The connector, the runtime component of the adapter for TCP/IP, is designed as a general purpose conduit to route data transmitted directly over TCP/IP networks under well-known protocols, such as the HL7 protocol in the health care industry, into and out of the WebSphere Business Integration system. Inbound, or event, information is captured from the network message stream by the connector, transformed into a WBI business object, and published to the integration broker. Outbound, or service call request, information is received from the integration broker as a WBI business object, transformed into a network message stream, and sent back over the network. The nature of the WBI business object in this flow is completely dependent on the data handler, a data transformation plug-in that the connector calls based on settings in the connector configuration file. The data handler, and not the adapter itself, translates the messages to and from the appropriate WBI business object form.
But there are three other types of objects that facilitate data management and direct the flow of processing inside the connector itself:
The following sections describe these objects, their function in the connector's internal processing, and their structure.