All web scripts are automatically available as JSR-168 portlets. What does this mean? Most portals available today have support for JSR-168, otherwise known as the Portlet 1.0 API (The JSR-286 specification is essentially the next version of the standard or Portlet 2.0.) Theoretically, any portlet developed purely to the portlet API can be run in any portal that is compliant to the specification. The web script framework wraps the web script output in a JSR-168 portlet.

For example, out of the box, Alfresco comes with a My Spaces dashlet. The dashlet is implemented as a couple of web scripts (one calls the other via AJAX). If you point your browser to the following URL:

http://localhost:8080/alfresco/service/ui/myspaces?p=/Company%20Home/Someco

You can see the web script just as you would if you had added the dashlet to your Alfresco Dashboard...