Custom Channels
Custom channels, often referred to as "native" channels, are those hosted by uPortal itself. To clarify, custom channels are those written in Java and implement specific interfaces that allow them to be executed within uPortal itself. These channels have several advantages: they can usually be shared with other organizations utilizing uPortal, they can easily make use of features of uPortal, and they can "call" other custom channels within uPortal to easily expand their capabilities. Custom channels produce the most efficient channels and, therefore, they present users with a "crisp" response.
Everything in uPortal is a custom channel. The header at the top of the page is a custom channel. The username/password login is a custom channel.
Custom channels are the most difficult to develop. These channels, when poorly designed, can have a significant negative impact on the performance of uPortal. Custom channels can affect the availability of uPortal by causing JVM core crashes. The source code of any custom channel should be thoroughly examined before channel publication.
Guides to developing Custom Channels (IChannel implementations)
| How To Write a uPortal Channel for uPortal 2.x | A guide for developing a channel for uPortal 2.x by Owen Gunden, University of Virginia. |
| Writing A Channel for the uPortal(tm) | by Michael Oltz. |
PortalEvents
IChannels receive PortalEvents.