Importing Java packages and other custom code

Process Designer provides a way to import Java packages and other custom code as described in the following sections.

Importing Jar libraries as activity function blocks

Besides using the standard function blocks that Activity Editor provides, Process Designer allows you to import your own Java library for use as function blocks in the Activity Editor. Importing custom Jar libraries into activity settings will enable any public methods in the Jar library to be used as function blocks in the Activity Editor.

Steps for importing Jar libraries as activity function blocks

Before you begin: Export your Java classes into a .jar file.

To import a Jar library into Activity Editor:

  1. Open the Activity Settings view in System Manager by clicking Window > Show View > Other and selecting Activity Settings from the System Manager category.
  2. Right-click BuildBlock Libraries and select Add Library. Figure 60 shows the Activity Settings view for adding a custom Jar library.
    The figure shows the Activity Settings screen with the Add Library option highlighted.

    Figure 60. Activity Settings view

  3. In the Open File dialog box, navigate to your custom .jar files and select Open.

    System Manager will try to import your custom .jar file for use as function blocks in Activity Editor. If the file is imported properly, the name of your custom .jar file will appear under BuildBlock Libraries in the Activity Settings view.

    Tip:
    After importing your custom .jar files into Activity Settings, when your maps and collaboration template compile in the System Manager, the custom .jar file will automatically be included into the compile CLASSPATH. To prepare the InterChange Server for compilation, make sure that its CLASSPATH includes your custom.jar file. For information on setting up InterChange Server for importing your custom .jar files, see Importing third-party classes to InterChange Server.
  4. Restart the Process Designer.
    Rule:
    After you change any settings in the Activity Settings view, you must restart the Process Designer for the change to take effect in the Activity Editor.
Result:
When you open the Activity Editor, the custom Jar library will be listed in the Library window under My Library in Activity Editor. By default, available custom function blocks are listed according to their package structure. You can use them in an activity the same way as you use standard function blocks.

Customizing display settings of custom Jar libraries

You can customize the display settings of function blocks imported into the Activity Editor, such as its name and icon, by changing the custom Jar library's properties. To change the Jar library's properties:

For the Java package and classes, you can customize the display name of the entry and whether Activity Editor should display this Java package/class in the My Library tree structure by changing the check box "Hide level in tree display." If this option is enabled, Activity Editor will not display this entry in the My Library subtree. This option is usually useful when the Java methods in your custom Jar library are in a Java class that is in a package many levels deep. Enabling this option better organizes your My Library subtree in Activity Editor.

Figure 61 shows the dialog for customizing the Jar library display.

Figure 61. Properties dialog for customizing Jar library display

For those Java methods used as function blocks in the Activity Editor, you can specify the function block display name, description, icon, and parameter's display name in the Properties window. When you import an icon for the function block, the icon that you select will be copied into the Activity Settings folder and will be available for other function blocks in the same package to use.

Recommendation:
When importing an icon for your function block to use, the icon should be 32 pixels by 32 pixels in size and should be in .bmp format. The color depth of the icon can be up to 24-bit.

Figure 62 shows the Properties dialog for customizing the Jar library function block display.

Figure 62. Properties dialog for customizing Jar library function block display

Rule: After changing any settings in the Activity Settings view, you must restart Process Designer for the change to take effect in the Activity Editor.

Importing third-party classes to InterChange Server

If the imported classes are in a third-party package rather than in the JDK, to set up the server compile, you must add them to the path of the imported classes in the JCLASSES variable.

Recommendation:
Use some mechanism to differentiate those classes in JCLASSES that are standard from those that are custom.

Example: You can create a new variable to hold only those custom classes and append this new variable to JCLASSES, by doing the following:

  1. Create a new property, such as one called DEPENDENCIES.
  2. Place the CwMacroUtils.jar in its own directory.

    Example: Create a dependencies directory below the product directory and place the jar file in it.

  3. Add the dependencies directory to the file used to start InterChange Server (by default, start_server.bat or CWSharedEnv.sh), which is located in the bin directory below the product directory. For example, add the following entry for UNIX:
    set DEPENDENCIES=$ProductDir/
    dependencies/CwMacroUtils.jar
    

    Add the following entry for Windows:

    set DEPENDENCIES="%ProductDirS%"\dependencies\
    CwMacroUtils.jar
    
  4. Add DEPENDENCIES to the JCLASSES entry:

    For UNIX, add:

    set JCLASSES=$JCLASSES:ExistingJarFiles:
    $DEPENDENCIES
    

    For Windows, add:

    set JCLASSES=ExistingJarFiles
    ;%DEPENDENCIES%
    
  5. In each map that uses the classes, include the PackageName.ClassName specified in the CwMacroUtils.jar file.
  6. Restart InterChange Server to make the methods available to the maps.

Note:
Be sure you have modified the Compiler Classpath preference for compiling the maps and collaboration templates from System Manager. To modify the Compiler Classpath preference:
  1. In System Manager, select Window > Preferences to open the Preference dialog.
  2. Expand System Manager Preferences, and select Compiler.
  3. In the Compiler preference page, click New and select the .jar file to be included in the compile CLASSPATH for maps and collaboration templates.
Guidelines:
When importing a custom class, you may get an error message indicating that the software could not find the custom class. If this occurs:

Example: When importing a custom class, you might create a folder called %ProductDir%\lib\com\<ProductDir>\package, where package is the name of your package. Then, place your custom class file under the folder you just created. Finally, in the CLASSPATH variable in the start_server.bat file, include the path %ProductDir%\lib.

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