- New graphical development environment based on Eclipse
- The Message Brokers
Toolkit is an integrated development
environment and graphical user interface based on the Eclipse platform. The Message Brokers Toolkit consists of the Eclipse platform
and a set of Java plug-ins that enable the creation, maintenance, and deployment
of WebSphere Message Broker message flows (including publish/subscribe applications) and
message models. See the Client environment topic, and
the Eclipse web site.
The
Message Brokers Toolkit includes, among other things, the
following new features:
- You can control multiple broker domains using a single Message Brokers Toolkit.
See Client environment.
- You can use Message Brokers Toolkit with external
source repositories, for example with repositories that permit version control
of message flow and message set source data.
See Development repository.
- Improved editors, such as Message Flow Mapping editor,
Message Set editor, and ESQL editor, make it easier for you to build
your solution. See Editors in the Message Brokers Toolkit.
- The Mapping node allows you to create message transformations
using a drag-and-drop method, without the need to write ESQL code. See Mapping node.
- You can now reuse ESQL subroutines and functions. See Broker schemas.
- The flow debugger allows you to add breakpoints to the connections
of a message flow, and step through ESQL code
statement by statement. See Flow debugger.
- You can configure some message flow properties
at deployment time rather than at development time. See Configurable properties of a broker archive.
- Enhanced initial user experience
-
The pre-install LaunchPad is launched from the Windows
CD prior to installation. It guides you through the process of checking for,
and installing, any necessary prerequisite software before launching the product
installation. The installation is now implemented using InstallShield for
Multi-Platforms.
The Welcome page for the Message Brokers
Toolkit,
which appears after you launch the Message Brokers
Toolkit,
provides links to a number of basic tasks, enabling you to configure and exercise
a working system as quickly as possible. Supported tasks include:
- Web Services support
-
Several enhancements provide support for Web Services:
- Enhanced message modeling
- The following enhancements have been made to the message model:
- XSLT transformation enhancements
-
The XML Transformation node allows you to integrate existing XSLT
transformations into the broker environment. The style sheet used to define
the transformation can be specified as an attribute of the node instance,
or can be determined within the context of the flow and specified using a
defined area of the Local Environment. This capability is delivered through
repackaging and enhancement of the XALAN-based XSLT style sheet transformation
engine derived from the WebSphere Transcoding Publisher product.
For
more information, see XMLTransformation node.
- Extended database user ID and password support
-
External database access from Compute, Database and Warehouse nodes
has been extended so that you can associate a specific user ID and password
with a given ODBC DSN in the broker run time. This user ID and password combination
is then used for all connections made by the broker to the particular DSN,
overriding the default use of the broker's user ID and password.
This
addresses a key requirement to be able to specify different user ID and password
combinations for different databases and to be able to set this on a broker-by-broker
basis. The mqsisetdbparms command is provided for setting
this information in the broker.
For more information, see Accessing databases from message flows.
- Message
flow accounting
and statistics
- You can now collect statistics on the behavior of message flows.
For example, you can collect data about how many messages are processed and
how large those messages are, or about CPU usage and elapsed processing times.
For more information, see Message flow accounting and statistics data, and the developerWorks article on message
flow performance.
- Publish/subscribe enhancements
- The following publish/subscribe changes have
been made:
- The set of protocols and distribution patterns supported by the broker
has been extended to provide reliable, real-time IP multicast distribution
of subscriptions over a Local Area Network. This is provided as an extension
to the existing JMS IP support in WebSphere
Event Broker.
For more information, see WebSphere MQ Multicast Transport and Multicast publish/subscribe,
and WebSphere MQ Real-time Transport.
- Publish/subscribe capabilities have been consolidated
within WebSphere
Message Brokers. This rationalizes
the product offerings and provides a clear upgrade path from WebSphere
Event Broker to WebSphere Message
Broker.
- SSL authentication, QoS, and HTTP tunneling
- The following Internet-related items have been added:
- New object level security model
- You can now control access to runtime resources by object as opposed to
by group. See Authorization to access runtime resources.
- Increased platform support
- Supported operating environments now include Linux (x86 platform), Linux (zSeries
platform), and Windows XP, giving you a wider
choice of platforms on which to deploy your solution. For more information,
see Operating system requirements.