The connector component of the IBM WebSphere Business Integration Adapter for PeopleSoft is meta-data-driven. Meta-data, in the WebSphere business integration system, is application-specific data that is stored in WebSphere business objects and that assists the connector in its interaction with the application. A meta-data-driven connector handles each business object that it supports based on meta-data encoded in the business object definition rather than on instructions hard coded in the connector.
Business object meta-data includes the structure of a business object, the settings of its attribute properties, and the content of its application-specific information. Because the connector is meta-data driven, it can handle new or modified business objects without requiring modifications to the connector code. The connector uses the business object definition and its application-specific information to locate and manipulate the data in a Component Interface.
The connector makes assumptions about the structure of its supported business objects, the relationships between parent and child business objects, the format of the application-specific information, and the Component Interface through which it interacts. Therefore, when you create or modify a business object that will be processed by the connector, your modifications must conform to the rules the connector is designed to follow. If they do not, the connector cannot process new or modified business objects correctly.
This chapter describes how the connector processes business objects and describes the assumptions the connector makes. You can use this information as suggestions for implementing new business objects or as a guide to modifying existing ones.
This chapter contains the following sections: