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User Guide
The information contained in this section applies to IBM WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.9 and Feautre Pack 8. The documentation also applies to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions.
Developing
The topics in the Developing section describe tasks performed by an application developer.
Presentation layer
WebSphere Commerce uses Java Server Pages (JSP) to implement the view layer of the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern. The view layer is in charge of retrieving data from the database through the use of data beans and formatting it to meet the display requirements. The view layers determines whether the request is sent to a browser or streamed out as XML. JSP files present a clean separation between data content and presentation.
Customizing IBM Sales Center
In the IBM Sales Center for WebSphere Commerce there is a set of user interface panels, views and dialogs that contain the most commonly used features. You can add to or configure the user interface to suit your needs, as well as changing the content and format of the data that is passed between the client and the server.
Controls
The layout of the IBM Sales Center dialogs and editors are constructed using configured controls. A configured control is a user interface element that is declared using the controls extension point. The definition of a configured control includes a unique identifier, the type of control, and additional attributes and properties that are specific to the type of control being defined. The control type is used to locate a control factory class that will construct the new configured control. Examples of control types include text, label, requiredLabel, combo, pushButton, checkBox, radioButton, table and composite. The complete list of controls is found in the extension point documentation.
Modifying a composite definition
A composite is a control that contains other controls. This section explains how to modify a composite definition.

Modifying a composite definition

A composite is a control that contains other controls. This section explains how to modify a composite definition.

About this task

To modify an IBM Sales Center composite definition:

Procedure

Declare a new composite definition using the com.ibm.commerce.telesales.widgets.compositeDefinitions extension point.
Optional: If you are adding controls to the end of the composite definition, then use the referenceId attribute to specify the fully-qualified ID of the composite definition that you are replacing. The controls declared in the new definition will be appended to the end of the definition.
Optional: If you need to reorganize the layout, then you should not use the referenceId attribute, but instead re-declare the entire definition. Note: For a grid layout composite definition, you can use the referenceId attribute on row elements to refer to rows that were defined in other grid layout composite definitions.
Use the system configurator to indicate that the new definition should be used instead of the Sales Center definition. Any composite definitions that use the referenceId attribute to refer to the definition that is being modified will not be affected.