IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Create processes in IBM Process Designer > Modeling processes > Building services

Building an Integration service

Build an integration service when you want a flow to interact with an external system.

For example, you may want users to choose from a list of products available from a common site on the internet. In that case, you can build an integration service that calls a web service to display the list of options. Integration services are the only services that can include Web Service Integration and Java Integration components as well as content integration. For more information about inbound and outbound integrations, see Integrating with web services, Java and databases.

Procedure

1. Create the integration service as described in Create a service

2. Add the variables that your integration service will use as input or output and also add private variables that the service will use. See Declaring variables for a BPD or a service for information.

3. In the diagram, add the appropriate components to the service and then connect the components to create the flow. For information about the components that you can add to the diagram, see Understanding service components. In particular, add one or more of the following components:

   • Web Service Integration component. For information about integrating web services, see Create outbound integrations to web services.
   • Java Integration component.
   • Nested service component by dragging an integration service or other service onto the diagram. This action attaches the service to the component.
   • Content Integration component. For information about this component and how to configure it, see Building a service that integrates with an Enterprise Content Management system.

   You can also use the Invoke UCA component for integration. For information, see Understanding and using undercover agents.

4. Configure the components in the flow. For the integration components listed in the previous step, configure them so that they interact with the external system. In particular, for the Web Service Integration, Java Integration, Content Integration, and nested service components, map the data used in the task flow to the input and output for the component:

   1. Click the Data Mapping option in the properties. Because you already created the input and output variables for the nested service, the Data Mapping tab includes these variables.

   2. From the Input Mapping section, you can map each variable using one of the following ways:

      • Use

        to suggest mappings. If the automatic mapper does not find a variable, you can create a private variable for the mapping.

      • Use

        and then select the appropriate variable.

   3. In the Output Mapping section, do similar mappings for the output variables.

Example

See the integration services included in the System Data (TWSYS) toolkit for implementation examples.

Building services

Related information:
Integrating with other systems
Examples of building services with Heritage Coaches
Building an {!} Integration service
Integrating with Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems