- New graphical development environment based on Eclipse
- The Message Brokers Toolkit for WebSphere
Studio is an integrated development
environment and graphical user interface based on the Eclipse platform. The Message
Brokers Toolkit consists of the Eclipse platform
and a set of Java plug-ins that enable the creation, maintenance, and deployment
of WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker message flows (including publish/subscribe applications) and
message models. See the Client environment topic,
and the Eclipse web site.
The
Message
Brokers Toolkit includes, among other things, the
following new features:
- You can control multiple broker domains using a single Message
Brokers Toolkit.
See Client environment.
- Developers and administrators have separate deployment models available
to them: Rapid application development (RAD) provides developers a quick way
to repeatedly test resources in a safe environment before they are used on
a production system. See Rapid application development (RAD).
- You can use Message
Brokers Toolkit with external
source repositories, for example with repositories that permit version control
of message flow and message set source data. See Development repository.
- Improved editors, such as Message Flow Mapping editor,
Message Set editor, and ESQL editor, make it easier for you to build
your solution. See Editors.
- The Mapping node allows you to create message transformations
using a drag-and-drop method, without the need to write ESQL code. See Mapping node.
- You can now reuse ESQL subroutines and functions. See Broker schema.
- The flow debugger allows you to add breakpoints to the connections
of a message flow, and step through ESQL code statement by statement. See Flow debugger.
- You can configure some message flow properties at deployment time rather
than at development time. See Broker archive file - configurable properties.
- Enhanced initial user experience
-
The pre-install LaunchPad is launched from the Windows
CD prior to installation. It guides you through the process of checking for,
and installing, any necessary prerequisite software before launching the product
installation. The installation is now implemented using InstallShield for
Multi-Platforms.
The Welcome page for the WebSphere
Studio application, which appears after you launch the Message Brokers Toolkit for WebSphere
Studio,
provides links to a number of basic tasks, enabling you to configure and exercise
a working system as quickly as possible. Supported tasks include:
- Web Services support
-
Several enhancements provide support for Web Services in WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker:
- Enhanced message modeling
- The following enhancements have been made to the message model:
- XSLT transformation enhancements
-
The XML Transformation node allows you to integrate existing XSLT
transformations into the broker environment. The style sheet used to define
the transformation can be specified as an attribute of the node instance,
or can be determined within the context of the flow and specified using a
defined area of the Local Environment. This capability is delivered through
repackaging and enhancement of the XALAN-based XSLT style sheet transformation
engine derived from the WebSphere Transcoding Publisher product.
For
more information, see XMLTransformation node.
- Extended database user ID and password support
-
External database access from Compute, Database and Warehouse nodes
has been extended so that you can associate a specific user ID and password
with a given ODBC DSN in the broker runtime. This user ID and password combination
is then used for all connections made by the broker to the particular DSN,
overriding the default use of the broker's user ID and password.
This
addresses a key requirement to be able to specify different user ID and password
combinations for different databases and to be able to set this on a broker-by-broker
basis. The mqsisetdbparms command is provided for setting
this information in the broker.
For more information, see Accessing databases from message flows.
- Message flow accounting and statistics
- You can now collect statistics on the behavior of message flows. For example,
you can collect data about how many messages are processed and how large those
messages are, or about CPU usage and elapsed processing times. For more information,
see Message flow accounting and statistics data, and the developerWorks article on message
flow performance.
- Publish/subscribe enhancements
- The following publish/subscribe changes have
been made:
- The set of protocols and distribution patterns supported by the broker
has been extended to provide reliable, real-time IP multicast distribution
of subscriptions over a Local Area Network. This is provided as an extension
to the existing JMS IP support in WebSphere Business Integration Event Broker.
For more information, see WebSphere MQ Multicast Transport and Multicast publish/subscribe, and WebSphere MQ Real-time Transport.
- Publish/subscribe capabilities have been consolidated
within WebSphere Business Integration Message
Brokers. This rationalizes
the product offerings and provides a clear upgrade path from WebSphere Business Integration Event Broker to WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker.
- SSL authentication, QoS, and HTTP tunneling
- The following Internet-related items have been added:
- New object level security model
- You can now control access to runtime resources by object as opposed to
by group. See Security for runtime resources.
- Increased platform support
- Supported operating environments now include Linux for Intel, Linux for zSeries, and Windows XP, giving you a wider
choice of platforms on which to deploy your solution. For more information,
see Supported operating environments.