Proxy AssemblyLine workflow

In the context of Simulation Mode, the call to a proxy AL works similar to how you would use the AssemblyLine Connector to drive an AL of your choice, however some significant differences are observed.

The call to the override hook of the specific operation is disabled when the component is in Proxy simulation state.

The table below shows the methods that are called when the Connector is in one of those Modes or when the component is a Function component.

Table 1. Method invocation according to mode

Mode	Method
Connector: AddOnly	putEntry
Connector: Update	findEntry, modEntry, putEntry
Connector: Delete	findEntry, deleteEntry
Connector: Delta	findEntry, modEntry, putEntry, deleteEntry
Connector: Iterator	selectEntries, getNextEntry
Connector: CallReply	queryReply
Connector: Lookup	findEntry
Function component	perform

When the time for the calling of a specific method arrives and the component is in Proxy simulation state then the call to that method will be delegated to the proxy AL. When the proxy AL is started an op-entry is passed to it with the following attributes:

• $operation – this attribute contains the name of the operation to be executed. When the proxy AL is called instead of a component’s specific method then the value of this attribute will be the same as the name of the component.
• $method – this attribute contains the name of the method that would be normally called, but since the component is in Proxy simulation state and Components in some modes (for example, Update) execute several methods before actually do the modification (that is, findEntry) then the proxy AL must recognize which method to implement. This $method attribute just tells the proxy AL which method it is executed instead so the proxy AL can handle the operation properly.
• search – this attribute is available when the $method attribute is findEntry. Its value is an object of type SearchCriteria and represents the Search Criteria defined by the user. For example if the component is in Proxy simulation state and its mode is Update, then a Search Criteria must be defined in order to be able to update the right entry on the target system. Since the simulation state is Proxy, the actual lookup operation that takes place before the modify operation delegates its execution to the proxy AL. Then the proxy AL uses this Search Criteria for proper lookup simulation.
• current – this attribute is only available when the $method attribute is modEntry. Its value is an entry object that represents the entry found in the target system before the actual modification occurs. This is the entry that the findEntry method, executed before modEntry method, returns.

An Initial Work Entry (IWE) is passed to the proxy AL when it is called. When the $method is findEntry, selectEntry or getNextEntry the IWE is a copy of the work entry from the calling AL. In any other case the IWE is the entry retrieved from the OutputMap procedure (a.k.a. the conn entry). In particular, for the deleteEntry operation the IWE is the entry retrieved from the preceding findEntry operation.

After the proxy AL execution is done and the $method is findEntry, the result entry is checked for the attribute conn. If it is available then it is assumed that this attribute contains all the entries found from the findEntry operation and according to its value, the appropriate hooks will be called, that is, no_match and multiple_match. If no attribute with the name conn is found then the result entry of the proxy AL execution is treated as the entry found by the findEntry $method. The entry retrieved from the proxy AL that overrides the selectEntries $method is automatically merged with the work entry of the calling AL. The entry retrieved from the proxy AL that simulates those methods that expect an entry (that is, findEntry, getNextEntry, queryReply and perform) is sent to the defined InputMap. For all other methods that are not expected to return a result, the entry from the proxy AL is ignored.

Parent topic:

AssemblyLine Simulation Mode