IBM WebSphere Application Server provides a service for processing
user profiles, called the User Profile Manager.
The service is provided
in the form of an EJB entity bean that servlets can call whenever they are
required to access a user profile.
The key activities for implementing user profiles
are summarized. For more information about each point, consult the
Related information below.
Customize the user profile support as necessary. Options include:
Using the data representation class with exactly the
name/value pairs it currently allows (no action required)
Extending the data representation class to allow
additional, arbitrary name/value pairs
Adding columns to the base user profile representation
Extending the User Profile enterprise bean itself to
import existing databases
Basically, you need to evaluate whether the user profile
representation provided by IBM represents the kind of data you
would like to keep about your users. You might find it desirable
to customize the IBM user profile support in one or more of the
above ways.
Create or modify servlets to use the User Profile Manager and
related user profile support classes to
maintain user profiles on behalf of Web applications.
Ensure the administrator appropriately configures User Profile
Managers in the administrative domain.
If the programmer and
administrator are not the same person, the programmer might need
to provide settings information to the administrator, based on
how the programmer implemented user profiles.