Conventions and terminology used in this book

Typographic conventions

This document uses the following conventions:

bold

Indicates a selection on a screen.

blue text

Blue text, which is only visible when you view the manual online, indicates a cross-reference hyperlink. Click any blue text to jump to the object of the reference.

italics

Indicates a variable.

/

In this document, forwardslashes (/) are used as the convention for directory paths. For Windows installations, substitute backslashes (\) for forwardslashes. All WebSphere Business Integration Connect pathnames are relative to the directory where the product is installed on your system.

Terms

The following terms are unique to this product and document processing. Additional terms appear in this guide's Glossary.

Action: Also known as a business action. A message with content of a business nature such as a Purchase Order Request or a Request For Quote. The exchange of business actions and business signals comprise the message choreography necessary to complete a business activity specified by a given PIP.

Business action: see Action.

Business process: A predefined set of business transactions that represent the steps required to achieve a business objective.

Participant connection: A participant connection defines the connection between two specific community members' environments by which one unique process is executed according to the associated action.

Community Console: The Community Console is a Web based tool used to configure WebSphere Business Integration Connect and to manage the flow of your company's business documents to and from your Community Manager or participants.

Document: A collection of information adhering to an organizational convention. In this context, there are multiple documents in a process.

Document protocol: A set of rules and instructions (protocol) used to format and transmit information across a computer network. Examples include RosettaNet, XML, flat file, and EDI.

Community Manager: The company that purchased and distributed WebSphere Business Integration Connect to members in their hub community. The Community Manager has one administrative user, the Manager Admin, who is responsible for the health and maintenance of the Community Manager's portion of the community. Community Console features excluded from the Community Manager's view relate to system configuration.

Community Operator: The individuals responsible for the configuration and overall health and maintenance of the system, hub-wide.

Packages: Identify document packaging formats used to transmit documents over the internet. For example, RNIF, AS1, and AS2.

Community participant: The participant sends business transactions to and receives business transactions from the Community Manager. The participants can access features that support their role in the community.

RosettaNet PIP (Partner Interface Process): A model that depicts the activities, decisions, and Partner Role Interactions that fulfill a business transaction between two Partners in a given supply chain. (In WebSphere Business Integration Connect, Partners are called participants.) Each participant involved in the Partner Interface Process must fulfill the obligations specified in a PIP instance. If any one party fails to perform a service as specified in the PIP implementation guide, the business transaction is null and void.

Process: A process is a series of documents or messages executed between Community Managers and participants. Taken as a whole, the documents make up a complete business process.

Copyright IBM Corp. 2003, 2004