Have you ever wanted to get the Commerce Server managed OrderForm transformed into the Dictionary key pair values? If the answer is yes then keep reading.
There are some scenarios where you just want the OrderForm in Dictionary format so you can call the pipeline components directly or execute the managed pipelines. Please be aware that you can execute the pipeline components outside ASP.NET. For more info please read the following link.
If you have read my pipeline posts then you know that when executing a pipeline, Commerce Server under the covers will transform your managed OrderForm(s) into Commerce Server Dictionary object(s). For whatever reason, the Commerce Server Product Group did not make the PipelineAdapter public. The PipelineAdapter object is responsible for transformation of the OrderForm. So how can you do this if the class is not public? Reflection.
The following code will show you how to transform the OrderForm. You will need to reference the Microsoft.CommerceServer.Runtime.dll and Microsoft.CommerceServer.Interop.dll. You will also need to make sure that you have an app.config with the order node.
| // Get an order context to work with
OrderContext context = OrderContext.Create("CSharpSite");
// Get a user basket
Basket cart = context.GetBasket(new Guid(userId));
// Make sure that we have a OrderForm
if (cart.OrderForms.Count == 0)
{
cart.OrderForms.Add(new OrderForm());
}
// Do magic with reflection
Type orderContext = context.GetType();
// PipelineAdapterMap is a property of the order context
PropertyInfo property = orderContext.GetProperty("PipelineAdapterMap", BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic);
// Get the value of the PipelineAdapterMap property
object obj = property.GetValue(context, null);
Type pipelineAdapter = obj.GetType();
MethodInfo[] methods = pipelineAdapter.GetMethods(BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic); object[] orderform = new object[1];
orderform[0] = cart.OrderForms[0]; // Method 15 has is what we want and pass it our managed OrderForm
object dict = methods[16].Invoke(obj, orderform); // Do something with the Dictionary OrderForm
Dictionary dictionary = (Dictionary)dict; |
I was teaching a Commerce Server Training this past week. One of the students asked that he has issues with his business users management applications. When the business users select to refresh the site cache an error is generated. I did some research and found that there is a KB article about how to fix such issues. The KB article can be found here.
When I first read the KB article I thought that there must be an error, because it asks to setup the orders web service. So during my class I tried to replicate his issue and sure enough I was able to do it. I looked at my Virtual PC systems and everything worked.
How come this worked on my Virtual PC systems? Well I had my systems setup with the administrator account as the application pool identity. In the orders web service and the front end servers by default the administrator account is configured in the authorization node of the web.config.
How does the Cache Refresh Work?
When the users selects to refresh the cache the call is made to the orders web service SiteCacheRefresh.axd (tested with Commerce Server Service Pack 2) then to the front end web server farm. I never really looked at the error message, if you pay attention you will notice that the error message clearly state that a calls was made to the orders web service's SiteCacheRefresh.axd and access was denied.
How to Fix Cache Refresh?
In a production environment each web service has it's own application pool and they in turn have their own identity, if you followed the 120 page setup documentation :). You need to write down the Marketing, Catalog and profile web service's application pool identity account and add it to the orders web service web.config.
<location path="SiteCacheRefresh.axd">
<system.web>
<authorization>
<allow roles="BUILTIN\Administrators"/>
<allow users="Domain\CatalogAppPoolIdentity"/>
<allow users="Domain\MarketingAppPoolIdentity"/>
<allow users="Domain\ProfileAppPoolIdentity"/>
<deny users="*"/>
</authorization>
</system.web>
</location>
Next you will need to add the orders web service account to the front end web server farms as noted in the KB article.
Additional resource you should read "Understanding Caching in Commerce Server".
Looks like there is an update to the Starter Site Release 2 you can still download it from MSDownload.
How to tell you have the right download?
I looked at the original release 2 and the file version for CommerceComponents.dll is 6.0.3863.0 and the update release 2 is 6.0.4109.0.
How to tell which files were updated?
Unfortunately, as far as I can tell there is no documentation on the bugs and which files were modified. You need to do a file diff on the code to identify changes :(.
Now that we have the Commerce Server SP2 the following documentation has also been updated.
- Commerce Server 2007 Readme
- Commerce Server 2007 Install Guide
- Commerce Server 2007 Mom Pack
- Commerce Server 2007 SP2-readme-web
- Commerce Server 2007 Quick Install Guide
The documentation was updated to include Windows 2003, 2008, XP and Vista as well as the .NET Framework 3.0 and 3.5 with Visual Studio 2008.
You can download you copy at Download details: Commerce Server 2007 Install and Readme documentation, happy readings.
I would highly recommend that you spend a few hours and read these documents (the Install Guide has even pictures :)).
The long awaited SP2 is now available on Microsoft's web site.
This service pack is for the English version of Commerce Server 2007 this include the binaries and the business user application. This does not affect your ability to develop a multilingual Commerce Server Web site. Installing SP2 on non-English versions of Commerce Server 2007 is not supported.
Note: No new features are introduced in SP2.
Announcing Commerce Server 2007 SP2! - MSDN Forums
A few weeks a go I mentioned that I would be hosting a Commerce Server Event here in beautiful Los Angeles. Well I am getting closer and closer to finalizing everything and if all goes well I will be doing anther event in London but that date is not yet set. So let's talk about this event :).
Currently the Training event is scheduled for August 4th through 8th. The Class will start 9:00 and end at 5:00 PM. The price for the 5 day training is set for $2495.00. I will discount if you book as a group. Payment must be made two weeks prior to the event. To register please send me an email with your contact information and I will confirm your seat. I will post more info on my site at Commerce Server Training site for location and hotel.
Commerce Server Los Angeles Training Experience
So what should you expect. 5 days of Commerce Server on the following systems Catalog, Orders, Profile, Marketing and Data Warehouse. We will also do some short segments on the Partner SDK, CSS and BizTalk Adapters.
You'll learn Commerce Server from Max Akbar <-- me :). I was a Program Manger for Commerce Server 2007 and help develop many of the product's features before working with the Commerce Server Product Group I was with Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) and worked with various enterprises implementing Commerce Server solutions. This training session will be hands on lots of demos and coding with labs.
What you will take back with you are several tools created by yours truly for Commerce Server. Two video tutorials Catalog and Orders featured at Commerce Server Training site (by then I may have the third video released installation, configuration, deployment and securing Commerce Server).
Here is a rough outline of day to day activity.
Day one
In day one you will learn Installation, Configuration, Deployment a Commerce Site and Secure your deployment.
- Commerce Server Overview
- Hardware Requirements
- Software requirements
- Commerce Editions
- Base Deployment
- Enterprise Deployment
- Installation
- Configuration
- Deployment
- Securing your Deployment
- Administration of Commerce Server
Day two
Catalog System
- Catalog Overview
- Catalog Architecture
- Catalog Management Applications
- Catalog APIs
- Catalog Design
- Catalog Database Overview
- Catalog Resource
- Catalog Security
- Pipelines and Catalogs
- Catalog Web Service
- Catalog Adapters
- Staging Catalogs
- Catalog and the Data Warehouse System
- Advanced Catalog topics
- Best Practices with the Catalog System
- Trouble Shooting The Catalog System
Inventory System
- Inventory Catalog
- Inventory Architecture
- Inventory Management Applications
- Inventory API
- Inventory Resource
Day Three
Order System
- Orders Overview
- Orders Overview Part(II)
- Orders Architecture
- Orders Management Applications
- Orders Runtime API
- Orders Management API
- Order Processing Pipeline
- Orders Design
- Orders Databases Overview
- Orders Config Databases Overview
- Orders Runtime Web.config
- Orders Web Service
- Orders Mapped Storage
- Orders Resource
- Orders Security
- Orders Adapter
- Staging Orders
- Orders and the Data Warehouse System
- Advanced Orders topics
- Best Practices with the Orders System
- Trouble Shooting The Orders System
Day four
Marketing
- Advertisements
- Discounts
- Coupons
- Expressions
- Lists
- Direct Mailer
- Marketing System Architecture
- Marketing System API
Profile System
- What is Profile Management
- Profile Features
- Profile Architecture
- Profile API
- Profile Encryption
Day five
Data Warehouse, Partner SDK, BizTalk Adapters and Commerce Server Staging
If you are creating your own pipeline components and your site is international and you need more than the four languages that is out of the box German, French, Japanese and US English for Commerce Server then you need to create your own resource for other languages. How to create a new resource is what this post is all about.
