Introduction to Application Integration

 

The application integration component of WebLogic Integration provides a standards-based integration solution for connecting applications both within and between enterprises. Application integration provides a means to form a complete integration solution by defining communication endpoints. The communication endpoints may be defined in a process flow using WebLogic Integration Studio or implemented using custom code.

This section provides information on the following subject:

• Application Integration

 

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Application Integration

Application integration is one of the primary components of BEA WebLogic Integration. In turn, application integration is comprised of the following components:

• The Integration Framework

• The Adapter Development Kit (ADK)

• Included EIS adapters

• The application integration plug-in for WebLogic Integration Studio

You can use application integration to achieve integration among all of your enterprise information systems (EIS). Typical IT organizations are comprised of several highly-specialized applications. Without a common integration platform to facilitate application-level integration, integration of these applications requires extensive, highly specialized development efforts.

Application integration makes use of adapters to establish an enterprise-wide, united framework for integrating any current or future application. Adapters greatly simplify your integration efforts because they allow you to integrate each application to the application server instead of integrating each application to every other application.

Application integration allows you to use these adpaters to define business-focused interfaces to an EIS called application views. Application views provide a simple, self-describing, consistent interface to services and events in the application. Application views make use of the adapter for an EIS. Unlike adapters, an application view does not require its users to have intimate knowledge of the EIS or its client interface. This allows non-programmers, such as technical analysts, to use application views. These same users may be incapable of using the adapter directly due to lack of familiarity with the EIS.

The following sections give a brief overview of each of the components of application integration. For details on the components and implementation, see Developing Adapters and Using Application Integration.