About the Difference Between Integration Objects and Integration Object Instances

Understanding the difference between integration objects and integration object instances is important, especially in regard to the way they are discussed in this chapter.

An integration object, in the context of Siebel EAI, is metadata; that is, it is a generalized representation or model of a particular set of data. It is a schema of a particular entity.

An integration object instance is also referred to as a Siebel Message object.

An integration object instance is actual data organized in the format or structure of the integration object. The following table and figure illustrates a simple example of an integration object (Contact) and an integration object instance (Susan Grant), using partial data.

Integration Object	Integration Object Instance
Contact	Susan Grant
Contact_Business Address	100 Industrial Way, Pk Ave.
Contact_Position	President and CEO
Contact_Opportunity	Pentium Servers - Q3 00 - Commercial

Integration Object and Integration Object Instance: This image is described in the surrounding text.

Any discussion of integration objects in this book will include clarifying terms to help make the distinction, for example, metadata or Siebel instance.