what's new in websphere integration developer version 7

What's new in WebSphere Integration DeveloperVersion 7Skill Level: Introductory

Marc Fasbinder ([email protected].)Consulting I/T SpecialistIBM

07 Apr 2010

This article describes improvements in WebSphere® Integration Developer V7 thatinclude the installation and getting started process, the Patterns Explorer, thedifferent editors, the help system, and other new features and functions.

Introduction

IBM® WebSphere Integration Developer (hereafter called Integration Developer) is apowerful and flexible development environment for WebSphere Process Server,WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), and WebSphere Adapters Version 7.0.This article shows the new features and functions updated in Version 7.0, releasedDecember 11th, 2009.

Installation

The installation process for WebSphere Integration Developer has been improvedand simplified. You now have more control over what is installed to optimize thememory footprint. The installation process now supports the installation of theWebSphere Business Monitor Toolkit, WebSphere Business Monitor testenvironment, Lotus® Forms Designer, and Lotus Forms Server.

The first component installed is the IBM Installation Manager. WebSphereIntegration Developer tooling is installed next, followed by the integrated testenvironment. A guided multi-step process is used to install Integration Developer,WebSphere Application Server, and then creates a profile for the WebSphere test

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environment. You can create a WebSphere ESB, WebSphere Process Server orWebSphere Business Monitor server profile, or a combination. Figure 1 shows theoptions on the installation screen.

Figure 1. Installation options

Getting started

When first starting Integration Developer in a new workspace, the updated gettingstarted screen is displayed, as shown in Figure 2. A new option is provided forWebSphere ESB developers, which constrains the artifacts that can be deployed tothe test server. Along with samples, tutorials and other resources, a new feature inVersion 7 is the concept of task flows.

Figure 2. Getting started screen

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A developer can use a task flow to follow along through the high level process ofwhich tasks to perform to accomplish a goal. For example, a user who has neverbuilt a WS-BPEL process can benefit from understanding the major steps required tobuild the process, from setup to build, then to assembly and deployment, as shownin Figure 3. Simple instructions are supplied for the user to guide them through thetasks.

Figure 3. Task flow

Previous versions of Integration Developer included a library of patterns, which arebuilt-in reusable templates for complex scenarios to help developers rapidly buildtheir solutions. Version 7 adds additional patterns to the library, as shown in Figure4. When you select one of the patterns, information about the pattern specification isdisplayed. A link is provided if you want to use that pattern. Alternatively, you canright-click a pattern and select Create New Instance.

Figure 4. Patterns Explorer

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Editor updates

The editors in Integration Developer have been improved for ease of use. Newfeatures and functions have been added to support the new features in WebSphereProcess Server and WebSphere ESB V7.

Business Object editor

The Business Object editor has been updated with several new features andfunctions. The Configuration section has clickable links to refactor the name ornamespace of the business object, as shown in Figure 5. Two new buttons areprovided to show the business object in the outline view and to show the Propertiestab for the business object.

Figure 5. Business Object editor




These new features are common across the other editors. A new feature enablesyou to visually compare business objects in two different modules or libraries,detecting items that were added, removed, or changed. To compare two businessitems:

1. Select both business items in the project view.

2. Right-click one of the items. Select Compare With – Each Other, asshown in Figure 6.Figure 6. Compare business items




The results of the comparison are displayed, as shown in Figure 7. A set of buttonson the upper right enables you to select next difference, previous difference, nextchange, and previous change. The history view opens to show revisions to thebusiness object and to enable you to group revisions by date.

Figure 7. Compare view




A new feature enables you to copy the impact of refactoring to the clipboard. XSDfiles can now be exported. You can also merge dependent WSDL or XSD resourcesinto the parent file.

Interface editor

Along with the new refactoring functionality, a link is provided to change the bindingstyle for the interface, as shown in Figure 8. The default binding style is “DocumentLiteral Wrapped”. You can change the style to “Document Literal Non-Wrapped” ifyou will be using attachments. Imported WSDLs can use the Remote Procedure Call(RPC) style and Unknown style. These two styles are tolerated if imported, butcannot be generated in the Interface editor.

Figure 8. Interface editor

Assembly Diagram editor

The Assembly Diagram editor has been updated to support the functionality inWebSphere Process Server V7, as well as other new functions for ease of use. Thepalette has been updated with folders for outbound imports and inbound exports tohelp distinguish when to use import or export. Rather than adding a generic importthen adding a binding, you can now drag and drop an import from the folder,preconfigured for each supported protocol, as shown in Figure 9. You can use a




Favorites folder to store the components so that you do not have to drill down to findthe ones you use most often.

