Working with components in integration component libraries

The majority of your time is spent working with integration components when you implement a WebSphere Business Integration Express for Item Sync integration system.

This topic describes the different ways you can launch each of the designer tools. You can use the designer tools to create new components or to open and modify existing components.

Note:
If you attempt to launch one of the designer tools and experience an error about a class not being found, you must launch System Manager and then try to launch the designer tool again. System Manager does not have to remain running after the tool is initially launched, however.

Business Object Designer Express

To launch Business Object Designer Express, do one of the following:

Connector Configurator Express

To launch Connector Configurator Express, do one of the following:

Map Designer Express

To launch Map Designer Express, do one of the following:

For more information on Map Designer Express, see the Map Development Guide.

Relationship Designer Express

To launch Relationship Designer Express, do one of the following:

For more information on Relationship Designer Express, see the Map Development Guide.

For the following components, launching their respective designer tools as described allows you to create a new component of that type:

Modifying existing components

To modify business objects, connectors, maps, and relationships, you can do the following:

Importing components into a library from a server

You can import integration components into a library from an InterChange Server repository. This is most helpful when you join a development team and have to update your individual development environment with existing components.

You can import components from the libraries of other developers, but if they have not been maintaining their components well then you may want to use only components of known quality. Server environments are typically maintained well and can generally be trusted more than individual development environments.

Do the following to import components into an integration component library from an InterChange Server Express repository:

Note:
To import components into a library from an InterChange Server Express instance, the server must be running. If System Manager is not connected to the server when you start the "Import components" wizard then no components will be displayed for importing.
  1. Connect System Manager to InterChange Server Express as described in Connecting to InterChange Server Express.
  2. In the System Manager view, right-click the library into which you want to import components, select Import components from server from the context menu, and then do one of the following to start the "Import components" wizard:
  3. Enable checkboxes next to the servers, component groups, or individual components that you want to import from the server.
  4. Enable the Deep checkbox if you also want to import the dependencies of the component. For more information about dependencies, see Dependencies and references.
  5. Enable the Overwrite the existing components without warning checkbox if you want to overwrite any components you currently have in the library that have the same name as those you selected to import from the server.

    If you did not select any maps or collaboration templates then proceed to step 7.

    If you selected any maps or collaboration templates to import then either proceed to step 7 to complete the wizard or proceed to step 6 to advance to the next screen of the wizard.

    Figure 10 shows the first screen of the "Import components" wizard:

    Figure 10. Importing components from the server


  6. At the second screen of the "Import components" wizard, enable the Maps and Collaboration Templates checkboxes to have System Manager convert any maps or collaboration templates among the components you selected to the 4.2.0 format.

    If you used repos_copy to deploy components from a release prior to 4.2.0 to a release 4.2.0 server repository then the maps and collaboration templates stored there are not upgraded. You can only upgrade these components to the 4.2.0 format using System Manager or the Map Designer Express and Process Designer Express tools.

    At the second screen of the "Import components" wizard you can leave the Maps and Collaboration Templates checkboxes enabled to have them converted at this time, or you can disable the checkboxes to defer the conversion until later, when you can do so in the designer tools. You may want to defer the conversion because it can be a time-consuming process, particularly with a large number of those types of components.

    Figure 11 shows the second screen of the "Import components" wizard:

    Figure 11. Converting maps and collaboration templates when importing from the server


  7. Click Finish.

Importing components into a library from a package

As described in Exporting components to a package using System Manager, you can export integration components to a .jar file package. This makes it easy to migrate components between environments, share them with other developers, and submit them to technical support. do the following to import components into a library from a package:

Important:
If there are components with the same name as those in the package you are importing, System Manager overwrites the existing components without a warning.
  1. Right-click an integration component library and choose Import Repository File from the context menu.
  2. At the "Import Repository File" screen, either type the full path and name of the .jar package file that you want to import in the InterChange Server Express repository file field or click Browse to select the file.
  3. Select the integration component library into which the components should be imported from the Integration component library name drop-down menu.

    Figure 12 shows the "Import Repository File" wizard.

    Figure 12. Importing a package


  4. Click Finish.
Note:
Do not use the File > Import menu item in the workbench to import a package file. Although the "Zip File" wizard works with archives with the .jar extension, and InterChange Server package files have a .jar extension, the "Zip File" wizard does not work properly with package files.

Modifying component properties

Maps and collaboration objects have properties that you can modify to change the behavior of those components. To modify the properties of a component, right-click either the component in an integration component library or a shortcut to it in a user project and select Properties from the context menu. System Manager displays a dialog to configure the properties of the component.

For more information about map properties, see the Map Development Guide.

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