Defining meta-data

The adapter for eMatrix is meta-data-driven. In the WebSphere business integration system, meta-data is defined as application-specific information that describes its data structures. The meta-data is used to construct business object and relationship definitions that the connector uses at run time to build business objects.

A meta-data-driven adapter handles each business object that it supports according to the meta-data encoded in the business object definition. This enables the adapter to handle new or modified business object definitions without requiring modifications to the code. You can make changes to the business object definitions by editing them in Business Object Designer.

Application-specific meta-data may represent business object types, relationships, their properties, or attributes. Actual data values for each business object are conveyed at run time. The data values are encapsulated in the business objects that are passed between adapter and broker.

The adapter makes assumptions about the structure of its supported business objects, the relationships between parent and child business objects, and the format of the data. Therefore, it is important that the structure of the business object exactly match the structure defined for the corresponding object within eMatrix or the adapter will not be able to process business objects correctly.

Note:
If you need to make changes to the business object structure, IBM recommends that you make them to the corresponding object in eMatrix, using the ODA. Refer to "Generating business object definitions" for details.

For more information on modifying business object definitions, see WebSphere Business Integration Adapters Business Object Development Guide.

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