This section provides the following information about the process to develop an ODA:
An ODA is one of the possible components of a WebSphere Business Integration Server Express adapter. An adapter includes run-time components to support communication between InterChange Server Express and applications or technologies. One of these run-time components is the ODA, which creates the business object definitions for the connector to use at run time. The connector is the run-time component that handles communication between an application (or technology) and InterChange Server Express. The adapter also includes an adapter framework, which includes components for the configuration, run time, and development of custom adapters in cases where a prebuilt adapter for a particular legacy or specialized application is not currently available as part of the WebSphere Business Integration Server Express product.
For development of an ODA, the adapter framework includes the development support listed in Table 22.
In addition to the adapter framework, the Adapter Development Kit (ADK) is a toolkit that provides code samples of ODAs and connectors. For more information, see Adapter Development Kit.
The Adapter Development Kit (ADK) provides files and samples to assist in the development of an adapter. It provides samples for many of the adapter components, including an Object Discovery Agent (ODA), a connector, and a data handler. The ADK provides these samples in the DevelopmentKits subdirectory of the product directory.
Table 23 lists the samples that the ADK provides for the development of an ODA as well as the subdirectory of the DevelopmentKits directory in which they reside.
Adapter Development Kit component | Description | DevelopmentKits subdirectory |
---|---|---|
Object Discovery Agent Development Kit (ODK) | Provides ODA samples | Odk |
Twineball adapter sample | Provides a sample adapter, which includes an ODA | Twineball_sample |
As Table 23 shows, the Adapter Development Kit includes samples of Object Discovery Agents (ODAs). These samples reside in the following directory:
DevelopmentKits\Odk
For more information, see Development support for ODAs.
Table 24 shows the tool that the WebSphere Business Integration Server Express product provides to assist in the development of business object definitions.
Development tool | Description |
---|---|
Business Object Designer Express | Graphical tool that assists in the creation of business object definitions, either manually or through an ODA. |
For a brief introduction to business object definitions, see Business object definitions.
Table 25 shows the tools that the WebSphere Business Integration Server Express product provides to assist in the development of an ODA.
Development tool | Description |
---|---|
Business Object Designer Express | Graphical tool that assists in the creation of business object definitions, either manually or through an ODA. |
Object Discovery Agent Development Kit (ODK) |
Contains:
|
As Table 25 shows, the ODK provides for the ODA developer both the ODK API (which is the library of methods to use in the ODA) and sample ODAs, which reside in the following product subdirectory:
DevelopmentKits\Odk\Samples
The ODK includes the following sample ODAs
For a brief introduction to ODAs, see Using an Object Discovery Agent to create a business object definition. For instructions on how to run the sample Roman Army ODA, see Using the sample ODA.
This section provides an overview of the ODA development process, which includes the following high-level steps:
Before you start the development process, the following must be true:
For an ODA to run, it must be able to access the ODA library, CwODA.jar. Therefore, this ODA library must be installed. For more information, see your product installation information.
If your business integration system uses InterChange Server Express, the CwODA.jar file is installed as part of the InterChange Server Express software. Refer to your WebSphere Business Integration Server Express Installation Guide for information on how to install and start up the InterChange Server Express system.
For the required version of the JDK and how to install it, refer to your product installation information. Make sure to update the PATH environment variable to include the installed Java directory. Restart InterChange Server Express after you have updated the path.
ProductDir\lib
To compile the ODA, the compiler must be able to access this directory ODA. For information on how to compile an ODA, see Compiling the ODA.
To develop an ODA, you must take the steps listed in Table 27.
ODA development step | For more information | |
---|---|---|
1. |
Extend the ODA base class, ODKAgentBase2, to create your ODA class. |
Extending the ODA base class |
2. |
Implement the methods of the ODA class, which provide the means of starting the ODA. |
Starting the ODA |
3. |
Design and implement the ODA content:
|
Determining the ODA generated content |
4. |
Implement error and message handling for all ODA methods. Implement trace messages at the appropriate trace levels. |
Handling exceptions and Handling trace and error messages |
5. |
Create any classes needed to handle data-source interactions, such as:
|
IBM recommends that you modularize the Object Discovery Agent into component classes that handle its separate significant processes. Details depend on your data source. |
6. |
Build the ODA. |
Compiling the ODA |
7. |
Create a startup script for the new ODA. |
Starting up a new ODA |
8. |
Test and debug the ODA, recoding as necessary. |
Writing ODA code is only one part of the overall task for developing business objects. Before beginning to write the Object Discovery Agent code, you should clearly understand business object design issues, the application whose entities the business objects will represent, and the connector and data handler that will process the business objects. You should also be familiar with the steps users follow in Business Object Designer Express to create a business object definition using an Object Discovery Agent.