WebconfigResponder: A Web client based on HTML forms
The Example Web server has a WebconfigResponder set up at area
/.nfadmin/. The AdminServer which can be switched on and
off with system properties (see INSTALL)
has a WebconfigResponder at /.
Configuration pages show the name of the configurable object in the
top line which is followed by hyperlinks back to all objects further up the
object hierarchy. If the page was created as the result of submitting
wrong configuration data, an error message is shown next. The following
paragraphs describe the object.
After the description all configuration
options are shown as elements of an HTML form, usually with headings and
descriptions for each option. Some options have button controls
(e.g.: a table may have buttons for adding and deleting entries). If you
select such a button an updated page is shown but all data-entry controls
are reset to their old values. Changes that you made after loading the
page are discarded. There are tow kinds of links to object further down
the configuration object hierarchy: Links and Containers. A link is simply
a hyperlink to a fixed sub-configuration. A container can hold any number
of objects of a specific base class. A list of possible classes for new
objects is shown.
If the configuration page contains any data-entry controls, a line of
four buttons is shown at the bottom of the page. "Perform changes" submits
the form and returns the updated configuration or the contents of the
form and an error message if the submitted data is not acceptable.
"Reset to defaults" deletes the object's current configuration and thus
makes it use the default configuration again. "Reload current" reloads
the current configuration. This can be useful if more than one client
modifies the configuration concurrently. "Reset form" resets the form to
the values it contained when the page was loaded.