Before using an ODA

Before you run an ODA, verify that the following steps have occurred:

System startup files

For the ODA to start, you need to verify that your system has the required files for the ODA. When you install a pre-defined adapter that has an ODA, these ODA system startup files should be installed automatically. If you are developing a custom adapter with a custom ODA, these ODA system startup files should be created as part of the ODA development process. However, IBM recommends that you confirm that the startup script exists and is correct for your ODA:

Each ODA requires a startup script, which begins execution of the ODA. Before you start an ODA for the first time, you must make sure that the variables are correctly set within the startup script. Open for editing the shell (start_ODAname.sh) or batch (start_ODAname.bat) file and confirm that the values described in Table 10 are correct.

Table 10. ODA shell and batch file configuration variables

Variable Explanation Example
set AGENTNAME Name of the ODA set AGENTNAME=ODAname
set AGENT Name of the ODA's jar file

UNIX: set AGENT = ${ProductDir}/ODA/srcDataName/ODAname.jar

WINDOWS: set AGENT = %ProductDir%\ODA\srcDataName\ODAname.jar

set AGENTCLASS Name of the ODA's Java class set AGENTCLASS=com.ibm.oda.srcDataName.ODAname

For information on the ODA name (ODAname) and its source-data name (srcDataName), see Naming the ODA.

Starting the ODA

You can start an ODA with the startup script appropriate for your operating system.

UNIX
start_srcDataNameODA.sh
 
Windows
start_srcDataNameODA.bat
 

You configure and run the ODA using the Business Object Wizard in Business Object Designer. Business Object Wizard locates each ODA by the name specified in the AGENTNAME variable of each script or batch file.

Note:
For information on how to start multiple instances of the ODA, see Using multiple ODAs simultaneously.

Starting Business Object Designer

Once you start the ODA, you must open Business Object Designer to configure and run it. For information on the ways to open Business Object Designer, see Starting Business Object Designer. To run an ODA, Business Object Designer provides Business Object Wizard, which guides you through each step.

To start Business Object Wizard, do the following:

  1. Open Business Object Designer using one of the methods listed in Table 9.
  2. Click File -> New Using ODA.

Business Object Wizard begins displays the first dialog box in the wizard, Select Agent. Table 11 summarizes the steps of Business Object Wizard.

Table 11. Steps of Business Object Wizard

Task Step in Business Object Wizard
1. Select the desired ODA Step 1: Select Agent
2. Obtain the configuration properties, including those that describe the data source to open. Step 2: Configure Agent
3. Obtain the source data for which the ODA generates the content. Step 3: Select Source
4. Confirm that the selected source nodes are those desired for content generation. Step 4: Confirm Source Nodes
5. Initiate the content-generation process. Step 5: Generating Business Objects


Business Object Properties
6. Save the business object definitions in a user-specified format. Step 6: Save Business Objects

For an example of how Business Object Wizard runs an ODA, see Using the sample ODA.

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