Helpful terms for WebVoyage (Tomcat UI) upgrades & customizations

Question

What are some terms and concepts helpful to be familiar with related to WebVoyage upgrades and customizations?

Answer

Below are commonly used terms; these are also terms Support analysts frequently use in discussing any issues with WebVoyage skins in Cases.

• bug fix : typically referring to changes to the Tomcat services or to the skin files in order to correct an issue in the interface; must update customized skin files after upgrade from the default files in order to obtain bug fixes in customized UI.
• Classic : WebVoyage interface that preceded the Voyager 7 introduction of Tomcat WebVoyage. Classic WebVoyage is still supported on Voyager 7, 8 and 9 major releases (and minor releases and service packs for each) but no longer actively developed/enhanced.
• comments : notations that can be added to skin files to mark where changes made and to what the changes apply.
  • For xml files, <!-- comments will be bracketed like this -->
  • For css files, /* mark comments like this */
• customizations : any changes made to files in en_US and other skin directories that diverge from the default configuration found in exl_default
• enhancement : typically referring to changes made to the Tomcat services or skin files in order to extend existing or add new functionality
• en_US : default customizable skin. This is only replaced when moving between major releases (and older version is archived). Otherwise, this directory remains untouched. Must update this and any other customized skins upon upgrade.
• exl_default : skin directory that contains all of the default configurations for skin files. Files in this directory should NEVER be customized. Make copies of these files to update your customized skins when appropriate. Sometimes also referred to as vanilla skin, vanilla configs, default skin.
• ftp client : a GUI interface for moving files between a PC and server. Helpful if not comfortable editing files from the server’s text editor. Filezilla, WinSCP among others.
• Preview Server : server with test data hosted by Ex Libris. Customers can connect to test new features and WebVoyage customizations for a new version before upgrading to that version.
• sandbox : skin directory for “play” – this is space to test customizations before putting them into production between upgrades. This directory is replaced upon upgrade.
• skin : a set of configuration files that can be customized to create a specific look and feel in WebVoyage interface.
• Tomcat : Used to refer to both the WebVoyage interface introduced in Voyager 7 and the processes that run it (i.e., “restart Tomcat” refers to restarting the processes on the server). This is the interface that is currently in active development; enhancements and bug fixes for a release are distributed for Tomcat WebVoyage.
• WebVoyage Changed Skin Files and Content or WebVoyage and Configuration File Changes: a document released with every minor release and service pack that outlines changes to default skin files from the version that preceded it. It includes a list of changed skin files for a particular version, as well as what has changed in each file.
• WinMerge : a third party software tool that allows users to compare files. Helpful in comparing current and future versions of a file to reapply customizations.

• Article last edited: 08-Oct-2013