Figure 9. Outbound imports folder

Previous versions of Integration Developer introduced the concept of showing atable with all qualifiers for an assembly diagram. Version 7 adds a new capability tofilter the qualifiers, as shown in Figure 10. A new transaction qualifier “Localapplication” has been added. You can use this new qualifier to control transactionboundaries.

Figure 10. Filtering qualifiers




Integration solution editor

Previous versions of Integration Developer introduced the concept of an integrationsolution, where you can visualize all components and modules. Version 7 enhancesthis capability by enabling you to visualize transaction boundaries, even if they crossmodules. In addition, a new option enables you to deploy or remove an integrationsolution to and from the test server.

XPath editor

The XPath expression builder now has content assist available in the text area. It iseasier to access it from the BPEL, XML Map, and MFC editors by clicking a button.As you enter text, it is immediately validated. To make it easier to build expressions,you can drill down to find elements, or define an alias for frequently usedexpressions so that you only have to type the alias, rather than the entireexpression. Aliases can be shared, but only if they are placed in a library. As Figure11 shows, you can now enter filters when selecting a field. Links are provided toshow examples when adding a filter or an optional condition.

Figure 11. XPath expression builder




To create an alias, right-click a library project, then select New – BusinessVocabulary. You can then create business items, which contain aliases. You canalso create messages and error messages for use in WebSphere BusinessCompass.

Mapping

Previous versions of Integration Developer had an XML Mapper and a BusinessObject Mapper. Version 7 unifies these two tools into a single wizard. When youselect New – Maps – Data Map, the wizard appears as shown in Figure 12. XMLmaps are now available in BPEL processes.

Figure 12. Mapping wizard




Mapping now supports casting to a derived type. When you right-click on a complextype, there is a new option for Cast, as shown in Figure 13. You can also now use aMove in a map with different source and target types.

Figure 13. Casting a data type




The Mapping editor now supports cut and paste for transforms. When reusing atransform across multiple maps or in a submap, you can save time by using cut andpaste. You can now refactor local maps into submaps, and vice versa.

Conditional logic is now supported in maps. If, Else if, and Else are all supported, asshown in Figure 14.

Figure 14. Conditional map logic




The choices of built-it functions have expanded. Functions are sorted intocategories. When you fly over an option, the selection tool displays its description,as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15. Built-in functions

In previous versions, a relationship lookup function was provided. Version 7 providesthree new lookups:

• Look up a key and return a specific value

• Comma-Separated Value (CSV) properties file

• Custom function engine

BPEL Process editor

In previous versions of Integration Developer, the Details tab for a process containeda large number of settings, some of which required scrolling to the bottom of thepage. To improve the user experience, Version 7 divides up these settings betweenthe Details tab and a new Default tab, as shown in Figure 16.




Figure 16. Details and Defaults tabs

A new feature to “Create a Link To/From Here” enables you to select the targetactivity, even if it falls off the page. This is particularly useful for large processes.Figure 17 shows how you can select the activity from a list, rather than having todraw it manually.

Figure 17. Creating a link




In previous versions of Integration Developer, to associate a variable with a task,you needed to select a task, go to the Details tab, click the input or output, thenselect which one to use. Version 7 simplifies this by enabling drag and drop ofvariables, as shown in Figure 18. You can now drag a variable and drop it onto aReceive, Invoke, Human Task, or Reply. ForEach activities support drag and drop ofarray variables. Throw activities support drag and drop of fault variables.Collaboration Scopes support drag and drop of caseFolder variables.

Figure 18. Drag and drop a variable




To use this feature for Invoke:

1. Drag and drop a Reference Partner onto the process, or add an Invokeand associate it with a Reference Partner.

2. Drag and drop a variable of a type matching the interface onto the Invoke.If the input and output are of the same type, the first drag and dropoperation sets the input.

3. Drag and drop another variable of a type matching the interface onto theInvoke. The output is set.

Variables can now be initialized, in accordance with the WS-BPEL 2.0 specification.As Figure 19 shows, the Details tab of the properties for a variable has a checkboxset to a default value.

Figure 19. Initialize a variable

In cases where a Lotus Form has been provided to start a process, a new optionfrom the Projects menu enables you to generate a new process from a form, asshown in Figure 20.

Figure 20. Generate a process from a form




A new feature simplifies the creation of a new process version:

1. Right-click a module and select New Process Version.

2. Enter a name for the new module or accept the default, then click Next.

3. Processes are versioned based on the validFrom date. For the processversion, you can select Now, or specify a date/time, then click Next.

4. Select the processes to include, then click Finish.

A new module is created, ready for you to update the process.

