IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Defining and transforming data > Create and mapping interfaces > Create interfaces

Developing interfaces: meet-in-the-middle

Meet-in-the-middle development means taking an already created interface and adding it to a component that has been implemented but has no interface.


Prerequisite: You must have a module, a component and an interface.

In building your interface using a meet-in-the-middle approach, you will learn how to add an existing interface to a component that has been implemented. Meet-in-the middle development is likely one of the most often used approaches, since you can reuse what you already have saving considerable development time. At most, you will have to make only slight modifications to your existing interface, which is less time than starting from the beginning as you did with the top-down development of an interface.


Procedure

  1. Open the module with the component that is already implemented in the assembly editor. In our case, we have a Java™ component with the following methods:

    Java implementation of component
    Method Input Arguments Returned Data
    loginAccount Business object containing userid and password String (login success or failure)
    selectAccount String accountName Void
    updateAccount Boolean performCredit, Integer amount Integer (balance after update)
    Our component has no interface, which is shown when it is selected in the assembly editor.

  2. Find an interface in another module that exactly fits your implementation or closely fits it. In our case, we found an interface that would fit with the component previously described. Specifically, we looked for an interface with operations and inputs and outputs that could closely match those of the methods in the Java implementation. The interface we found and slightly modified was as follows:

  3. Copy the interface to the module with the implementation with no interface. Select the interface in the navigation and from the pop-up menu, select Copy. Select the module with the implementation with no interface and from the pop-up menu select Paste. We copied our Account interface shown previously.
  4. Right-click your component in the assembly editor and select Add > Interface.

  5. In the Add Interface window, select the interface you added. In our case, it was Account. The interface is added to the component. Select the component and in the properties view the new interface has been added.


What to do next

You have been shown how to build an interface with a meet-in-the-middle approach. Also, consider the top-down and bottom-up approaches, as these methods can be a better choice depending on your particular circumstances.

Create interfaces