I can't tell you how frustrating this entire attempt has been to install and get running ContentServices. It's hard to believe that Interwoven could make me long for the
clarity of open source documentation. There's an astounding lack of detail and direction in your documentation. Steps in the documents like:
Add these JAR files to the yourCssdkSamples\lib directory:
cssdkiface.jar from iw-home\cssdk on the Team Site Host
cssdkjni.jar from iw-home\cssdk
cssdksoap.jar from the ContentServices SDK SOAP client
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fail for me because the
cssdkjni.jar file isn't in the distribution I downloaded. The only copy I can find is from march of 2003 and what I believe might be a ContentService v1.1 download.
May I suggest that you folks make the developers life just a little bit easier.
- Give me an example of a URL that should yield a WebService response that I can use to test my installation of the web service
- Give me a WAR file that I can install into tomcat that has everything already compiled and built into it. This way I can prove that I have a functional installation.
- Allow me to configure this application (the one distributed in the war file) by having a herald page that lets me choose my communications channel (JNI, SOAP) and if SOAP let me specify the URL fro the SOAP services. Then have a button labeled "Test Interface" that actually touches a simple WebService call, to ensure that the war file can talk to the WebService.
- Include all the libraries in the war file that the application needs to talk to TeamSite, that way I know where and what versions of jar files I need, because they are all there.
- Even better put a WebService up on the interwoven site that I can point the application in the war file at and use that WebService to test that the client side connection/installation has been performed correctly.
- Use modern software distributions. The installation instructions I have, say download jdk 1.3.1 when I go to the sun download page they make it clear that 1.3.1 is in End of Life transition. 1.3.1 was released in 2001. There's a lot that's changed in the last 4 years. The version of Tomcat is almost 2 years old.
To support folks who want to write java applications. Distribute a java application that does the same kind of thing. Make it very simple to get this to work and to test it. When you think you've made the process simple, make it simpler, don't underestimate how simple it should be. If we have something that works, we can always take it apart bit by bit.
Assume I'm an idiot, because I sure feel like one at this point; totally frustrated and unable to make things work.
Tony Giaccone
