XML input script file structure

When we use xmlaccess.sh command line client, the XML script we use specifies the root element, the XML schema, the portal resources, and actions to be performed. The main level structure of an XML request or response is always as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <request
     xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"      
     xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="PortalConfig_8.5.0.xsd"
     type="export|update">        
        <portal . . . >
          definition of configuration parts to be exported or updated       
        </portal>
       <status . . . >
          success or failure indication for the processing       
       </status>
   </request>

The main request element specifies the XML schema used by xmlaccess.sh. We must always use the schema reference shown in the example, that is a reference with no namespace to the schema PortalConfig_8.5.0.xsd. All XML requests must conform to this schema. For the reference, we can find the schema declaration in

PORTAL_HOME/base/wp.xml/shared/app/com/ibm/wps/command/xml/PortalConfig_8.5.0.xsd/wp.xml.jar

All other XML sample files are located in:

PORTAL_HOME/doc/xml-samples

Before sending requests to the portal, we can verify them against this schema using a suitable editor or parser to ensure syntactic correctness. The schema also contains annotations that give detailed information on the meaning and possible values of all configuration entries. The type attribute indicates whether the XML request contains specifications for exporting or for updating portal resources. The portal section describes the parts of the portal configuration that should be exported or updated. The contents of the hierarchy used are described in more detail in the following sections. The status section is optional; in an XML response it indicates success or failure of the requested operation. If a status element is present in a XML request, the server simply ignores it. The simplest request we can send to a server is the following:

   
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<request 
  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 
  xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="PortalConfig_8.5.0.xsd"
  type="export">           
    <portal action="export"/>
</request>

This request exports the entire configuration of the portal. We can look at the contents of the response to see how the configuration of individual portal resources, such as portlets or pages, is represented in XML elements and attributes.

Additional to the export and update request types, a third request type export-orphaned-data is available for the special scenario of preparing the deletion of orphaned data.

Parent XML configuration reference