AWPr (Alfresco Web Script Portlet rivet) is a JSR-286 portlet that can be used to expose remote Alfresco Web scripts, including those that need user authentication. With the help of a custom Alfresco authentication component that we wrote, the portlet can carry the user credentials from the portal to Alfresco, authenticate the user in Alfresco and retrieve a ticket that can be used during all subsequent interactions between the end-user, the portlet and ultimately the Alfresco Web script itself.
This portlet alleviates the need for having to deploy all of Alfresco inside the portal as is the case when using Alfresco's OOTB (out-of-the-box) Web script portlet.
AWPr is also highly configurable. Through the use of portlet preferences you can create multiple instances of AWPr and configure each one with a different Web script URL and a set of parameters with default values if needed. The instance will then RESTfully fetch the result of the Web script's render phase and carry that over to the portlet finally rendering it on the screen within the confines of the portlet window. It is hence possible to run two instances of AWPr on a single portal page where each instance is exposing a different Web script even if those Web scripts are hosted on two different Alfresco servers regardless of their geographic location.
