General Concepts

This chapter introduces some of the basic concepts in IBM Tivoli Directory Integrator, along with those elements of the architecture that allow you to build the solutions, their characteristics and behaviors.

• The AssemblyLine
  An AssemblyLine (AL) is a set of components strung together to move and transform data; it describes the "route" along which the data will pass. The data handled through that journey is represented as an Entry object. The AssemblyLine works with a single entry at a time on each cycle of the AssemblyLine. It is the unit of work in TDI and typically represents a flow of information from one or more data sources to one or more targets.

• Expressions
  

• The Entry object
  One of the cornerstones of understanding TDI is knowing how data is stored and transported within the system. This is done using an object called an entry. The entry object can be thought of as a "Java bucket" that can hold any number of Attributes: none, one or many.