Human Task editor

The human task editor in Integration Developer has been updated to support thenew capabilities for human tasks in WebSphere Process Server V7. Figure 21shows how you can set up an aggregation of data for parallel ownership scenarios.See the article What's new in WebSphere Process Server Version 7 for the runtimedetails of this new feature.

Figure 21. Parallel ownership and aggregation



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Mediation editor

When creating a mediation component, a new option enables you to select if youwant to optimize the mediation for team development, as shown in Figure 22.

Figure 22. New mediation




When the Mediation editor first opens, it displays a new overview area. Tips areshown by default to guide you, as shown in Figure 23.

Figure 23. Mediation overview

When you follow the tip and click the operation, you are presented with a choice oftemplates to use. The blank mediation flow option creates an empty flow with inputnodes, as previous versions of Integration Developer did. The other options give youa jump-start in your development by automatically adding and wiring activities into




the mediation flow.

Figure 24. Mediation flow template

When selecting one of the flow templates, you are prompted for further information.For example, when using the operation map template, you are prompted for thetarget operation you want to map to. When the mediation flow editor opens, not onlydoes it show you tips, it also pre-builds a ToDo list. This list shows tasks that youneed to do to complete the flow, as shown in Figure 25.

Figure 25. New flow with ToDo list




As you begin to build out your mediation flow, you are presented with guidance. Ifwiring two primitives with incompatible message types, you are presented with amessage as shown in Figure 26.

Figure 26. Wiring incompatible message types

You can now right-click a terminal on a mediation primitive and select a new optionto "Change Message Type", as shown in Figure 27.

Figure 27. Change Message Type




A new feature called “quick outline” helps you when working with a large mediationflow, where you cannot fit all of the primitives on the screen. Type Ctrl-O any time to




pop-up the quick outline, as shown in Figure 28. When you select a primitive, it isselected and the editor brings it into focus.

Figure 28. Quick outline

When you fly over a primitive, an information icon appears. Click the icon to showthe information for that primitive. You can change the interface and view the ServiceMessage Object (SMO) details. You can right-click a field to copy an XPathexpression to the clipboard, as shown in Figure 29.

Figure 29. Copy XPath expression




There are several other new features of the Mediation editor:

• Primitives now support weak typing, where any data type can be used.When setting the type for a terminal, select Any Message Type to enablethis feature.

• You can select several primitives, then select a menu option to movethem into a subflow.

• New primitives include MessageValidator, SLACheck, Trace,UDDIEndpointLookup, and GatewayEndpointLookup.

• The Lotus Domino and Siebel adapters are now supported.

Other enhancements

Import

The Import wizard for WSDL and XSD now supports local and remote WSDLs andXSDs. As Figure 30 shows, you can select the remote option if the WSDL isavailable from a URL.

Figure 30. Import WSDL




When importing a WSDL, which includes the definition of data types, a new optionenables you to keep the WSDL or to extract out XSDs to separate files.

Help and support

Across all of the editors, it is easier now to find the help and support you need. Theproblem view has been enhanced to include help for errors. The red X error icon isdecorated with a question mark to show that help is available for a particular error.As shown in Figure 31, clicking the error icon presents a new option "Go to", whichopens the relevant help.

Figure 31. Help in the Problem view




The Help menu now has an option for Support, as shown in Figure 32. You caneasily navigate to user forums, developerWorks®, IBM technical support, and otheronline information resources.

Figure 32. Support menu

Migration enhancements

When migrating from WebSphere Interchange Server, there have been severalimprovements to reduce the required effort:

• The generated BPEL is simpler now, making it easier to maintain andimproving performance. Logic is refined in the generation for multiple pathscenarios.

• Separate BPEL is generated according to WebSphere Interchange Serverscenarios.




• The number of generated artifacts and interfaces is reduced.

• Projects are merged together if a connector only connects with a singlecollaboration.

Conclusion

In this article, you learned about the new features in WebSphere IntegrationDeveloper V7. These include:

• Enhancements to the installation and getting started process.

• The Patterns Explorer.

• Enhancements to the different editors.

• Enhancements to the help system and migration.

• Other new features and functions.




Resources

Learn

• WebSphere Integration Developer V7 Information Center

• What's new in WebSphere Process Server Version 7

• developerWorks WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere IntegrationDeveloper resource page

Discuss

• WebSphere Integration Developer discussion forum

About the author

Marc FasbinderMarc Fasbinder is an I/T Specialist at IBM with the WebSphere Technical Salesteam in Southfield, Michigan.



http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/dmndhelp/v7r0mx/topic/com.ibm.wbit.help.mainwelcome.doc/topics/welcome.html

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/library/techarticles/1002_fasbinder1/1002_fasbinder1.html

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/zones/businessintegration/wps/wps.html

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/zones/businessintegration/wps/wps.html

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=821


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