+1. This is a great suggestion. OFBiz has been mainly adopted for its business applications, eCommere being one of the top ones. Though its tightly coupled nature doesn’t make it well suited for the modern day web or mobile application development. It definitely needs to be revamped to make it more relevant in this ever changing world of technology.
Of course there will be some challenges that would need to be addressed to be able to build a truly REST API but that opens up the path to the long needed refactoring/reimplementation of some of these business processes and objects, for example shopping cart. It is high time that we start taking steps to move from somewhat monolithic implementation towards a more micro service based approach and eCommerce would be a great start. Headless capabilities are must and dedicated plugins could be a great way to expose existing business functions as REST APIs in the form of micro services without needing to change the core implementation much. The newly introduced REST plugin would play a major role in this journey. Thanks. Mridul Pathak > On 20-Aug-2020, at 12:40 PM, Deepak Dixit <dee...@apache.org> wrote: > > Hi Arpit, > > Sounds like a plan, As now ofbiz supports rest, so we can think of headless > commerce. > > I think you need to work on the B2C ordering process, as per current > implementation it's tightly coupled with ShoppingCart. > All the e-commerce related processes are bound with ShoppingCart and OFBiz > use session to maintain shoppingCart. > > > > Thanks & Regards > -- > Deepak Dixit > ofbiz.apache.org > > > On Tue, Aug 18, 2020 at 8:52 PM Arpit Mor <arpit....@hotwaxsystems.com> > wrote: > >> Hi Devs, >> >> Hope everyone is safe and healthy amidst Covid-19 pandemic >> >> Most of you might have heard about “Headless Commerce” or API first >> commerce, but in case you haven’t, here is a brief summary of what headless >> commerce is and why it is the need of the hour. >> >> What is Headless Commerce? >> In its simplest form, headless commerce is the decoupling of the >> presentation layer (frontend) of an eCommerce from backend such that both >> are able to function independently. This decoupling is achieved by using >> APIs to expose core backend functionalities. >> >> Why Headless Commerce? >> Today, customers are consuming context from various channels and >> touch-points. Gone are the days when customers primarily needed to visit a >> website to buy online. With the rise of smartphones and the Internet of >> Things (IoT), customers can now shop from multiple channels like IoT >> devices, progressive web apps (PWAs), social media platforms, mobile apps, >> smart assistants, smart TV, kiosks, and many more. >> By decoupling frontend from backend - user interface, social commerce, >> mobile apps, IoT, and many more – can be changed or updated individually, >> without interfering with backend. Data is available to separate frontend >> applications via API calls and the backend runs invisibly in the >> background. >> >> Benefits of Headless Commerce >> Unlimited Channels and Touchpoints: With API first Headless Commerce, >> integration with the new channels and touchpoints becomes easy, economical, >> and quick. >> >> Innovation and Engaging User Experience: With traditional monolithic >> Commerce, making user-centric changes to your website requires both a front >> and backend transformation. But with headless commerce, all the >> frontend/app developers have to focus on is user experience, >> personalization, and consistency without having to worry about changes to >> the backend. >> >> Easy-to-Manage Integrations: Headless commerce not only includes providing >> API support to the frontend, but it also includes communication between >> various components (like ERP, WMS, OMS, CRM, POS, etc.) via APIs. This will >> reduce the complexity of the integration and its maintenance. >> >> Business Agility & less time to market: Companies must be able to respond >> quickly to new market opportunities by constantly releasing new features. >> In traditional commerce, each component is tightly coupled with another >> which makes changes a complex task. But with Headless commerce different >> components communicate via APIs, which make changes to one component easy >> without having to worry about changes to other components. >> >> I’d like to put forward a suggestion for developing a headless commerce >> plugin, to keep the competitive edge of OFBiz with the rapidly changing >> technological trends by exposing core backend functionalities via APIs (The >> REST capabilities are already added to OFBiz recently). >> >> Looking forward to suggestions and feedback. >> >> Thanks & Regards >> Arpit Mor >>
