Working with Application Connectors

This topic introduces Application Connectors.

An Application Connector provides a SOAP interface to an application. Application Connectors act as translators that convert SOAP messages, which are XML messages in Process Platform, to appropriate application/service APIs. The Application Connectors also convert information received from the APIs to incoming SOAP messages. Thus, in Process Platform, an Application Connector is used to communicate with a back end. A connector is loaded in a Service Container.

A Service Container can connect to multiple applications or backends through multiple application connectors.

The generic life cylce of creating and deploying an Application Connector is mentioned below:

1. Creation: Process Platform provides a set of default Application Connectors that provide connectivity to various back ends. Apart from these, the developer can build his own custom connector to connect to any specific back end (that is not supported by the available connectors).

   Note:
   An application connector can be used in a development environment also, after it is defined or created.

2. Transit: Once an application connector is created or defined in a development environment, it is packaged into an ISV along with the other essential data, crucial for running applications on Process Platform. Such data can include BPMs, Method sets, XForms, Schemas etc.
   The completely built Application is dispatched and loaded in a deployment environment. Upon loading, the contents within it are transited and mapped to their respective system resources.
3. Deployment: All those connectors that are loaded along with the Application are listed during the Service Group creation. You can select the necessary connector to establish a connection between the Service Container and the back-end application.

Application connectors are placed at the following location
On CUSP > My Applications > XMLStore Explorer ( ) > Collection > Cordys > WCP > Application Connector

Types of connectors

Application connectors are broadly classified as the following types

• Built-in connectors - These refer to the in-house connectors that are available by default with in Process Platform. Example: XMLStore Connector, Monitor Connector, LDAP Connector.
• Customized connectors - These refer to the tailor-made connectors that are created and adapted as per the user requirement. These connectors are created and configured before they are deployed in runtime.