AEM Forms: Technology and Architecture Overview

AEM Forms OSGi and AEM Forms JEE
There are two implementations of AEM Forms: AEM Forms OSGi and AEM Forms JEE. AEM Forms OSGi is essentially a version of the Adobe LiveCycle platform re-architected into OSGi. AEM forms JEE is a re-branded legacy version of LiveCycle.
Beginning with AEM 6.1, the AEM Forms module has most of the functionality available in AEM Forms JEE, with the exception of forms workflow and document security.
If you are trying to migrate forms and workflows from a LiveCycle instance into AEM, depending on your current site architecture and how many forms you have, you’ll want to start by migrating to AEM Forms JEE. Otherwise, you’ll have to re-author your forms to be adaptive forms within AEM Forms OSGi.

Features on OSGi Stack
A number of new services and utilities have been introduced to run within the OSGi stack of AEM Forms.
As of AEM 6.1, the AEM Forms module brings in several enhancements in adaptive forms to simplify the authoring of forms and enhance the form filling experience. You now have the ability to:

• Create reusable form components (form fragments) that will be available in the Content Finder. Form fragments help save significant authoring time and effort by bringing re-usability and consistency among adaptive forms.
• Create responsive and dynamic tables to present complex data with configurable layouts for mobile devices.
• Define the styling of individual adaptive form components using inline CSS properties. Or create custom client libraries for specific styles within your forms.
• Utilize Adobe Test and Target to perform A/B tests on adaptive forms for better conversion.
• Configure auto-generation of document of record (DoR) for non-XFA adaptive forms.
• Export forms and assets via a package or as a zip file.
• Import forms and assets via a package, zip file, or as individual files (such as a PDF).

Submitting Forms
Adaptive forms are a key part of the AEM Forms module. An important piece of form is exactly where that data goes and what you do with it. With AEM Forms you can configure what action to take upon submit and what parameters to pass. For example, you can submit to a REST endpoint, perform an email action, or submit to a workflow. In addition, you can write a custom submit actions, making it extremely flexible and tailored towards what you are trying to accomplish.

Moving Ahead
AEM forms OSGi is the future for AEM Forms and Adobe seems to be slowly trying to move people away from LiveCycle into it. Slowly the AEM Forms module is integrating into AEM and it’s expected that Adobe will only continue to build the project. Check back soon for future posts on AEM Forms and what it has to offer. Or better yet, join our mailing list below!