IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Calling services
Imports
You can use an import to access functions that are not a part of the module that you are assembling.
Imports are used in an application in exactly the same way as local components. This consistency provides a uniform assembly model for all functions, regardless of their locations or implementations.
Imports have interfaces that are the same as, or a subset of, the interfaces of the remote service that they are associated with so that those remote services can be called. To share the interfaces between modules, put the interfaces into a library. Then, for both modules, add a dependency on the library to use its resources.
Imports and exports require binding information, which specifies the means of transporting the data from the modules. An import binding describes the specific way that an external service is bound to an import component. For an import that is generated from an export, the binding type of the import is automatically specified. Imports can use the following bindings: SCA, web service, HTTP, messaging (JMS, MQ JMS, generic JMS, MQ), stateless session Enterprise JavaBean (EJB), and EIS. Available function (or business logic) implemented in remote systems (such as web services, EIS functions, EJBs, or remote SCA components) is modeled as an imported service.
If you use the palette in the assembly editor to create the import, you must specify a binding type for the external service in order to test it.
Related tasks:
Create imports
Generate SCA bindings