The SimpleOffline plug-in is a payment plug-in provided in WebSphere Commerce for use with the advanced orders and event-driven payments functions. It enables payments to be processed offline or manually. Offline payments do not involve any direct communication with a payment back-end system. Instead, the SimpleOffline plug-in records events that have already happened outside of WebSphere Commerce. Transactions are recorded and maintained in the WebSphere Commerce database. The Payment Plug-in Controller performs the database operations necessary to record all the payment transactions for this plug-in.
Examples of offline payments are:
- A customer is uncomfortable submitting a credit card number online and instead prefers a Cash on Delivery (COD) option.
- A customer submits credit card information but there is no relationship with an Acquirer for automatic approval. The merchant handles the transaction through a swipe box and records the approval.
- A merchant elects to collect payments manually through the Bill Me Later payment method or Pay Later payment method (an external payment system outside of the WebSphere Commerce scope)
In all cases a manual step is required to complete the transaction to receive payment. This manual step of editing the pending payment can be performed through the Payments menu in the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator.
The SimpleOffline plug-in can be used as is or it can be modified to suit your particular payment requirements. It can also be configured to support additional offline payment methods. Plug-in writers can use the plug-in as an example when developing their own plug-ins.
Location
The SimpleOffline plug-in package contains:
- A stateless session bean:
- com.ibm.commerce.payments.plugin.simpleoffline.beans.SimpleOfflineBean
- com.ibm.commerce.payments.plugin.simpleoffline.beans.SimpleOffline
- com.ibm.commerce.payments.plugin.simpleoffline.beans.SimpleOfflineHome
- SimpleOfflinePlugin.xml file - XML file containing a list of the unique parameters required for each payment method supported by the plug-in (see How the SimpleOffline plug-in works for more information about this file)
- SimpleOfflinePlugin.xsd file - the XML schema document for a plug-in deployment descriptor
- PluginDeployment.xml - the payment plug-in deployment descriptor for the SimpleOffline plug-in which defines the plug-in to the Payment Plug-in Controller
- XML parser for the supported payment methods
The JAR file for the plug-in and plug-in deployment descriptor are located in the following directories:
WAS_installdir/installedApps/cell_name/WC_instance_name.ear/Payments_Plugin_SimpleOffline.jar- WAS_installdir/installedApps/cell_name/WC_instance_name.ear/xml/config/ payments/ppc/plugins/SimpleOffline/PluginDeployment.xml
WAS_userdir/installedApps/cell_name/WC_instance_name.ear/Payments_Plugin_SimpleOffline.jar- WAS_userdir/installedApps/cell_name/WC_instance_name.ear/xml/config/ payments/ppc/plugins/SimpleOffline/PluginDeployment.xml