Mediations are specified as a simple sequential list of mediation handlers. The mediation handler list is assembled and deployed into a Enterprise Applications Archive and installed into WebSphere® Application Server, where it is ready to perform some specific message processing at a destination. A mediation handler is the Java class that processes the messages in some way.
The mediation handler class implements the Java interface com.ibm.websphere.sib.mediation.handler.MediationHandler. The mediations assembler (or developer) assembles the mediation handler class into a file called an Enterprise Applications Archive (EAR). It is then deployed in a mediation handler list using one of two tools; the WebSphere Application Assembly Toolkit or Rational® Applications Development.
In most cases, you will assign only one mediation handler to a mediation handler list. The tooling used to deploy the mediation handler into an EAR provides a basic configuration option for automatically adding the mediation handler to its own mediation handler list.
The behavior of a mediation handler can be controlled by setting properties at various stages of mediation development. You can set these properties when you write the Java class, assemble and deploy the mediation handler, or at runtime when the mediation is created and installed.