Implementing WebSphere Business Integration Express for Item Synchronization

54 Implementing WebSphere BI Express for Item Synchronization

6.1 What are collaborations?

Within the InterChange Server, collaborations contain the business processing

logic to be performed on business objects. They control what data will be sent

from applications (for event processing) and what data will be sent to receiving

applications.

Collaborations are comprised of Java code that represents the business logic.

Collaboration objects, which are the runtime components, reference

collaboration templates. The templates consist of the following:

򐂰 Scenarios (processing logic for different conditions, such as update, create

and so on).

򐂰 Ports that determine where the processing is coming from and going to.

򐂰 Properties that control the processing logic, such as filtering attributes,

processing for error conditions, and so on.

The runtime objects, when created, put the actual values to the ports, such as

which connector will send and/or receive the processing and whether the

collaboration passes on to another down stream collaboration (known as

collaboration grouping).

6.1.1 What collaborations are installed?

A number of collaboration templates are provided as part of the item

synchronization solution. These templates are instantiated as collaboration

objects to provided the logic and process for the solution.

The main templates are:

1. UCCnet_ItemSync collaboration template

An object based on the UCCnet_ItemSync collaboration template performs

processing to add, update, delist, or withdraw an item in response to events

that occur in an ERP application. A process flow is initiated in the

collaboration object when it receives a triggering business object, containing

the data for the event, from a connector for the ERP application. The

collaboration object checks that fields required by UCCnet to contain

information are not NULL. It also updates relational tables provided with the

item synchronization solution that track audit log entries, trading partners, and

all published items.

2. UCCnet_requestWorklist collaboration template

An object based on the UCCnet_requestWorklist collaboration template

sends query commands to UCCnet via a connector, depending on the

connectivity type used:

Chapter 6. About some of the key components 55

– A UCCnet_requestWorklist collaboration object is triggered when it

receives a UCCnetGBO_envelope business object from the JTextRWL

Connector.

– The JTextRWLConnector sends this triggering business object after it polls

an input file folder and discovers an XML message that contains a UCCnet

worklist query command. (The mechanism by which the UCCnet worklist

query command is placed in the input file folder is independent of the

collaboration template and must be set up by the user--more on this in

later chapters.)

3. UCCnet_processWorklist collaboration template

An object based on the UCCnet_processWorklist collaboration template

processes the notifications that a UCCnet_requestWorklist collaboration

object requested from UCCnet. This collaboration object is triggered when it

receives a UCCnetGBO_envelope business object from an AS2 channel

connector.

4. UCCnetXSD_CIN_Dispatcher collaboration template

An object based on the UCCnetXSD_CIN_Dispatcher collaboration object

fulfills one of the following two tasks:

– It processes an ItemBasic business object received from the

UCCnet_processWorklist collaboration object as part of an item-add or

item-change request.

– It processes an ItemBasic business object received from the

ItemCommandRouter collaboration object as part of an item-delist or

item-withdraw request.

5. ItemCommandRouter collaboration template

An object based on the ItemCommandRouter collaboration template is used

to process ItemBasic business objects received from objects based on the

ItemSync collaboration template. It processes an object in one of two ways:

– For item-add and item-update requests, the collaboration object sends an

RCIR through the AS2 channel connector.

– For item-delist and item-withdraw requests, the collaboration object

passes the business object to a UCCnetXSD_CIN_Dispatcher

collaboration object for further processing.

Note: This collaboration template is used only if you are implementing a

solution with the schema-based XML definition (as we are in the redbook).

As objects based on this template can receive a triggering object from one

of two collaboration objects, you must create two collaboration objects from

this template--more on this in the following chapters.