IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Access external services with adapters > Configure and using adapters > IBM WebSphere Adapters > Email > Overview of WebSphere Adapter for Email > Technical overview of the WebSphere Adapter for Email > Inbound processing
Inbound data transformation
During inbound communication, the adapter transforms multipart MIME email messages into business objects.
Data bindings
While the adapter uses an adapter-specific data binding and data handlers for inbound data transformation, this actual transformation is external to the adapter and provided by IBM BPM or WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus. The data bindings and data handlers that the adapter uses to read the contents of an email and fill the corresponding attributes in a business object are configured using the external service wizard in IBM Integration Designer.
To take fields from an email and populate a business object, the adapter needs a data binding. Data bindings are maps that define how a business object is to be formatted. Data bindings are responsible for reading the fields in an email and populating the corresponding fields in a business object.
During inbound communication, the data binding takes the following fields from an email and populates the parent email business object attributes with their values:
- Headers
- Mail content
- Attachment
For data that does not require transformation, the adapter conducts a pass-through processing, where data such as attachments pass through the system without being altered.
To transform data in the form of emails coming into the adapter, the adapter uses one of the three data bindings. The following table lists these data bindings and their usage. A more detailed description of each data binding is provided in the sections that follow the table.
Inbound data bindings Data binding Usage Email wrapper data binding Default data binding Email fixed structure data binding Used with the user-defined type business objects Email data binding Used with the version 6.0.2 business objects
Email wrapper data binding
The email wrapper data binding is the default data binding for both the Generic email and Generic email with Business Graph data types in the external service wizard. This data binding corresponds to the email business object structure.
Email fixed structure data binding
The email fixed structure data binding is the default data binding for the user-defined data type in the external service wizard. This data binding corresponds to a specific business object structure defined by a user. With this data binding, the order of the attachments is significant. The attachments must be in the same order as the attributes in the business object. This data binding retains the order.
Email data binding
This data binding is used exclusively for compatibility with business objects created in version 6.0.2 or earlier. This data binding supports the five-level business object structure used in version 6.0.2 of the adapter.
Data handlers
In addition to the data bindings, data transformation requires the use of a data handler. Data handlers change data from one format to another. Data handlers perform the conversions between a particular MIME format and a business object. Data handlers are provided by IBM BPM or WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus.
For data that does not need to be transformed, such as some attachments, the adapter can be configured to conduct a pass-through processing. During pass-through processing, data passes directly from the email to the business object without being altered.