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 as a content viewer. The developer must be able to see the contents of the repository 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 but this is not recommended.

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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 Run the Repository Browser

• On NT Select Programs>iPlanet Application Server 6.0>UIF 6.0 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 sides. When you open the browser. the left side 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 side shows the properties of the node selected on the left side.

View Hierarchy

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

• the root node

• connector types

• data sources

Refresh Display of Repository Contents

Click Refresh to refresh the display of the Repository contents.

View 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 backend 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 lists the fields and the definitions of all the fields.

Table 2-1 Service Provider Configuration Object Field Definitions

Field	Definition
host	Host machine name of the target machine.
Password	PeopleSoft operator password.
port	Port that is used to connect to PeopleSoft.
User	PeopleSoft user name.
DatabaseUser	Used to log on for data mining.
DatabasePassword	Oracle password.
DatabaseService	N/A
DatabaseName	The name of the database to which the user will attach. This parameter can be restricted. This parameter is not changeable when connecting to the application server.
DatabaseType	The database type, such as Oracle. This parameter can be restricted.
WebUserId	ID for user mapping.
DatabaseHost	Name of Oracle host machine.
DatabasePort	Name of port of Oracle database.

The pool name identifies the pool from which the service provider will provide the connection. This field value must be *dynamicPooled, meaning that the service provider can provide connection from every existing pool. The service provider will provide a connection from the pool that is applicable to the web domain.

Every web user has a unique pool that is defined in the Entity mapping. See Entity Mapping".

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 shows the function object.

Figure 2-3    Function Object Type

Operations

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The PeopleSoft operations node has one operation: Execute.

The Execute node contain dataBlock and propertySets as shown in Figure 2-4.

Figure 2-4    Operations

dataBlock

The dataBlock 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 connected to the following fields:

• Name - field name

• Type - field UIF type

• Max Length - maximum value length

• Default - default value that the field contains

Other Field Attributes
Every connector has its own field types in addition to the nonstandard UIF types.

The PeopleSoft connector uses two field attributes for fields with decimals:

• Total_digits: total number of digits including fractional part

• Precision: number of digits in the fractional part

Figure 2-5    Field Attributes

These types are represented by the user-type.

Mapping PeopleSoft Data Types to UIF Data Types

The iPlanet Application Server Enterprise Connector for PeopleSoft 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 PeopleSoft and the equivalent type in UIF

Table 2-2 PeopleSoft User Types

Type in PeopleSoft	Type in UIF
Character	FString
Long Character	FString
Number	Integer, Double
Signed Number	Integer, Double
Date	FString
Time	FString
DateTime	FString

Property Set

The property set contains the properties of the operation.

The PeopleSoft property set contains the following fields:

• ACTIVITY

• MsgDefinition

• RecordName

• MAXRECORDS

• OperationType - This can have values of: 0 - Process Messages, 1 - Prompt Table, or 2 - Search Dialog.

MAXRECORDS is the maximum number of rows to return. If you specify MAXRECORDS as 0, the Message Agent will use the row limit for your system (300 by default).

The other four fields are used by the connector. 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 PeopleSoft Administrator's Guide for details on the Management Console.

Figure 2-6    Entity Mapping

The WebUserId represents the web domain and is mapped to the backend domain.