Chapter 2   Viewing the Repository Contents


The Repository Browser is designed to provide the developer with a convenient tool that can be used to view the contents of the repository.

This chapter describes the following topics:

• Overview of the Repository Browser

• Viewing the Repository

• The Service Provider Object

• Function Objects

• Operations

• Entity Mapping

Overview of the Repository Browser

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The main function of the Repository Browser is to view the repository contents. The developer must be able to see the contents of the repository in order to be able to program an application. Variable values in the repository can not be changed using the browser. XML files can be imported and exported using the browser.

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Caution

The Repository Browser should not be used for editing even though import, export, and delete actions on repository nodes are enabled. Only advanced administrators should use these functions.

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To Launch the Repository Browser on NT

• Select Programs>iPlanet Application Server 6.0>UIF 6.0 Repository Browser.

To Launch the Repository Browser on Solaris

• Run the following script:

  <ias directory>/APPS/bin/bspbrowser.sh

  The Repository Browser is shown in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1    Repository Browser

Viewing the Repository

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The Repository Browser is divided into two panes. When you open the browser, the left pane displays nodes containing the adapter (connector) types and dataSources. These nodes are hierarchical and can be expanded to show details of the data structure and function objects. The right pane shows the properties of the node selected on the left side.

Viewing the Hierarchy

You can expand and collapse your view of the repository. Initially, the hierarchy displays the following:

• the root node

• connector types

• data sources

To Refresh the Display of the Repository Contents

• Click Refresh to refresh the display of the Repository contents.

Viewing Data Objects

The Repository Browser allows you to view data object templates, data object types, and data object image nodes in different ways. The node specifies the view that is currently displayed.

Details are included for the following objects:

• The Service Provider Object

• Function Objects

• Operations

The Service Provider Object

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The Service Provider Object is the logical representation of a connection to a back-end system. Usually, the Service Provider Object is not bound to a physical connection until it is absolutely necessary. The Service Provider Object is below the service provider template, as shown in Figure 2-2.

Figure 2-2    Service Provider Configuration Object

Table 2-1 Service Provider Configuration Object Field Definitions 

Field	Definition
Client	R/3 Client Number
Password	Password
Language	Language, for example type EN if you want English
UserName	R/3 User Name
GatewayHost	Gateway Host name
GatewayService	Gateway Service name
HostName	R/3 Application Server Host Name
Destination	Not for user use (must be null)
GroupName	Name of the specific group of application servers. For load-balancing only.
MsgServer	Host name of the message server. For load-balancing connection only.
SystemName	R/3 system name. For load-balancing connection only.
SystemNo	System number
load_balancing	Connect with: 1 - load, 0 connect without load balancing.
maxTime	Not used
sapTrace	Set R/3 trace level, 1 - trace, 0 - without trace.

Table 2-1 lists the Service Provider fields and their definitions.

Function Objects

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A function object is a group of related operations that share a common state and is located under the function object template. Function object definitions represent business methods available for execution on the specific enterprise server. These are derived from metadata mined from the enterprise server.

A function object needs to be set up and associated with a service provider before it can be executed. Figure 2-3 displays the function object.

Figure 2-3    Function Object Type

Operations

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The R/3 operations node contains one type of operation: Execute.

The operations node contain data blocks and property sets as shown in Figure 2-4.

Figure 2-4    Operations

Data Block

The data block node contains two structures: input and output. The input and output structures contain fields that can be one of the following types: primitive, structure, or array.

Field Attributes

The attributes describe characteristics of fields. Figure 2-5 displays the field attributes.

The attributes are:

• Name - field name

• Type - field UIF type

• Max Length - maximum value length

• Default - default value that the field contains

• Others - user_type

Other Field Attributes
Every connector has its own field types in addition to the standard UIF types. Refer to Mapping R/3 Data Types to UIF Data Types for more information.

Figure 2-5    Field Attributes

Mapping R/3 Data Types to UIF Data Types

The iPlanet Application Server Enterprise Connector for R/3 uses the field attribute user_type to map the nonstandard UIF types.

These types are represented by the user type. In runtime the UIF type is mapped to the back-end type. Table 2-2 lists the user type, the type in R/3 and the equivalent type in UIF.

Table 2-2 R/3 User Types 

User Types	Type in R/3	Type in UIF
1	Date	FString
2	Packed	FString/Double
3	Time	FString
4	Not Used
5	Not Used
6	Fixed Number	FString
7	Double	Double
8	Int: 4-byte integer	Integer
9	Int2: 2-byte integer	Integer
10	Int1: 1-byte integer	Integer

Property Set

The property set contains the properties of the operation.

The R/3 property set contains one field: RFCName. It is used internally by the R/3 connector. RFCName is the name of the BAPI method that you want to activate. The value of this method matches the function object name. See Figure 2-5.

Entity Mapping

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User mapping information consists of definitions of user mapping tables from the web domain to back-end domain for a specific back-end system. The contents of the user mapping tables are managed via the connector management console. See Figure 2-6 for details of the Entity Mapping. Refer to the iPlanet Application Server Enterprise Connector for R/3 Administrator's Guide for details on the Management Console.

Figure 2-6    Entity Mapping

The web user ID represents the web domain and is mapped to the back-end domain.