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 > Adapter Toolkit
IBM WebSphere Adapter Toolkit overview
WebSphere Adapter Toolkit contains everything you need to create a resource adapter. The adapters are metadata-driven components designed for bidirectional communication with external services on enterprise information systems, such as transaction or ERP systems, as well as bidirectional communication with an email or Flat File.
Developing application components or processes that interact with the enterprise information system through an adapter requires tools that allow you to discover the services available on enterprise information systems. When an enterprise information system does not include a metadata repository, the tool allows you to build the appropriate interactions with the enterprise information system using adapters. The enterprise metadata discovery specification implemented by WebSphere Adapters enables you to discover services from an existing metadata repository or build the appropriate interactions with an enterprise information system. The specification defines the interaction between adapters and tools and enables plugging adapters into a compatible tool implementation that supports the specification.
The enterprise metadata discovery-compliant tools are based on the Eclipse platform and include IBM Integration Designer and IBM Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software. These tools supports generation of SCA and Java™ EE programming model artifacts, and other artifacts for programming models and server run times. Enterprise metadata discovery provides plugability for artifact writers, which store the metadata and configuration information, to be compatible with the tools and run time requirements. The current enterprise metadata discovery implementation supports SCA artifacts, but other artifacts can also be generated by implementing a writer plug-in. Such implementations can choose to write the configuration information and metadata directly to their native repository, or create classes or configuration files that contain properties required during run time.
In the service discovery mode, you use the adapter to connect to the enterprise information system metadata repository and browse its contents. You can select objects or services required by the business application from the repository, specify properties for the objects and import them (as business objects) into the development environment.
The enterprise metadata discovery process defines an abstract representation of the imported services that allows the external service wizard to generate artifacts that are specific to the programming model and the supported server run time.
If you need to build a service (rather than discover a service), you can use the external service wizard to create services from existing artifacts in the context of the particular adapter to be used at run time.
You can select the existing data types to be exchanged and define the transformation to be performed on these data types.
The toolkit includes the following:
- An adapter development wizard and editor - Both are Eclipse plug-ins targeted for use with Integration Designer, version 7.5.1.1:
- The New Connector Project wizard - The wizard prompts you to specify information about the resource adapter you want to develop, and then generates code and a deployment descriptor.
The code generated by the wizard can include sequence of calls, log and trace messages, and comments.
- Resource Adapter Deployment Descriptor Editor - An Eclipse multi-page form editor that allows you to display and configure your deployment descriptor. As changes are made to configuration properties using the editor, the appropriate JavaBeans properties are added to your code.
- Adapter Foundation Classes - A common set of services for all WebSphere resource adapters.
- Samples - To assist you in creating custom WebSphere resource adapters.
- New Connector Project wizard overview
The wizard installed with the WebSphere Adapter Toolkit guides you through creation of a Connector Project, including the generation of code and a deployment descriptor for a custom JCA resource adapter.- Resource Adapter Deployment Descriptor Editor overview
This multi-page editor allows you to display, configure, and validate the resource adapter deployment descriptor generated by the wizard.- Adapter Foundation Classes overview
Adapter Foundation Classes installed with the WebSphere Adapter Toolkit provide the foundation services for a custom JCA resource adapter that can run on multiple server run times, including IBM BPM.