Component Type Concepts

A component type is a component that has been designed as an encapsulation of behavior for reuse by other components. A component type usually represents behavior that is specific to a particular type of application. For example, an Enterprise JavaBeans^TM (EJB^TM) component type might contain generic procedures that can be used to deploy and undeploy an EJB archive to and from an application server. When a component extends from a component type, it automatically inherits the behavior that is defined in that component type.

Components are usually associated with a component type. If you select untyped from the browser interface, your component will not extend from any other component type. The provisioning system includes some built-in component types. See Chapter 3, Built-in Component Types.

The files, directories, and other tree structures that are referred to by a simple component are managed as a discrete unit in a component.

For example, an IIS application, which the provisioning system would manage as referenced resources, might include the following:

• Directory and its contents

• IIS web site settings

• COM+ application

• Microsoft Windows registry settings

Some of the resources that are referenced by components, such as files and directories, can be copied from a gold server or another data source. Others, such as IIS web site settings or Microsoft Windows registry entries, must be extracted from a data source in a special way so that they can be treated as independent, manageable entities.

With its built-in component types, the provisioning system can recognize the most common source items that are used for Java^TM 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE platform) and Microsoft Windows applications. These component types can accurately extract data for use as a component resource, store the component resource in a repository, and correctly install the resources in the specified location.