Defining metadata

The adapter for Ariba Buyer is metadata-driven. In the WebSphere business integration system, metadata is defined as application-specific information exported by Ariba Buyer that describes its data structures. The metadata is used to construct business object definitions which the connector uses at run time to build business objects.

A metadata-driven adapter handles each business object that it supports according to the metadata encoded in the business object definition. This enables the adapter to handle new or modified business object definitions without requiring modifications to the code. Any changes are made through the Object Discovery Agent in Business Object Designer.

Application-specific metadata includes the structure of the business object and the settings of its attribute properties. Actual data values for each business object are conveyed in message objects at run time.

The adapter makes assumptions about the structure of its supported business objects, the relationships between parent and child business objects, and the format of the data. Therefore, it is important that the structure of the business object exactly match the structure defined for the corresponding object within Ariba Buyer or the adapter will not be able to process business objects correctly.

Note:
The structure of the business object should never be modified using Business Object Designer.

If you need to make changes to the business object structure, make them to the corresponding object in Ariba Buyer and then export the changes to the file system repository for input into the ODA. Refer to "Generating business object definitions" for details.

For more information on modifying business object definitions, see WebSphere Business Integration Adapters Business Object Development Guide.

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