After creating a model in the STEM Editor and results views in the STEM Results Program, a user can choose to export selected input values in the model and particular graphs/tables or results views to a web interface as described in the following pages. A set of data and configuration files for the eSTEM server will be generated, as well as the web interface that will access the web service to run this particular exported model and display the results chosen by the modeller.
An eSTEM installation on a web server will include the STEM model engine and an ASP.Net-based web service that can access this model engine. When the exported data and configuration files for a particular model are placed in the appropriate location on the server, that model will then become available through the web service. The web service will be accessed by remote users over HTTP/HTTPS through an IIS server (and potentially other web-server platforms in the future).
The generated web interface is usually placed on the same web server to avoid security issues with so-called ‘cross-domain scripting’. It will present the exported set of input values to the user. On request it will package these inputs (into what is known as a SOAP request) and send it to the web service. The web service will create a copy of the model for the current user, set the provided input values, run the STEM model engine, retrieve the results specified by its configuration, and finally return these (in what is known as a SOAP response) to the web interface. The web interface then renders these results in charts and tables for the remote user to see.