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 > FTP > Overview of IBM WebSphere Adapter for FTP > Technical overview > Outbound processing
Outbound data transformation
Data transformation during outbound communications refers to the process by which the adapter transforms business objects into an event record created in a native format, such as bytes or a string. The adapter uses adapter-specific data binding and data handlers to accomplish data transformation.
Data transformation permits external applications to send and receive data in a format that they can understand and process easily. The data bindings and data handlers that the adapter uses to create the event record from the corresponding attributes in a business object are configured through the external service wizard in IBM Integration Designer.
Data bindings
Data bindings are essentially maps that define how a business object must be formatted. Data bindings are responsible for reading the fields in a business object and filling the corresponding fields in an event record. The adapter uses the FTPFileBaseDataBinding data binding during outbound communication.
During outbound communications, the data binding uses the following fields in a business object, and populates their equivalent fields in an event record with their values:
- DirectoryPath
- Filename
- TemporaryFilename
- DataConnectionMode
- FileTransferType
- DataProtectionLevel
- SecondServerDirectory
- SecondServerUsername
- SecondServerPassword
- IncludeEndBODelimiter
- ResumeFailedTransfer
- FileInLocalDirectory
- LocalDirectoryPath
- LocalArchivingEnabledForCreate
- LocalArchiveDirForCreate
- StagingDirectory
- GenerateUniqueFile
- SplittingFunctionClassName
- SplitCriteria
- DeleteOnRetrieve
- ArchiveDirectoryForRetrieve
- FileContentEncoding
For data that does not require transformation, the adapter conducts pass-through processing because data passes through the system without being altered.
Data handlers
In addition to data bindings, data transformation requires the use of a data handler. Data handlers perform the conversions between a business object and a native format. From version 6.2 onwards, WebSphere Adapter for FTP provides the following data handlers:
- Delimited
- Fixed width
- XML