A metadata discovery and import model for Java EE resource adapters and Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) tooling frameworks. It allows resource adapters to plug into an integration framework easily and improve the adapters' usability within the framework. Any resource adapter that complies with the specification can plug into any EAI tooling framework that supports the specification.

Enterprise Metadata Discovery: Simplify the development of J2EE J2CA applications

SOA is the architecture of choice for inter-application communication, and easy interoperability with existing IT assets is a must. This specification addresses a key roadblock in ensuring connectivity to existing systems via adapters. Adapter partners and other ISVs are invited to work with us in delivering a strong specification and implementations to the marketplace. Other SOA Platform vendors are invited to join this cross-industry initiative by adopting this specification, thus allowing seamless interoperability. For more information about EMD, see the white paper titled Enterprise Metadata Discovery.

Enterprise Metadata Discovery Specification for J2CA J2EE is a rich environment for building and managing enterprise class applications and solutions. With the rise of SOA, more and more enterprises are deploying SOA solutions in a J2EE environment, but need to service-enable their existing IT assets in order to realize the full benefits of business automation. In 2005, IBM and BEA collaborated on a specification that would enable more productive development and deployment of this "last mile" of integration. The "Enterprise Metadata Discovery Specification V1.1" is IBM's continuation of this cross-industry initiative and is supported by our adapter vendor and application vendor partners. This new specification provides enhancements to the standard way of managing this "last mile" with a seamless design-time experience, thus allowing customers significant productivity improvements in service-enabling their existing IT assets.

Independent studies have shown that the majority of the costs of an integration solution or an SOA implementation are due to the "last mile" of integration (that is, the connection from the integration application to the legacy systems). Costs of purchasing, supporting and servicing adapters (or building one's own if off-the-shelf ones are lacking) directly impact the total cost of ownership and time-to-value of an integration solution.

The reasons for this are numerous, but all point to a fundamental structural problem in the industry. Infrastructure vendors cannot build rich, high-quality adapters for more than a subset of all the end systems out there, without sufficient scale to offset the costs. An industry based on partnering could solve this, but standards immaturity has stood in the way.

Customers demand rich tooling for service-enabling and connecting back-end application functionality into an SOA. However there is no Java standard that enables this kind of tooling interoperability, so vendors can only address this by building proprietary extensions for developer productivity. This results in interoperability challenges between platform and adapter vendors' solutions, typically addressed with expensive one-off development or on-site consulting. Either way, the costs ultimately get passed to customers.

The Enterprise Metadata Discovery specification intends to solve the problem of standard rich tooling interfaces for adapters, thus unlocking the potential of the integration industry to deliver higher quality adapters to more end systems at lower costs. Adapter vendors can focus on building more and better adapters, without worrying about interoperability of proprietary extensions. Infrastructure vendors can focus on building better platforms and better development experiences. And application vendors and other ISVs can build their own "last mile" components, confident that a fully standard implementation will address both runtime and design-time interoperability requirements. As a result, any adapter product can plug seamlessly into any infrastructure vendor's J2EE SOA implementation, delivering both superior end-to-end runtime behavior and developer productivity.

The result to end customers will be greater adapter availability and quality at lower cost. Existing IT assets can be service-enabled more readily, thus reducing the total cost of ownership and improving time-to-value of an SOA implementation. Moreover, each component in the end-to-end solution will have been built to agreed-upon specifications as opposed to proprietary extensions, thus reducing vendor lock-in.

As of February 2009, an updated and extended version of the EMD Specification is available - Version 1.1. This has been enhanced in a number of areas, incorporating feedback received from the original version 1.0 specification.

Download the white paper

Get additional information on Enterprise Metadata Discovery in the following white paper:

PDF format: Enterprise Metadata Discovery

Download the Enterprise Metadata Discovery specification

You can download the complete Enterprise Metadata Discovery specification, the Javadoc files, and the Interface Binary files by clicking on the following links:

Download the Enterprise Metadata Discovery V1.0 specification

You can download the PRIOR versions of the Enterprise Metadata Discovery specification, the Javadoc files, and the Interface Source files by clicking on the following links:

Note: This specification is being made available on an RF basis (as detailed in the Copyright notice of the specification); therefore, IBM does not require an implementation license. If you prefer, however, you may request a license.

Resources

• The developerWorks SOA and Web services zone is an excellent technical resource.
  
  
• The BEA Enterprise Metadata Discovery page complements this information and offers the BEA perspective.
  
  
• IBM and BEA also collaborated on the SDO specification.
  
  
• Find out What's New in the J2EE Connector Architecture version 1.5.
  
  
• WebSphere Business Integration Adapters allow customers to quickly and easily create integrated processes that exchange information between: ERP, HR, CRM, and supply chain systems.
  
  
• Here's a quick look at the WebSphere Application Server Partner Adapters.
  
  

Comments

Back to top

Dig deeper into Java on developerWorks

My developerWorks community