New inbound message support

In addition to the supported XML and WebSphere Commerce messages, you can add support for new inbound messages. There are two primary methods for adding new inbound messages.

The recommended method is to add a new inbound XML message through the use of the user_template.xml inbound message template definition file. In this file, you can indicate the controller command the new inbound message invokes, define the elements of the message, and indicate the command parameters to which each element corresponds. When the message is received, the XML message mapper identifies the command to be run and the parameters to be used. The command is then invoked using the Site Administrator authority. For security reasons, you must ensure that only authorized persons can access and modify the user_template.xml message template definition file, otherwise unauthorized users would have the ability to write a new inbound message and invoke any WebSphere Commerce command as Site Administrator.

If you do not want to use the inbound XML message template definition files together with the XML message mapper, you can also implement the NewInboundMessage command to add new messages. This command is invoked when the message mapper does not recognize the message as an existing legacy message, or as an XML message defined in the inbound XML message template definition files. Since the NewInboundMessage command is not pre-programmed, you have full control over the processing that takes place once it is invoked. However, this method requires considerable programming effort, particularly where there are a large number of new messages.