Inside a PAR file

We can find PAR (Portal Archive) Files in SAP EP 7.0 and Prior versions only.

PAR Files 

Portal applications are packaged in PAR (Portal Archive) files. A PAR file is a standard ZIP file with a .par extension that contains a deployment descriptor, all Java classes, Web resources and other files required to run the application.

Within the portal, the name of the PAR file is the name of the application. The fully qualified name of any component or service defined in the PAR is the name of the PAR file, followed by a period (.) and then the name of the component or service.

A PAR file contains the following files:

The following files are contained files contained in a PAR file are divided into the following types:

●     Web resources

All files in a PAR file that are accessible directly via an HTTP request, such as:

○     HTML

○     Images

○     Stylesheets (.css)

Web resource files can be located anywhere outside the top-level PORTAL-INF and META-INF folders.

You can create links to these files directly.

·        Java Classes and Deployment Descriptor

Java classes that implement the component and services defined in the PAR file, plus the deployment descriptor (portalapp.xml). The deployment descriptor specifies the components and services contained in the PAR file, and defines the configuration for the application, components and services. For more information the deployment descriptor.

The PAR file’s Java classes and deployment descriptor are located in the top-level PORTAL‑INF folder.

In the PORTAL-INF folder, the following folders have special purposes:

Folder	Description
lib	Contains all application library files (JAR) that can be referenced by other portal applications.
classes	Contains all class files and other resources (such as resource bundles) that can be referenced by other portal applications.
private/lib	Contains all application library files (JAR) that are used exclusively by the application.
private/classes	Contains all class files and other resources (such as resource bundles) that are used exclusively by the application.

·        Manifest

A PAR can also include a manifest file (MANIFEST.MF in the top-level META-INF folder), which provides version information. The folder and file are not required, but are recommended for tracking versions of your application.

The following diagram provides an overview of the typical PAR file: