New in this release

WebSphere® Multichannel Bank Transformation Toolkit version 6.1.1 helps to build transactional applications for retail banking delivery channels, including branch, Internet, intranet, call center, standalone kiosk, automated teller machines (ATMs), and mobile access terminal solutions.

For the internet banking channel, WebSphere Multichannel Bank Transformation Toolkit version 6.1.1 enhances the new Web 2.0 channel. This Web 2.0 channel provides a way for Web 2.0 clients to interact with the business logic on the server side. It also supports popular Web 2.0 technologies, such as Dojo, Asynchronous JavaScript™, and XML (AJAX). The Web 2.0 channel is consisted of XML Request Handler, XML Formatter, JSON Formatter, Session Management, and XML-based widgets container.

For branch channels, WebSphere Multichannel Bank Transformation Toolkit version 6.1.1 enhances extensive rich client support through a new set of rich client components which contain an XML based UI engine and editor, XML based UI flow, and an expanded embedded browser for Rich Client Platform (RCP) development. These rich client components expedite the construction of client banking transaction panels.

WebSphere Multichannel Bank Transformation Toolkit version 6.1.1 also introduces a new set of bank teller components. They are application enabler components specifically tailored for the use in bank teller applications. This release supports the following components:

On the tool side, WebSphere Multichannel Bank Transformation Toolkit version 6.1.1 provides an application wizard which helps clients to create and change a multi-tier enterprise application for teller banking, internet banking, and multichannel banking.

This version of the Bank Transformation Toolkit has the following new and enhanced features:

Enhanced rich client capabilities

BTT Rich Client support and desktop integration capability extends the Eclipse Rich Client Platform, which is used by banking customers to rapidly build teller or desktop systems. It provides the following add-on features:
  • Activity framework to specify operations
  • Automatically generated navigation tree
  • XML based perspective layout management support
  • Application integration support (Swing, SWT, ActiveX, Web based applications)
  • Property broker service to transfer data for different applications
  • Global context for data sharing
  • SWT widgets theme customization
  • Very flexible architecture that is easy to extend
  • Minimum coding effort required during development
  • Lots of prebuilt client plug-ins and development tools to faster customer teller application development.
  • The prebuilt Business components that are ready to use.
BTT Rich Client also provides the extension of Lotus® Expeditor, see the following features:
  • BTT Client Components support running on IBM® Lotus® Expeditor.
  • BTT has wrapped Expeditor property broker to be a BTT Service in order to integrate with Expeditor seamlessly
  • If customers have offline, Single Sign-On, role based application management scenarios, it's strongly recommended to use Expeditor as part of final solution

Enhanced Web 2.0 capabilities

BTT version 6.1.1 provides support for Web 2.0 as one of the BTT channels. You can implement presentation tier using Web 2.0 technologies and build server-side applications using the BTT framework.

The Web 2.0 Channel uses multichannel support to send and receive XML and JSON formatted messages. In addition, Web 2.0 provides the request handler and presentation handler required for multichannel support.

BTT version 6.1.1 provides more features about Web2.0 than the previous version. Such as the Personalized Mashup Services Platform, with which users can define interested banking services in their own internet banking home pages or involve the third-party Services Mashup and menus, and the Web2.0 Transaction Flow which provides the screen navigation control and widget event or data sharing. Users can use the entire BTT Web2.0 package to take control and make applications most useful. And BTT version 6.1.1 separates the user interface (UI) from services, which makes services reusable.

Enhanced Tools Support

BTT version 6.1.1 provides the following new development, runtime and support tools:

Business components

Business components are especially tailored for bank teller applications. Business components in version 6.1.1 include the following:
  • Cash Drawer Management, which simulates the cash drawers in a retail bank. This helps teller or supervisor to track the total amounts, counts, and cash values in the whole branch. The main functions of this component are creation, maintenance, assignment, and deletion of the cash drawer and its components
  • Foreign Exchange, which is responsible for exchanging one type of currency for another. The default implementation of the Foreign Exchange is a design and implementation template, which you can refer to and implement according to your actual business requirements
  • Counter, which keeps track of numeric values
  • Electronic Journal , which is used to record the transaction information. Electronic Journal Viewer, which is used to query Electronic Journal records and present the results through GUI.
  • Override, which manage all the override procedure for you. In the teller system, the teller needs the supervisor's approval or authorization to perform the important transaction for the security reason. This procedure is called override.
  • Access Control, which is a Role-Based Access Control system.
  • Remote, which is designed for the communication between the Java™ client and the BTT server environment.
  • Message, which is a component that can deliver messages between BTT Server and its client.

More business components will be introduced in future releases.

Inversion of Control Container

The Inversion of Control design pattern is a widely accepted design pattern. In BTT version 6.1.1, the Externalizer component is reconstructed as BTT ElementFactory. The BTT ElementFactory is loosely coupled with other BTT components, and can fully support the design pattern of Inversion of Control. BTT ElementFactory is widely used in BTT version 6.1.1, and you can use it directly in your own components.

BTT ElementFactory supports the following features:
  • Different ways to instantiate Object: default constructor, constructor, static factory, instance factory, and factory element
  • Different ways to inject dependency: setter method, constructor parameters, and self-defined method
  • Macro definitions
  • Lazy initialization
  • Lifecycle management
  • Factory extensions: ElementProcessor, FactoryElement, and Lifecycle processor

Formatter

BTT version 6.1.1 introduces a new set of formatters. Although the formatting algorithm is similar to what is in previous versions of BTT, the BTT version 6.1.1 formatters have extended abilities. The new formatters are loosely coupled with BTT DataElement and Context and support the following functions:
  • Translating BTT DataElement and Context to and from binary messages, XML and JSON
  • Translating Java value object to and from binary message, XML, and JSON
  • Translating java.util.HashMap to and from binary message, XML, and JSON.

Invoker

Invoker is an XML-based invocation framework. It removes the technical barriers inherent in technologies such as J2EE, JMS, EJB, DII and WebService.

BTT Invoker supports the following technical invocations in both synchronized and asynchronized modes:
  • POJO
  • EJB
  • Web Service Proxy
  • Web Service Dynamic Invocation Interface (DII)
  • JMS

SOA integration

For backend integration, BTT enables channel applications to support Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). BTT interfaces with WebSphere Process Server (which contains WebSphere ESB) for business process automation and enterprise application integration. WebSphere Message Broker and WebSphere Business Services Fabric can be added depending on SOA requirements.

The toolkit supports Web Services JSR 109 standard and Web service invocation from the toolkit's business layer. This can be useful when a complex transaction supports backend Web services. Alternatively, BTT business logic can be treated as a service and reused by other application systems.