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 > Flat Files > Overview of WebSphere Adapter for Flat Files > Technical overview
Business objects
A business object is a logical data container that represents the data that is processed by the adapter. The data can represent either a business entity, such as an invoice or an employee record, or unstructured text, such as the body of an e-mail or a word-processing document. The adapter uses business objects to send data to or obtain data from the local file system.
How the adapter uses business objects
During outbound processing, the adapter:
- Receives a business object from the module that represents a request to perform an operation on a file in the local file system.
- If necessary, converts the business object into a format that can be understood by the local file system.
- Performs the requested operation.
- Returns a business object, if applicable, that represents the result of the operation to the module.
During inbound processing, the adapter:
- Retrieves a file from the event directory on the local file system.
- Constructs a business object out of the data, transforming the data, if necessary, into the required format.
- Sends the business object to the export
How business objects are created
You can create business objects by using either the external service wizard or the business object editor, both of which can be launched from IBM Integration Designer.
If you use the external service wizard, the wizard examines files in the file system and generates business objects to represent them. It also generates other artifacts needed by the adapter.
If you use the business object editor, you create business objects manually. After you create your business objects, you can use the business object editor to define the hierarchy of the business objects.
When you run the external service wizard, the WebSphere Adapter for Flat Files generates two types of business objects: content-specific and generic. The adapter generates these generic business object XSD files:
- FlatFile.xsd
- FlatFileBG.xsd
- UnstructuredContent.xsd
- FileContent.xsd
An example of a content-specific business object is Customer.
If you select Customer, these content-specific XSD files are generated, in addition to the generic XSD files:
- Customer.xsd
- CustomerWrapper.xsd
- CustomerWrapperBG.xsd
In this example, the business graph CustomerWrapperBG.xsd is generated. The generation of business graphs is optional.
During adapter configuration, you can optionally choose to generate a business graph. In version 6.0.2, each top-level business object is contained in a business graph, which includes a verb that an application can use in version 6.0.2 to specify additional information about the operation to be performed. In version 7.5.0.2 and later releases, business graphs are optional; they are required only when you are adding business objects to a module created with a version of IBM Integration Designer earlier than version 7.5.0.2.
If business graphs exist, they are processed, but the verb is ignored.
- Global elements
Global elements are the globally defined schema elements, which can be reused by referencing them in other parts of the schema or from other schema documents.
Technical overview of the WebSphere Adapter for Flat Files
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