What is Messagemanager?
Messagemanager is an object that handling the localization of messages inside your pipeline competents. When you unpack the CSharpSite you will get CommerceMessageManager.dll and four folders representing a language mentioned above.
What are these messages that Messagemanager use? The table below has the messages that Commerce Server uses internally. If you introducing a new language then you need to localize this table.
| Message Key | Message Value |
| pur_discount_changed | One or more discounts have changed. |
| pur_badhandling | Unable to complete order: cannot compute handling cost. |
| pur_badsku | Please note that one or more items were removed from your order because the product is no longer sold. |
| pur_badtax | Unable to complete order: cannot compute tax. |
| pur_badplacedprice | Please note that prices of products in your order have been updated. |
| pur_badcc | The credit-card number you provided is not valid. Please verify your payment information or use a different card. |
| pur_badshipping | Unable to complete order: cannot compute shipping cost. |
| unknown_shipping_method | The selected shipping method is not currently available. Please choose another shipping method. |
| pur_badpayment | There was a problem authorizing your credit. Please verify your payment information or use a different card. |
| pur_out_of_stock | At least one item is out of stock. |
| pur_noitems | An order must have at least one item. |
| pur_badverify | Changes to the data require your review. Please review and re-submit. |
| pur_discount_removed | One or more discounts no longer apply. |
| L_Language_DisplayName | English (en-US) |
OK I have localized the messages now what?
You need to take the localized messages and create an assembly. There are many methods the following help file link should help. Once you create an assembly then you need to add it into your bin folder, take care to create the language folder then add the assembly there.
Can I add my own messages?
Yes, but the help files do note that the messagemanager is obsolete (I wonder why then Commerce Server uses it? If you find the answer let me know :))?
How to use Messagemanager inside of Pipeline Components?
If you have created your own messages and want to use it inside your custom pipeline components the following code will accomplish that.
| // using message manager inside pipeline component
IMessageManager messageManager = null;
IDictionary dict = (IDictionary) pContext;
messageManager = (IMessageManager) dic["MessageManager"];
object message = messageManager.GetMessage("your string key", language); |
In order for the pipeline to use the specific language you must execute the Pipeline by passing the language code in the PipelineInfo object. If the language parameter is not specified, or is NULL, the message is returned for the message set identified by the DefaultLanguage property of the MessageManager object. This value is retrieved from the web.config under the messageManager element.
Are we there yet?
Once you have done all the above you will need to add the language in the web.config of your site. Why do I need to do this? We need to tell Commerce Server's Pipeline processor that we have a new language so when Commerce Server pipelines encounter an error they retrieve the message correctly.
| <messageManager>
<cultures default="en-US" baseName="CommerceMessageManager" assembly="CommerceMessageManager">
<culture id="en-US"/>
<culture id="fr-fr"/>
<culture id="ja-JP"/>
<culture id="de-DE"/>
<culture id="your new language"/>
</cultures>
<resources>
<resource id="pur_badsku"/>
<resource id="pur_badplacedprice"/>
<resource id="pur_discount_changed"/>
<resource id="pur_discount_removed"/>
<resource id="pur_noitems"/>
<resource id="pur_badshipping"/>
<resource id="pur_badhandling"/>
<resource id="pur_badtax"/>
<resource id="pur_badcc"/>
<resource id="pur_badpayment"/>
<resource id="pur_badverify"/>
<resource id="pur_out_of_stock"/>
<resource id="unknown_shipping_method"/>
</resources>
</messageManager> |
Will my custom component also work automagically? No, see the code above about messagemanager and notice that we are passing the language and since you set this value in the PipelineInfo object it will be accessible through the pipeline via the context (pdispContext) parameter.
OK, I think we are done now.
Have you developed a pipeline component and then started to debug it and found that you couldn't drill down the OrderForm, Dictionary and SimpleList objects? Well here is the solution. I created this Visualizer to help with the debugging process of pipeline components.
What is a Visualizer?
