Function Components (FC) are, besides of Connectors and Parsers, another type of building block that make up the IBM TDI. Function Components are similar in scope to a Connector, with the difference that the latter are datasource specific whereas a Function Component is not. Rather, it is an AssemblyLine Component that facilitates wrapping of custom logic and external methods, and presents a user friendly "connector-like" user interface in the Configuration Editor (CE).
Also, a Function Component is modeless; that is, in order to configure a Function Component in your AssemblyLine we don't have to specify in which mode it is supposed to operate. It will do its work in the perform() method whenever it is called by the AssemblyLine.
Many of the components described below provide the means to build a complete (both client-side and server-side) web service solution in the modular TDI web service architecture.
The Function Components provided with the IBM TDI 7.1 are: