10 Getting Started with Content Management APIs

10.1 Setting the Session Context

All of the content management APIs and the secure views assume that the context has been set for the functions to execute as a specific portal user. If you call an API from within a browser session (for example, a database provider or PL/SQL item), the context is set automatically to the user who is currently logged in to the portal. If you call an API from a Web provider or an external application (for example, SQL*Plus or Portal Services), you must set the context to a specific user by using the wwctx_api.set_context API.

This API allows an application to assert an identity, by providing a user name and password that the portal can verify with the Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Server before establishing a session for the asserted user. If the assertion fails, due to an invalid password, for example, an exception is raised.

Example 10-1 sets the context to user JOE.BLOGS with the password welcome1.

declare
  p_user_name varchar2(60) := 'JOE.BLOGGS';
  p_password  varchar2(60) := 'welcome1';
  p_company   varchar2(60) := null;
begin
  wwctx_api.set_context(p_user_name,p_password,p_company);
end;
/

10.2 API Parameters

• The following parameters all refer to the page group ID:

  • p_site_id

  • p_siteid

  • p_caid

  For backward compatibility purposes these parameter names have not been changed, and will not be changed, to use the most recent terminology. For more information, refer to Section 9.2.2, "Terminology".

• The following parameters both refer to the page ID:

  • p_folder_id

  • p_id

  For backward compatibility purposes these parameter names have not been changed, and will not be changed, to use the most recent terminology. For more information, refer to Section 9.2.2, "Terminology".

• An item has two IDs. All versions of the item have the same master item ID (GUID). However, when you create a new version of an item it is assigned its own ID that uniquely identifies that particular version of the item. Some APIs simply need the master item ID to identify an item (p_master_item_id). However, some APIs (for example, modify_item) also need to know which particular version of the item you want to work with. In this case you need to pass the unique item ID (p_item_id). In some APIs, you will find that the item ID is referred to as p_thing_id.

• The primary key for most objects contains the ID of the actual object and the ID of the page group to which the object belongs. When referencing an existing object in a parameter, you must reference both the object ID and its page group ID. The referenced object's page group must either be the same as the page group of the referencing object or the Shared Objects page group. For example, when adding an item, you need to specify the item type (for example, file, text, image, and so on). To do this you must pass the item type ID (p_type_id) and the ID of the page group which contains the item type (p_type_caid).

10.3 Finding an Object ID

Many of the content management APIs require you to pass object IDs to their parameters. To do this, you need to know the IDs of the objects with which you want to work. You can obtain these IDs by using the secured content repository views.

select id "Page Group ID"
from wwsbr_all_content_areas
where name = '&pagegroup'
  and language = '&language'
/

create or replace function get_page_group_id (p_name in varchar2) return number is
  l_page_group number;
  l_language   varchar2(30);
begin
  l_language := wwctx_api.get_nls_language;
  select id
  into l_page_group
  from wwsbr_all_content_areas
  where name = p_name
    and language = l_language;
  return l_page_group;
exception
  ...
end;
/

select id "Page ID"
from wwsbr_all_folders
where name = '&page'
  and caid = 53
  and language = '&language'
/

column 'Page Group Name' format a25;
column 'Page Name' format a25;
select f.caid "Page Group ID",
       c.name "Page Group Name",
       f.id   "Page ID",
       f.name "Page Name"
from wwsbr_all_content_areas c,
     wwsbr_all_folders f
where f.name = '&page'
  and c.id = f.caid
  and c.name = '&pagegroup'
  and c.language = '&language'
  and c.language = f.language
/

select distinct r.id "Region ID",
                r.type "Type"
from wwsbr_all_content_areas c,
     wwsbr_all_folders f,
     wwsbr_all_folder_regions r
where f.name = '&page'
  and c.name = '&pagegroup'
  and c.id = f.caid
  and f.id = r.folder.id
  and f.caid = r.folder.caid
  and r.allow_content = 1
  and c.language = '&language'
  and c.language = f.language
  and (f.language = r.language
    or r.language is null)
/

select id
from wwsbr_all_items
where masterid = 513
  and caid = 53
  and active = 1
  and is_current_version = 1
  and language = '&language'
/

select i.display_name title, i.id latestversion
from wwsbr_all_items i
where i.folder_id = 1
  and i.caid = 75
  and i.active = 1
  and i.is_current_version = 1
  and (i.language = '&language' -- The current session language.
      or (    exists -- A row for the item in the page group default language.
              (select pg.id
               from wwsbr_all_content_areas pg
               where pg.id = i.caid
                 and pg.default_language = i.language
              )
           and not exists -- A row for the item in the current language.
              (select i2.id
               from wwsbr_all_items i2
               where i2.id = i.id
                 and i2.language = '&language'
                 and i2.active = i.active
                 and i2.is_current_version = i.is_current_version
              )
         )
      )
order by i.id
/