Visualizers allows the displays of a variable or object in a meaningful way. For example, if you have a DataSet visualizer interprets a DataSet object and displays the result in a DataGridview. So the OrderForm visualizer interprets Commerce Server OrderForm which inherits from Dictionary and SimpleList in a TreeView. After installing the OrderForm visualizer run your pipeline code and set a debug point bring your cursor on the object you wish you view noticed that now you have a Dictionary Visualizer.
After selecting the visualizer the data is rendered in a TreeView.
You can now visualize the data in a tree structure by viewing the key\pair value and the data type.
Note: The OrderForm visualizer does not allow modifying the underlying data.
What Version of Visual Studio 2005 does this support?
| Edition | Visual Basic | C# | C++ | Web Developer |
| Express | X | X | Managed only | X |
| Standard | X | X | Managed only | X |
| Pro and Team | X | X | Managed only | X |
I haven't tested Visual Studio 2008 but I don't see any issues with using it.
Where do I get the OrderForm Visualizer?
Commerce Server Training, Inc.
I am sure you all have been waiting for the Commerce Server 2007 Book that was listed at Amazon and blogged about. If you perform a search now, you will notice that it is no longer available at Amazon. The reason for this is that book will not be published.
I talked with Wade (the author) and he is trying to find another publisher and I may even put a few word in a couple of chapters but that's not solidified yet. As I gather more news I will be sure to let you know.
In the mean time here is my shameful plug :/
So how do I learn Commerce Server?
I have two video tutorials that you can start with and more to come later. Currently I am trying to put together a training session something like the bootcamp sessions I did for Microsoft but more in-depth with lots of samples and labs. The duration of this training will be five days and held in sunny California. Time frame is going to be sometime in June\July. The cost is going to be somewhere around $2,225.00. Of course this will depend on interest and number of participants :).
A rough outline of what is covered:
Day one
Installation\Configuration and Deployment
Day two
Catalog System
Day Three
Order System
Day four
Marketing and Profile System
Day five
Data Warehouse and Partner SDK
What you will take back with you:
Lab samples, code and power points of the training session. I will also provide the two training videos as part of this session.
So stay tuned as I get more news on the book and the Training Session here in LA.
I was working with a client and they run into an error that they had reached their Virtual Catalog limit. This was an issue with the previous versions of the product (Catalog Name and Size Restrictions and the interop API IProductCatalog3::AddVirtualCatalogRule Method throws an exception E_CAT_VC_TOO_MANY_BASECATALOGS) but I thought that we had removed this limitation when I was with Microsoft for Commerce Server 2007. In fact I can't find this limitation anywhere documented in Commerce Server 2007 help files. It seems that this was not addressed and the stored procedure that enforces this limitation was not modified :(.
Why the limitation?
For whatever reason the limit is set for 84??? Why 84 not 80 as it is documented in the previous version? I don't think anyone will know but having this large amount of base catalogs per virtual catalog has a performance impact. You will have to do some testing to fully understand the consequences. If this proves to be an issue try materializing the Virtual Catalog. For more details see Vinayak's blog Virtual Catalogs : To materialize or not to materialize.
What stored procedure enforces this?
The stored procedure is in the <sitename>_productcatalog.dbo.ctlg_VC_AddVCRule. Line 161 has this rule:
| if (@NumCatalogsInVc_tmp > 84) |
What do I do if I hit this limitation?
Call PSS and ask for a hotfix.
I just completed my second video tutorial for Commerce Server Order System. I cover the following topics:
An Orders Overview of the order system Orders Architecture Different Applications that interact with the Order System Orders Runtime API (code sample of add to basket, basket page, adding shipping and billing and finally converting the basket into an order) Orders Management API (Sample app to show how to interact with the management APIs of Order System) Order Processing Pipeline (Go over how to create a custom pipeline component) Orders Design (Go over the different pages in the buy path) Orders Databases Overview (review of the tables in the Order System) Orders Runtime Web.config Orders Web Service Orders Mapped Storage (Review of the xml files and how they work in the Order System) Orders Resource Orders Security Orders Adapter (display how to create ports in BizTalk and send a order update to Commerce Server) Staging Orders Config Orders and the Data Warehouse System Advanced Orders topics (how to create a payment method) Best Practices with the Orders System Trouble Shooting The Orders System
You can find more info at Commerce Server 2007 Training
PayPal has just announced that they are looking for a few early adopters. If you want to test their component developed for Commerce Server then follow the instruction on their blog site.
