18. Design Philosophy

The XDMoD portal provides end users with a rich web-based user interface as shown in Figure 2-1. Developed using the Model-View-Controller design pattern, the view is provided via a thin client written entirely in JavaScript and built on the ExtJS user interface toolkit while the Controllers and access to the Model are provided by a set of web-based RESTful services. Information in the portal is organized using a set of tabs that allows related information to be grouped together while providing the user an easy way to navigate the interface and make the most of the available screen real estate. The RESTful services provide access to data stored in the warehouse while maintaining a clear separation between the user interface and the application logic. This also allows 3rd party tools to access the services directly and ingest or present the information as they see fit.