Document Processing

Documents that are being exchanged among community participants often need to be transformed in a number of ways, so that the needs of all partners can be accommodated. The Business Processing Engine (BPE), the heart of the Document Manager component, is responsible for effecting these transformations. It does so by following a series of steps, grouped into three basic units: fixed inbound workflow, variable workflow, and fixed outbound workflow. User exits allow user defined processes to be plugged into each of these basic units.

Fixed inbound workflow

Fixed inbound workflow covers the standard processing done to all documents coming into the Document Manager from a receiver. It is fixed because the number and type of steps are always the same. Through user exits, however, users are able to provide customized handlers for the processing in the first two of these steps: protocol unpackaging and protocol processing.

All messages that come into WBI-C are packaged according the specification of a specific business protocol. For example, a RosettaNet document is packaged according to the RNIF specification. Protocol unpackaging involves unpackaging the message so that it may be further processed. This process may include decryption, decompression, signature verification, extraction of routing information, user authentication, and/or business document parts extraction. WBI-C provides handlers for RNIF, AS2, MIME, EAI, and NONE packaging. If handlers for other packaging types are necessary, they can be developed as user exits.

Protocol processing involves determining protocol specific information, which may include parsing the message to determine routing information (sender ID, destination ID), protocol information (business protocol and version, such as Rosettanet version V02.02), and Document Flow/Process information (such as 3A4 version V02.02.) WBI-C provides processing for XML, RosettaNet, and EDI. Processing for other protocols (for example, CSV) can be provided using a user exit plugin.

If user exits are used to set up new packaging types or new protocol types, new Packaging or new Protocol information must also be set up in the Console. See the Hub Configuration Guide for more information.

Variable workflow

The core transformation process in BPE takes place in Variable Workflow. Variable workflow consists of some number of steps, arranged in a sequence, which taken all together make up an action. Actions are specified in the Console as part of the process of creating Participant Connections. WBI-C ships with 11 predefined actions. User exits may be used to create new actions either by developing an entirely new set of steps, placed into a new sequence or by copying an existing action and modifying it either by substituting a user-defined step for a pre-existing one, or by inserting a user-defined stop into an existing sequence.

Note: Not all WBI-C delivered steps can be used in new, user-defined actions, as they may be used for internal WBI-C specific purposes. See WBI-C supplied actions and their status as templates for more information.

Actions consist of sequences of steps. User exit plugins can be used to create those steps. Typically steps may include the following types:

Note: These steps are typical examples only. Variable workflow is designed to implement business processing logic. The logic will dictate the actual steps required.

Once steps have been defined, the sequence in which they are to be executed must be specified in actions. For example, if the defined steps are Validation and Transformation, they could be sequenced into an action consisting only of validation, another of validation followed by transformation and a third of validation followed by transformation followed by validation of the transformed document. Sequences of steps are linked together as actions in the Console. See the Hub Configuration Guide for more information.

Fixed outbound

Once a document has been processed by the appropriate variable workflow, it must be packaged in preparation for transmission to its destination. WBI-C provides handlers for RNIF, Backend Integration, AS, and NONE packaging, and for cXML and SOAP protocols. Should other packaging handlers be required, they can be developed as user exit steps. Typically these steps will take care of one or more of the following processes:

Once the document is packaged, it is placed a storage queue where it remains until it is picked up by the Delivery Manager to be handed off to a sender.

Copyright IBM Corp. 2003, 2004