Components of Application Integration

The Application Integration (AI) framework in WLI consists of two main components: the Integration Framework and Adapter Development Kit (ADK). These components are discussed in detail in the following sections.

Integration Framework

The integration framework is based on J2EE Connector Architecture specification 1.0. The integration framework provides an abstraction between the adapter and the EIS functions exposed by it. This is such that the intricacies of the EIS functions can be hidden and instead can be translated into business services and events . This abstraction is provided by functionality known as an application view . An application view can be defined for a given set of business functions, which may further translate into several EIS functions. Application views will be discussed in detail in later sections.

The application framework provides additional functionality where the current J2EE Connector Architecture specification lacks. The integration framework supports the following additional features:

Asynchronous integration with EIS ” The J2EE Connector architecture 1.0 specification supports only a synchronous request/reply model. The application framework allows bidirectional, asynchronous interactions between the J2EE server and resource adapters.
CCI metadata and XML support ” WLI s application framework provides a standard mechanism for applications to get metadata information about the remote functions supported by the EIS. It also uses XML as a core component and technology for integration. XML support will be covered in detail in the Application Views section later in this chapter.

The resource adapters are integrated into Business Process Management (BPM) via the plug-in framework (covered in Chapter 34, Business and Workflow Process Management Using WLI ).

Adapter Development

Adapter Development functionality is provided in the form of a kit to facilitate the development, testing, packaging, and distribution of J2EE CA-compliant adapters for BEA WebLogic Integration server. The kit provides runtime support for events and services. It also provides an API for integrating an adapter s design-time user interface with the Application View console, which is used to administer or define application views. The ADK will be discussed in detail in subsequent sections in this chapter.