This section provides an overview of map development, which includes the
following high-level tasks:
- Installing and setting up the map development software and installing the
Java Development Kit.
- Designing and implementing the map.
Requirements: Before you start the development process,
the following must be true:
- The map development software is installed on a machine that you can
access.
For information on how to install and start up the map development software
system, see your system installation guide.
- The IBM
Java Development Kit (JDK) is installed from the product CD.
Be sure to update the
PATH environment variable to include the installed Java
directory. Restart InterChange Server after you have updated the
path.
- System Manager is running.
For information on starting up System Manager, see your system installation
guide.
- Map Designer is open and connected to System Manager.
For information on how to start Map Designer, see Overview of Map Designer.
To design and implement maps you need to do the following:
- Learn the data formats used by all business objects involved in the
map.
- Create the map within Map Designer.
- Customize any required transformation rule.
- Define any relationships within Relationship Designer that the map
needs.
- Customize the mapping transformation to perform relationship
management.
- Implement error and message handling, if appropriate.
- Generate the .java file and compiled code. The
compiled code is an executable Java class. For more information, see "Map development files".
- Test and debug the map, recoding as necessary.
Figure 4 provides a visual overview of map development and provides a
quick reference to chapters where you can find information on specific
topics.
Tip: If a team of people is available for map development,
the major tasks of developing a map can be done in parallel by different
members of the development team.

Figure 5. Overview of the map development task
The following information forms the basis of the map:
- When you compile a map,
Map Designer generates two types of files (.java,
.class) or an optional message file (.txt) if
map-specified messages are defined in the map. These files are saved in
the project in System Manager.
- Map Designer generates a map definition when you save a map to the project
in System Manager. This map definition contains general information
about the map (such as map properties) as well as information about how the
destination attributes are mapped.
- Attention:
- Do not modify the mapname.java
file. If you do, your changes are not reflected in the map design,
which is stored in the project in System Manager. Therefore, these
changes are not editable in Map Designer. Map Designer reads only the
map definition.
Relationship Designer also stores relationship definitions in XML format in
System Manager. At deployment, System Manager creates table schemas in
the relationship database to contain the relationship run-time instance
data. For each relationship, you can specify the location of all its
relationship tables. The default location for these
tables is the IBM WebSphere Business Integration Server repository.
Table 5 lists the file types that Map Designer can generate
(.java, .class, .cwm,
.bo, .txt) and their locations relative to
the System Manager workplace.
Table 5. Map file types
File type
| Description
| Location relative to System Manager workspace
|
.java
| Generated Java code, created by Map Designer when you compile a
map.
| Stored in ProjectName\Maps\Src.
|
.class
| Compiled Java code, created by Map Designer when you compile a
map.
| Stored in ProjectName\Maps\Classes.
|
.cwm
| Map definition file, generated by Map Designer when you save a map
definition.
| Saved to ProjectName\Maps when "Saved" to System
Manager.
|
.bo
| Plain text file, used to save and load test run data and to save test run
results.
| You can save these files to any location.
|
.txt
|
Message file, created by Map Designer from information in the Messages tab
when it compiles the map.
| Stored in ProjectName\Maps\Messages.
|
