An XMS message
consists of a header, a set of properties, and a body.
- Header
- The header of a message contains fields, and all messages contain the
same set of header fields. XMS and
applications use the values of the header fields to identify and route messages.
For more information about header fields, see Header fields in an XMS message
- Set of properties
- The properties of a message specify additional information about the message.
Although all messages have the same set of header fields, every message can
have a different set of properties. For more information about the properties
of a message, see Properties of an XMS message.
- Body
- The body of a message contains application data. For more information
about the body of a message, see The body of an XMS message.
An application can select which messages it wants to receive.
It does this by using message selectors, which specify the selection criteria.
The criteria can be based on the values of certain header fields and the values
of any of the properties of a message. For more information about message
selectors, see Message selectors.