Do you use Microsoft Commerce Server 2007? - PayPal Developer Blog - PayPal Developer Community
So the question of the year is "will Commerce Server run on Windows 2008"? The answer is "YES" with a big BUT you have to wait for Commerce Server SP2 targeted second half of 2008.
To confirm I sent an email to csid@microsoft.com and they can't comment as they are in the planing phase so we just have to wait and see :(.
I am pretty sure that .NET 3.5 falls on the same bucket.
» What will run on Windows Server 2008 — and when | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com
The Configuration of Commerce Server is stored in SQL Server database using Configuration APIs to manage it. To generate Commerce Server configuration you can use either the APIs or pre configured files. PUP which stands for Packaging and Unpackaging is used to create Commerce Server sites and resources. In this post I hope to shed some light on how Commerce Server PUP works.
What is PUP?
Site Packager application (Pup.exe) is a tool that packages or unpackages Commerce Server sites and resources into PUP files.
The Commerce Server documentation states that PUP is a deployment tool. I disagree, you should avoid deploying Commerce Server site from one environment to another. I use PUP is to manages the creation or extraction of Commerce Server sites or resources.
Is PUP the only way to create and extract Commerce Server Sites? No, you can use Commerce Server's Configuration APIs to do the same thing and I will show you how to do that. There has been some great post about PUP which you can find at the bottom for further reading.
PUP is responsible for the following operations:
- Commerce Server Site
A Commerce Server Site includes a collection of site resources that define Commerce Systems such as Product Catalog, Inventory System, Orders System, Profiles System, Data Warehouse System and the Marketing System. These Systems can be accessed via APIs through ASP.NET, Console or WinForm Applications. - Site Resources
Site Resources are entities that provide configuration values to a Commerce Server Systems. Site Resources are local the to a Commerce Server Site and can not be shared. Sharing of site resources is only supported through import\export APIs or Global Resources. - Global Resources
Global Resources are an extension to Site Resources. A Site Resource can point to a global Resource which allows it to be shared among one or more Commerce Server sites. - Databases
Each Commerce Server System needs to store it's data some where, this storage is in SQL Server. The Site Resources have database connection strings to these databases. - OLAP database
Commerce Server uses OLAP to organize it's summarized data in the Data Warehouse so that report generation is completed faster. - Commerce Applications
A Commerce Site may have one ore more Commerce Application that maps to an IIS Site or Virtual Directory (VDir). These IIS Sites\VDir can be web site in a WebFarm or Web Services. - IIS Applications
- IIS Metabase information
The Site Packager application can be used in two modes unattended\console and UI based. Using Site Packager application you can also add additional resources or Commerce Server Applications. PUP.exe will generate a log file under c:\pup.log and will append it's data for every execution of packages.
PUP stores and extracts it's data when unpackaging and packaging into MSCS_Admin database. For now we will concentrate on PUP and at later posts we dive deeper into MSCS_Admin database and Configuration API's.
UI PUP
When launching the PUP.exe you will navigate through the UI forms. Each form collects specific data then generates a Commerce Server Site or resource based on your responses and the data inside the PUP file.
Once the PUP.exe is launched you have two options Packaging an existing site or Unpackaging for a PUP file.
Unpackaging
If you select the Unpackage a PUP file you will navigate to next wizard form. On this form you need to enter the path of the PUP file and select either a Quick Unpack or Custom Unpack.
- If you select a Quick Unpack the PUP.exe will select default values for you. If you have previously already selected a Quick Unpack then you run the danger of over writing your previous PUP settings. I always use the custom unpack as it allows me greater flexibility and control.
- If you selected the Custom Unpack and selected Next. Then, on the next wizard form you select to:
- Create a new site
- Add resource in the package to an existing site
- Add an application in the package to an existing site
- Add a Web server to an existing application in an existing site
- If you select a new site option then on the next form you will need to enter a unique site name.
- On the next form you select the resources for your site.
- Next you select the Global Resources for you site. Here you can either select a new global resource to be created for your site or use an existing one. If for whatever reason you selected a new global resource later on you can changed it by pointing the global pointer in the site resource.
- Then you select the SQL server and databases. By default Commerce Server will create a database for each resource. For scalability reasons keep the Commerce Server Systems on separate databases.
- On the next form you select which application to unpack.
- Finally you can select which IIS site each application can be installed and name each application and IIS Virtual Directories. By selecting next the PUP will Unpack the site based on the answers you have provided so far.
- During the Unpack you will be prompted for the profile xml files.
- On the next wizard form you will need to select the SQL file for your profile structure.
- Once the Unpackaging is complete on summary page you will be prompted to view any errors if occurred during the Unpackaging.
Unattended PUP
To launch the PUP.exe you must supply it two answer files. The answer files are ini files that holds responses to how the pup file should generate a Commerce Site.
Site Packager .ini File
The site packager .ini file control how a PuP file is deployed when you silently launch PUP. It is the answer file to all the Commerce Server System except Profiles System for that you will need BizData.ini.
BizData.ini File
The BizData.ini file is the answer file to Profiles System data related to a site. PUP.exe will look into the root folder (%COMMERCE_SERVER_ROOT%) of where Commerce Server is installed. So if you have customized the Profiles System then you need to put all the SQL, XML files and BizData.ini in this %COMMERCE_SERVER_ROOT% directory.
Automating the Unpacking Process
To automate the PUP process you will need an ini file. The ini file is an answer file to pup process and a sample ini can be found under %COMMERCE_SERVER_ROOT%\Sdk\Samples\SiteCreate\CSharpTemplate.ini.
Command line to pack a site:
pup /p /s:BlankSite /f:C:\Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server 2007\PuP Packages\YourSite.pup
/i:C:\Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server 2007\PuP Packages \YourSite.ini
Command line to unpack a site:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server 2007\PuP.exe" /u
/f:C:\Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server 2007\PuP Packages\CSharp.pup
/i:C:\Commerce\CSharp.ini
For more information and command line option see online help How to Run Site Packager from the Command Line.
Pup Structure
PUP files are Structured Storage. Structured Storage provides file and data persistence in COM by handling a single file as a structured collection of objects known as storages and streams. So PUP.exe generate a Structured Storage file then puts it's site and resource data into it. The Site and Data is further structured inside Cab files. To keep this structure formalized a table of content keeps track of what's inside the PUP file. To create Cab file Cabarc.exe is used under the root of where Commerce Server is installed.
diagram of PUP file structure:
How many PUP files are there?
There are three PUP files that are installed with Commerce Server blank PUP, CSharp PUP and DW PUP.
Blank PUP
This PUP file is used when you generate a Commerce Site using Visual Studio.
CSharp PUP
Generates a blank C# Site.
DW PUP
Data warehouse resource is stored in the PUP file.
PUP Security
You need to be a domain administrator to execute the PUP.exe. Remember the PUP file has the structure of the Commerce Server Systems so it needs to be able to hit SQL and create databases and SQL objects. It also needs to access IIS metabase information and create IIS sites or Virtual Directory. Not to include creating a pup file under the c:\ drive. If I can remember correctly remote PUP support was removed for Commerce Server 2007.
Pre and Post PUP Activities
PUP can launch a script for Pre and Post operations. The script must be in the same directory as the PUP file and must be named Pre<package name>.vbs or Post<package name>.vbs.
Backward Compatibility of PUP files
Backward compatibilty of PUP file are supported but you can read more about it Migration Impact on Pup Files here.
So you should have a good understanding of PUP.exe in the next blog post we will take a deeper dive into PUP. In another words we will flay PUP :).
Further Reading
Packaging and Unpacking Commerce Server Sites through PUP Package
Deploying Commerce Server 2007 Sites without Site Packager
I wrote a blog a while ago that Commerce Server SP1 with SQL 2005 SP2 supported replication with Profiles and transaction database. Now I can confirm that this is a supported scenario here is the KB Article. I am disappointed that the KB article does not walk the user step by step and setting up your profiles and transactions database but at least you know it's supported scenario.
What about replication of other Databases?
Marketing, Product Catalog, Transaction Config and Inventory is supported by use of Import\export APIs and\or using Commerce Server Staging.
Why Use replication?
Multiple data centers for backup and redundancy.
