Apache Ofbiz Development: The Beginner's Tutorial

Using Services, Entities, and Widgets to build custom ERP and CRM systems

Apache OFBiz (Open For Business) is versatile open-source enterprise automation software that powers many small and medium sized businesses around the world. It incorporates a number of mature applications such as ERP, e-Commerce, MRP and CRM.

Built around an MVC framework with common logic, data model and process components, Ofbiz allows existing and bespoke applications to be added through a component-based architecture. Ofbiz includes a mature suite of enterprise applications that integrate and automate a company's many business needs.

This easy-to-read book will quickly enable newcomers to get hands-on with OFBiz. It provides an overview of the main modules and employs illustrated examples that show readers how to build exemplary business applications rapidly. Covering the main aspects of the Model-View-Controller framework, the reader will gain a working knowledge of Widgets, Entities, and The Service Engine. The authors also describe how to tweak OFBiz, and offer valuable performance and development tips. By navigating through the flow of OFBiz and providing insight into the thousands of examples that already exist in the core code they have made this book a must-have for anyone looking to get started with OFBiz.

What you will learn from this book

• Learn what OFBiz is, and what it is capable of doing for business.
  
  
• Install and configure OFBiz to optimize system performance.
  
  
• Develop a bespoke OFBiz component. Enhance and modify existing components.
  
  
• Save time by learning how to re-use existing OFBiz code.
  
  
• Explore Entities – the basic units of the framework's Model – to simplify database operations and perform complicated queries.
  
  
• Define, create, and call Java services in the Service Engine to build synchronous and asynchronous communications.
  
  
• Learn syntax and schema for the OFBiz language: MiniLang. Use MiniLang to speed up your OFBiz development.
  
  
• Acquire valuable development and performance tips that will make your custom applications supreme.

Approach
This is an accessible step-by-step tutorial that introduces readers to the world of OFBiz through practical examples and clear explanations. It will guide you through the framework, teach you to tweak OFBiz and master widgets, entities, and permissions, and give you the knowledge to customize your own bespoke applications.

Who this book is written for
This book is for developers who want to build easily deployed and supported OFBiz applications. No previous knowledge of OFBiz is assumed, but readers should be comfortable in a Java development environment.

Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Getting Started with OFBiz
Chapter 2: Working with OFBiz
Chapter 3: Screen Widgets
Chapter 4: Form Widgets
Chapter 5: Other View Element Types in Screen Widgets
Chapter 6: The Controller
Chapter 7: Entities, View Entities, and Extended Entities
Chapter 8: Accessing the Entities and View Entities
Chapter 9: The Events
Chapter 10: The Service Engine
Chapter 11: Permissions and the Service Engine
Chapter 12: Minilang
Chapter 13: Tying Up the Loose Ends
Chapter 14: Tips and Techniques
Appendix A: Simple Method User's Guide
Index