each user must know the server address and must have a valid username and password allocated.

The default username is 'once' and the password is 'once123'.

These will do for now. Later we will explain how to manage user security including administrator access privileges.

A session begins by entering the address of the once:radix server into a compatible web browser. This may be a registered domain name of the form:

  http://www.example.com/once/  or    http://www.example.com:8080/once/

or it may simply be an IP address of the server. For example, on a local area network, it might take the form:

  http://192.168.0.3/once/  or   http://192.168.0.3:8080/once/

Note: The default port number for Tomcat is 8080. To allow users to omit the port number, the Tomcat address must be changed to port 80 (the browser default address). Please to server.xml in once:secureserver Directory Map for more details.

Connecting to the server

  1. Enter the server address in the address panel.
  2. You may be prompted by the browser with a message similar to the one shown below:
  3. This browser default setting is not required. To stop this message appearing every time a link is clicked, do not click the check box. Simply click Continue.
  4. The first log on screen is displayed.
    Hint: Set your default homepage to this address. This causes the log-on screen to load automatically each time a new browser window is created.
  5. Enter your username and password when the home page is displayed, then click Log On or press the Enter or Return key.
  6. If the details entered are valid and there are no other restrictions in force, a second log-on screen is returned.

    There are six options to select:

    Organization If your corporate structure has more than one Organization, choose yours from the list.
    Branch If your corporate structure has more than one Branch, choose yours from the list.
    Location All dates and times are stored in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), offset by a time zone adjustment to the location where the user is located. This allows locations in different time zones to share time-dependent data. Choose the time zone where you are currently located from the list.
    Date Format Choose the way you wish date fields to be displayed.
    Format Example
    dd mmm yy 12 OCT 06
    dd/mm/yy 12/10/06
    mm/dd/yy 10/12/06
    yyyy-mm-dd 2006-10-12
    Time Format Choose the way you wish time fields to be displayed.
    Format Example
    hh:MM AM/PM 11:22 PM
    hh:MM 23:22
    Restrict window size Check the box if you would like windows to adjust automatically to the correct size.
    This is recommended unless you are running oCLI and oED concurrently.
  7. After setting your user preferences, click Continue or press the Enter key to load the once:radix client application and the home page.
  8. When a browser connects to a once:radix server for the first time, a warning message is displayed:


    Click the Remember this decision check box then click Allow to activate these setting for this server. It is important that these settings are set correctly or the system will not function correctly.

    Note: If this step is not performed correctly, refer to the Troubleshooting section below for details.

    Warning: Do not allow these setting to be enabled at other web sites unless you are sure it is correct to do so.

  9. The browser will display a warning message that the server wishes to enable popups. The popup feature is used to handle a specific type of communication with the server. (NOT to display annoying popups!)

    Click where indicated on the screen, then select: Allow popups for <your server address>.


    10. Note: If this step is not performed correctly, the settings can be edited manually in browser Preferences. This usually involves editing the Exceptions List for pop-up windows restrictions.

  10. Click Continue to complete this stage of the setup process.
  11. The basic home page (as supplied in the open source distributions) is shown below:


    Note: The browser address field displays a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) which includes a session key that will remain the same while the session lasts. It takes the form shown below:

    The client identifier is appended to the server address, followed by the session identifier and session key. Other switches such as &d=d (Debug mode) and &l=es (Language = Spanish) may be added to perform specific functions. They are described elsewhere in this documentation.

To open more than one Tab view in the browser:

  1. Copy the complete URI from the address panel.
  2. Create a new Tab window. (Select File > New Tab in the browser menu.)
  3. Paste the URI into the address field of the new window, then press the Enter key.

Note: In most browsers, you can duplicate a tab simply by dragging the URL from the address field to the Tab title bar. It is a good idea to set the 'Always show the tab bar' check box in the Options tab of browser preferences.

Navigating once Client (oCLI)

Now you are ready to start using the basic once:radix client application supplied with the system. To begin, move your mouse over the Top Menu (◆, Contacts and Security) to see lists of sub-menu options. Move the mouse over the second level to view the third-level menus (if applicable). Click one of these options to display that section of the system.

Also try right-clicking your mouse (ctrl-click with a single-button mouse) to view some of the other options available, including access to the Help system.

Troubleshooting - Removing Popups

Should you wish to remove popups that you have enabled in error at other web sites, select Web Features in the browser Preferences menu, click Allowed Sites beside the Block Popup Windows option.

Click on the server name you wish to remove, then click Remove Site.

Troubleshooting – Preferences Error

If you click Deny in error, you may be forced to delete the browser preferences file, then begin the startup process again.

To correct this problem, open the browser Preferences palette. Select Privacy. Click Clear in the Cookies section. If you wish to keep all other Cookies, expand the panel, click View Cookies, the select and click Remove Cookie for all entries at your Traffic Server address.

Quit your browser.

Find and delete the file: prefs.js.

Once this has been done, restart your browser. Then Log On again to restart the configuration procedure.

Troubleshooting - signed.applets.codebase Error

If you made an error when setting up the Configuration Preference for signed.applets.codebase, the following error message is displayed when logging on:

This is due to an incorrect setting of the about:config preference.

Go back to the first step at the start of this document (Signed Applets) to resolve this. Then try logging on again.

Note: If this step is not performed correctly, quit the browser, delete the preferences file. Typically this would be located at:

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<firefoxid>\prefs.js (Windows)

/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Firefox/ (Mac OSX)

or

/home/<username>/.mozilla/firefox/<firefoxID>/prefs.js

Then restart the browser and repeat the steps described above.

This completes the log on sequence. You are ready to begin using once:radix.