WebSphere Adapter for Siebel

Bidirectional transformation

Software applications may use different standards to process and display bidirectional scripts used by languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. WebSphere® Adapters transform bidirectional script data passed between systems so that it is accurately processed and displayed.

Languages such as Arabic and Hebrew are written from right to left, yet they may contain embedded segments of text that are written left to right, resulting in bidirectional script. When software applications handle bidirectional script, standards are used to display and process it. WebSphere Process server uses the Windows® standard format, but enterprise information systems exchanging data with WebSphere Process server might may use a different format. WebSphere Adapters transform bidirectional script data passed between the two systems so that it is accurately processed and displayed on both sides of a transaction.

Bidirectional property types

There are four types of bidirectional properties. Full descriptions of all bidirectional properties are provided in the “Reference” section of this user guide. The property types are described here as part of an overview of the processing logic the adapter uses to control bidirectional transformation.

Bidirectional properties can be set differently for each instance of an adapter.

The four types of properties are:

EIS
Controls the format for content data.
Metadata
Controls the format for content data.
Skip
Excludes bidirectional transformation. Can be set for either content data or metadata.
Special Format
Identifies certain text, such as file paths or URLs, that require different treatment during the transformation process. Can be set for either content data or metadata.

Adapter property categories

Adapters have three categories where the properties that control bidirectional transformation can be set.

  • Resource adapter properties store default configuration properties of the adapter. You configure these properties using the WebSphere Process Server administrative console.

    The TurnBiDiOff property is included in this category, and it acts as a master switch for bidirectional transformation done by the adapter. If this property is set as true none of the processing logic described in this topic is invoked

  • ManagedConnectionFactory (MCF) configuration properties are used at run time to create an outbound connection instance with an enterprise information system. Once the MCF properties are created, they are stored in the deployment descriptor.
  • ActivationSpecification properties hold the inbound event processing configuration information for a message endpoint. They can be set through either the enterprise service discovery wizard or the WebSphere Process Server administrative console.

The bidirectional processing logic used by the adapter is designed so that the property values set at design time can either be used as-is during deployment, or edited and used during deployment.

Business object annotations

Some adapters allow you to annotate bidirectional properties within a business object. Using the Business Object Editor, a tool within WebSphere Integration Developer, annotations may be added at these levels:

  • Business object
  • Business object application-specific attribute
  • Business object attribute
  • Business object attribute application-specific attribute

Property scope and lookup mechanism

After you set values for bidirectional properties for an adapter and annotate business objects where appropriate, the adapter performs bidirectional transformations. It does so by using logic that relies on a hierarchical inheritance of property settings, and a lookup mechanism.

Properties defined within the resource adapter category are at the top of the hierarchy, while those defined within other categories or annotated within a business object are at lower levels of the hierarchy. So for example, if you only set values for EIS-type bidirectional properties within the resource adapter category, those values are inherited and used by transformations that require a defined EIS-type bidirectional property whether they arise from an inbound (ActivationSpecification) transaction or an outbound (MCF) transaction.

However, if you set values for EIS-type bidirectional properties within both the resource adapter category and the ActivationSpecification category, a transformation arising from an inbound transaction uses the values set within the ActivationSpecification category.

The processing logic uses a lookup mechanism to search for bidirectional property values to use during a transformation. The lookup mechanism begins its search at the level where the transformation arises and searches upward through the hierarchy for defined values of the appropriate property type. It uses the first valid value it finds. It searches the hierarchy from child to parent only; siblings are not considered in the search.


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Last updated: Thu 12 Oct 2006 03:37:05

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