Creating a message set

Before you start:

To complete this task, you must have completed the following task:

This task topic describes how to create a message set within your message set project.

You must create a message set before you can add any content to your message model.

Note: A message set project can only contain one message set.
Tip: It is possible to create your message set at the same time as you create the message set project to which it belongs. For further information see Creating a message set project.

To create a new message set:

  1. Switch to the Broker Application Development perspective.
  2. Open the New Message Set wizard and select the message set project to which you want to add the message set. To do this right-click anywhere in the Resource Navigator then click New > Message Set on the pop-up menu. Alternatively, from the workbench menu, click File > New > Message Set or click the Create a new message set icon on the toolbar at the top of the workbench window.

    In all cases, the New Message Set wizard opens with a list of message set projects that currently have no associated message set, from which you can select the message set project to which you want to add the message set.

    Tip: If you have already decided which message set project you are adding the message set to, select this project in the Resource Navigator before you open the New Message Set wizard. As long as the message set project does not already have an associated message set, this project is then preselected when the wizard appears. (If your chosen message set project already has a message set associated with it, a list of message set projects without a message set is displayed instead.)
  3. Type a name for your new message set in the Message Set Name field.
  4. Optional: If you want to enable namespace support now, select the Use namespaces check box. Namespaces provide a method of avoiding naming conflicts where different document definitions have elements of the same name. Selecting to use namespaces allows the use of namespaces when you are defining message model objects. For further information see Namespaces in the message model.
    Tip: If you enable namespace support at this point, you cannot then undo or remove this action at a later stage. However, you can add namespace support at a later stage if you do not add it now.
    Note: Using namespaces also affects how elements are created in the WebSphere Message Broker logical message tree. Each element in the message tree will have both a name and a namespace, so an ESQL or Java reference to one of these elements has to specify both name and namespace. Therefore using namespaces has an effect on the ESQL or Java you write.

    You should select this property if the message set will be used now or in the future to model XML messages. However, if the message set is to be used with message flows running on WebSphere Message Broker Version 2.1, or that originated on WebSphere Message Broker Version 2.1, you should not select this property, because such message flows will not be namespace aware.

  5. Optional: If you want to base your new message set on an existing message set, in the Base Message Set list, click the message set that you want to use. If you choose to use a base message set, your new message set is an exact copy of the base message set but has a new unique message set ID and the name you specify. The base message you use remains unchanged and available for editing.
  6. Optional: Click Finish. Your message set is created with the properties that you have just specified and the wizard closes.
  7. If you want to add any physical formats to the message set before you create it, click Next to move to the next page of the wizard. To add a physical format, select the appropriate check box then specify the name that you want to use for this physical format layer in the field to the right of the check box. You can either type a new name or accept the default name already shown for the selected physical format. The default names are as follows:
    • Custom Wire Format Name: the default name is CWF1.
    • XML Wire Format Name: the default name is XML1.
    • Tagged/Delimited Format: the default name is TDS1.
    The physical format or formats that you select are added to the message set when it is created.
  8. Click Finish.

Your message set is created and the new messageSet.mset file is automatically opened in the Message Set editor.

If you have chosen to add any physical format layers, these are also created with the name that you specified. They are displayed in the Properties Hierarchy in the Message Set editor.

A default package is created for objects that have not been qualified with a namespace.

Related concepts
The message model
Message sets overview
Namespaces in the message model
Related tasks
Working with a message set
Deleting a message set
Generating information from message sets
Related reference
Message set editor
Message set properties
Custom Wire Format message set properties
XML Wire Format message set properties
TDS Format message set properties
TDS Mnemonics