Understanding Connector Development and Implementation
This section discusses connector development and implementation.
You can produce new connectors in different ways, based on whether you want to create a listening connector or a target connector.
Listening connectors use standard connector interface and gateway services to link to the integration gateway. Although a Java interface object is not used for listening connectors, the listening connectors still must adhere to a standard scheme of logic to drive requests to, and to process responses from, the integration gateway.
Target connectors must implement a Java interface to become valid target connectors in the integration gateway. This ensures a standard interface for the gateway manager so that it can manage each target connector in a streamlined way.
To develop connectors, you:
Develop a connector class.
Install the connector class.
Register the connector.
While implementations vary greatly, when you develop connector classes, you should incorporate specific functionality.
Input and Output Formats That Are Exchanged Through Connectors
For a target connector to handle input and output formats that are exchanged with its intended recipient, it must transform the PeopleSoft Integration Broker request (IBRequest) into a message that is formatted for the intended external system.
For instance, the HTTP target connector that is delivered with PeopleSoft Integration Broker gathers HTTP headers and cookies from the IBRequest and formulates the appropriate HTTP message, complete with the actual message content, so that it can be delivered to its destination. When the response comes back, the connector creates a PeopleSoft Integration Broker response (IBResponse) by using the response string.
For a listening connector to handle input and output formats that are exchanged with its requestor, it must transform the incoming message into an IBRequest. For example, the HTTP listening connector that is delivered with PeopleSoft Integration Broker recognizes SOAP messages and retrieves query string arguments, HTTP headers, and cookies. It then formats all of this information to create the IBRequest so that PeopleSoft Integration Broker can converse with it. When the response comes back, the HTTP listening connector reads the IBResponse and sends its output message content back to the requesting system.
Interaction Between Local and External Systems
A target connector interacts with an external system by sending it information and by retrieving the response.
For example, to accomplish this interaction, the HTTP target connector that is delivered with PeopleSoft Integration Broker uses various HTTP-specific classes to send messages through HTTP and to handle the external system being down, security (through HTTPS), and so forth.
A listening connector interacts with an external system by receiving requests from the external system and returning responses that the external system understands. For example, to accomplish this interaction, the HTTP listening connector that is delivered with PeopleSoft Integration Broker uses a servlet to receive and reply to incoming HTTP messages.