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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
