Introduction
The App Connect Connector Development Kit (CDK) Developer's Guide is for developers who want to use the App Connect Studio (Studio) development platform to develop and deploy plug-in connectors that extract data from application systems or other data sources..
Connectors enhance the core functionality of Studio by exposing the API of an external application to the App Connect development platform. API's extend the scripting engine with new libraries and object types and publishes notification events from the external system to a App Connect physical or virtual integration appliance. App Connect appliances support connecting to endpoints of many types including FTP, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, Email (SMTP, POP), SAP, MQ, Web Services and many commercial database systems.
Each connector has an associated XML descriptor file that allows the connector to be used in Studio at design time. XML schema definition (XSD) files define the elements and attributes of the XML file.
The App Connect development platform features a CDK Connector Wizard that guides you through the development process. Studio provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that can dramatically shorten your development time.
This guide provides an overview of connectors, introduces the App Connect development platform components and supplies the step-by-step procedures you require to develop and deploy your own connectors.
Prerequisites
Much of the work involved in developing a connector takes place inside Studio, meaning that you should have a working knowledge of Studio and the App Connect products. You should also be familiar with the following languages and file formats:
- Extensible Markup Language (XML)
- Web Services Description Language (WSDL)
- Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT)