portlets vs. full web apps?

[deanhiller2000]

I am wondering if it is possible to have a web page like

Online App Exchange

where each tab is a different web application file.  In this fashion, if we deploy a new version for one tab, the other tabs remain up and do not affect customers.  ie. If my deployment fails, I don't need to redeploy this whole monolithic app.  At our company, we have about 10 tabs(not 4) and would like each one to be a different application.

is this feasible/possible?  Has anyone else done this? or what do you do with a very very HUGE application servicing many different roles from sales person, to IT, to live agents, to end customers, to managers, etc. etc.(about 10 roles in all I think)

thanks,
Dean

[giomiano]

Not sure I understand well.. looks silly issue to me.
However, you coulduse an Iframe in a rich tabpanel for each app

[deanhiller2000]

Basically, if they have an immediate issue with one application that IT users might be using, they don't want to take all applications offline just to upgrade the one app.  Not sure why that is silly...isn't being able to stay up live a good thing?

app vs. feature in this company right now is a bit too close where some apps are a full feature that should be plugged in another app to make it more usable(we are cleaning this up).

I am not sure what you mean by use an IFrame at all.  An IFrame can be backed by different war files?  Any docs on this out there?

[giomiano]

I believe you can have several solution to your problem. to keep it simple I would sit your 10 webapp on jboss or tomcat or whatever and apache with a kind of home page pointing to your apps.

Another idea ? you could use a Portal (jboss portal or whatever) and transform all your app in portlets

my 2 cent.

[deanhiller2000]

yeah, I kind of wish a portlet server could support tabbed portlets where each app was a tab so you could look like one seamless web application.

[kukeltje.ronald.jbpm.org]

Like this?

[deanhiller2000]

oh, kick @$$, that rocks....thanks.  I will have to look more into this.
thanks,
Dean