Publishing Framework

The Publishing Framework feature of SAS Integration Technologies provides a complete and robust publishing environment for enterprise-wide information delivery. The Publishing Framework consists of SAS CALL routines, application programming interfaces (APIs), and graphical user interfaces that enable both users and applications to publish SAS files (including data sets, catalogs, and database views), other digital content, and system-generated events to a variety of destinations:

• e-mail addresses
• message queues
• publication channels and subscribers
• WebDAV-compliant servers
• archive locations.

The Publishing Framework also provides tools that enable both users and applications to receive and process published information. For example, users can receive packages with content, such as charts and graphs, that is ready for viewing; and SAS programs can receive packages with SAS data sets that might in turn trigger additional analyses on that data.

Functions of the Publishing Framework

The functions of the Publishing Framework include channel definition, subscription management, package publishing, package retrieval, package viewing, and event publishing.

Channel Definition

The Publishing Framework enables you to define SAS publication channels, which are conduits for publishing particular categories of information. You can set up a channel for a particular topic, organizational group, user audience, or any other category.

To define a channel, use SAS Management Console to define a name for the channel, a description, a subject, the path in which the channel's archived packages are to be stored, and one or more key words. The channel definition, or metadata, is stored on the SAS Metadata Server. SAS Management Console can also be used to specify which groups of users are authorized to subscribe to the channel.

If you are using an LDAP directory server to store your metadata, you can define a channel using SAS Integration Technologies Administrator.

Subscription Management

Once publication channels have been defined, authorized users can subscribe to them and automatically receive information whenever it is published to those channels.

First, you must define the users who are eligible subscribers. To do so, use SAS Management Console (or the SAS Integration Technologies Administrator application, if you are using LDAP) to enter user authentication information.

If your organization has installed the SAS Information Delivery Portal, users can manage their subscriptions from within the portal. The portal enables users to select channels to subscribe to channels, specify the desired delivery transport (such as an e-mail address or message queue), and specify filters that indicate which information is to be included or excluded.

If you are using an LDAP directory server as a metadata repository, users can use SAS Subscription Manager, which is provided with SAS Integration Technologies, to manage their subscriptions. Alternatively, administrators can use SAS Integration Technologies Administrator to manage LDAP-based subscription information for subscribers. Using this application, administrators can create groups of subscribers, subscribe individual users or groups to a channel, and specify delivery transport and filtering options.

Package Publishing

The Publishing Framework enables you to create packages containing one or more information entities, including SAS data sets, SAS catalogs, SAS databases, and almost any other type of digital content. If you wish, you can also define viewers that will make the information entities easier to display.

After creating a package, you can publish the package and its associated viewers to one or more channels. This causes the information to be delivered to each user who has subscribed to those channels, if the package and its contents meet the subscriber's filtering criteria. In addition to channels, you can publish packages directly to one or more e-mail addresses, message queues, WebDAV-compliant servers, and archive locations.

To create and publish packages, you can use any of the following methods:

• use the SAS Publisher user interface, which is provided as part of Base SAS

• use the publish CALL routines to create packages and publish them from within a SAS program

• use the APIs that are provided with SAS Integration Technologies to create packages and publish them from within a third-party application

You can also use SAS Enterprise Guide or the SAS Information Delivery Portal to create and publish packages via the Publishing Framework.

Package Retrieval and Viewing

The Publishing Framework provides SAS Package Retriever, which is a graphical user interface to enable users to extract and save information from packages that have been published through the Publishing Framework. The SAS Package Reader user interface enables users to display the contents of packages. If the SAS Information Delivery Portal has been installed, users can view published information from the portal.

In addition, you can use CALL routines to extract and process published information from within SAS programs; and APIs are provided to enable third-party programs to extract and process published information.

Event Publishing

SAS Integration Technologies 9 includes the Publish Event Interface. This interface consists of CALL routines that enable you to write SAS programs, including stored processes, that create and publish events. Events can be generated and published explicitly, or they can be generated implicitly as part of the publication of a package. Implicit event generation occurs when packages are published to a channel that has event subscribers defined.

Events are published as well-formed XML documents. They can be published to HTTP servers, to message queues, or to publication channels and their associated subscribers. You can develop custom applications that receive and process events generated by the Publishing Framework.

Publishing Framework Documentation

For information about how to perform publishing tasks, or how to incorporate publishing tasks into your SAS programs or applications, see the Publishing Framework section of the SAS Integration Technologies: Developer's Guide.

For information about how to administer publication channels and subscriber information, see Administering the Publishing Framework in the SAS Integration Technologies: Administrator's Guide. If you are using an LDAP directory server as your metadata repository, see Administering the Publishing Framework in the SAS Integration Technologies: Administrator's Guide (LDAP Version).