IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Calling services
Invoking a service from another module
Mediation modules and business integration modules have interfaces in their exports. You can invoke any type of module from any other type of module.
You can invoke any type of module from any other type of module. You can invoke one mediation module from another mediation module. Or, if you are running your application on the WebSphere Process server you can invoke a mediation module from a business integration module.
To integrate two modules, you use the Service Component Architecture (SCA) binding. You can generate SCA bindings automatically in the assembly editor. The kind of binding determines what kind of client is supported; an SCA binding makes it available to other SCA modules.
Bindings for imports and exports have different purposes. An import binding describes the specific way an external service is bound to an import component. An export binding describes how that export (or service) will be published or made available to clients outside the module.
To access a module from another module, you need an export and an import with the same interface, and with SCA binding. You also need to point the import to the module and export that it will access.
Procedure
To invoke a service from another module:
- In the module whose service you want to use, create an export, and add an interface.
- Right-click the export and select Generate Binding > SCA Binding. Save the export.
- In the module that will import the service from the module created in step 1, add an import, and give it the same interface as the export that you want to access.
Tip: An interface must be in a dependent library in order to be shared between modules.
- Right-click the import and select Generate Binding > SCA Binding.
- To add the service that you want to import, right-click the import and select Select Service to Import. Available services (exports) are listed for you. Select the export of the module that you want to invoke.
Example
Another way to invoke a service from another module is to create an export with an SCA binding and then save the export. Locate the export in the Business Integration view, and drag it to another module. An import with a matching SCA binding is created in the second module.