Creating a connector-specific property template
To create a configuration file for your connector, you
need a connector-specific property template as well as the system-supplied
standard properties.
You can create a brand-new template for the connector-specific
properties of your connector, or you can use an existing connector
definition as the template.
- To create a new template, see Creating a new template.
- To use an existing file, simply modify an existing template
and save it under the new name. You can find existing templates
in your \WebSphereAdapters\bin\Data\App directory.
Creating a new template
This section describes how you create properties in the
template, define general characteristics and values for those properties,
and specify any dependencies between the properties. Then you save
the template and use it as the base for creating a new connector
configuration file.
To create a template in Connector Configurator:
- Click File>New>Connector-Specific Property Template.
- The Connector-Specific Property Template dialog
box appears.
- Enter a name for the new template in the Name field
below Input a New Template Name. You will
see this name again when you open the dialog box for creating a
new configuration file from a template.
- To see the connector-specific property definitions in any template,
select that template's name in the Template Name display.
A list of the property definitions contained in that template appears
in the Template Preview display.
- You can use an existing template whose property definitions
are similar to those required by your connector as a starting point
for your template. If you do not see any template that displays
the connector-specific properties used by your connector, you will
need to create one.
- If you are planning to modify an existing template, select the
name of the template from the list in the Template Name table
below Select the Existing Template to Modify: Find Template.
- This table displays the names of all currently available templates.
You can also search for a template.
Specifying general characteristics
When you click Next to select a
template, the Properties - Connector-Specific Property Template dialog
box appears. The dialog box has tabs for General characteristics
of the defined properties and for Value restrictions. The General display
has the following fields:
- General:
Property Type
Property Subtype
Updated Method
Description
- Flags
Standard flags
- Custom Flag
Flag
The Property Subtype can be selected when Property Type is
a String. It is an optional value which provides syntax checking
when you save the configuration file. The default is a blank space,
and means that the property has not been subtyped.
After you have made selections for the general characteristics
of the property, click the Value tab.
Specifying values
The Value tab enables you to set
the maximum length, the maximum multiple values, a default value,
or a value range for the property. It also allows editable values.
To do so:
- Click the Value tab. The display panel
for Value replaces the display panel for General.
- Select the name of the property in the Edit properties display.
- In the fields for Max Length and Max Multiple Values,
enter your values.
To create a new property value:
- Select the property in the Edit properties list
and right-click on it.
- From the dialog box, select Add.
- Enter the name of the new property value and click OK. The
value appears in the Value panel on the right.
The Value panel displays a table with three
columns:
The Value column shows the value that you
entered in the Property Value dialog box,
and any previous values that you created.
The Default Value column allows you to
designate any of the values as the default.
The Value Range shows the range that you
entered in the Property Value dialog box.
After a value has been created and appears in the grid, it can
be edited from within the table display.
To make a change in an existing value in the table, select an
entire row by clicking on the row number. Then right-click in the Value field
and click Edit Value.
Setting dependencies
When you have made your changes to the General and Value tabs,
click Next. The Dependencies - Connector-Specific Property Template dialog
box appears.
A dependent property is a property that is included in the template
and used in the configuration file only if the
value of another property meets a specific condition. For example, PollQuantity appears in the template only if JMS is the transport mechanism
and DuplicateEventElimination is set to True.
To designate a property as dependent and to set the
condition upon which it depends, do this:
- In the Available Properties display, select
the property that will be made dependent.
- In the Select Property field, use the
drop-down menu to select the property that will hold the conditional
value.
- In the Condition Operator field, select
one of the following:
== (equal to)
!= (not equal to)
> (greater than)
< (less than)
>= (greater than or equal to)
<=(less than or equal to)
- In the Conditional Value field, enter
the value that is required in order for the dependent property to
be included in the template.
- With the dependent property highlighted in the Available Properties display, click
an arrow to move it to the Dependent Property display.
- Click Finish. Connector Configurator stores
the information you have entered as an XML document, under \data\app in the \bin directory where you have installed Connector Configurator.
Setting pathnames
Some general rules for setting pathnames are:
- The maximum length of a filename in Windows and UNIX is 255
characters.
- In Windows, the absolute pathname must follow the format [Drive:][Directory]\filename:
for example, C:\WebSphereAdapters\bin\Data\Std\StdConnProps.xml
In UNIX the first character should be /.
- Queue names may not have leading or embedded spaces.
