Introduction

IBM® WebSphere® Integration Developer Version 6.1 includes many new and updated features. In this article, you will learn about the new features and their importance.

Platform currency

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 is based on Eclipse® Version 3.2.2 and IBM Rational® Application Developer V7.0.0.4. You can install it as a stand-alone or in the same Eclipse shell as Rational Application Developer. Eclipse 3.2.2 enables the grouping of problems by severity, type, or other criteria.

Windows® Vista® Business, Enterprise and Ultimate are now supported. The IBM Runtime Environment for Windows or Linux is now Version 5.0, service release 4. Web browser support now includes Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7.0.

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 supports WebSphere Portal Server V6.0, and now includes both Portal Tools and the unit test environment for Portal Server V6.0.

Managing change

Many companies use WebSphere Business Modeler to create a business model of the process before exporting the technical execution model in WS-BPEL. In an ideal world, after the business model has been created, the technical team assembles the solution using WebSphere Integration Developer. However, sometimes the business model evolves after the export to WS-BPEL. Or due to technical needs, the business model needs to be altered. These changes required a completely manual process using WebSphere Integration Developer V6.0.

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 includes the ability to independently evolve the business model and the technical implementation model. If the business analyst alters the business process model, the integration developer can see a list of artifacts that have been changed, along with a list of changes in the artifact, as figure 1 shows. You can accept the incoming change, keep the workspace change, or revert to the original.

The ability to manage change and merge models is also enabled for the Monitor Model Editor.

WS-BPEL Process Editor

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 features several updates to the business process editor. The basic look and feel remain the same from WebSphere Integration Developer V6.0.2, with new refinements added. One of the first things you will notice is that the stacked icons for the WS-BPEL activities has been replaced by a new pallet, standard to all of the Rational Application Developer® tools, as figure 2 shows.

When creating a new process, an updated wizard prompts you for information such as long-running or microflow process, as well as providing an option whether to use IBM extensions or not, as figure 3 shows. If you select a WSDL with multiple operations interfaces, the process is generated with a WS-BPEL choice activity, rather than a simple receive. You can also create processes from patterns as well as default processes.

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 includes updates to its tooling to support the new features in WebSphere Process Server V6.1, such as cyclic flows, the new "for each" activity, and delete on completion, see What's New in WebSphere Process Server V6.1 in the Resources section. It also has improvements in usability, in areas such as the editor for the WS-BPEL assign activity.

Finally, a new view process editor has a new reference view. For example, if you select a WS-BPEL invoke activity in your process, the dependencies will be shown, such as the variables used and the partner link, each with the appropriate icon, as figure 4 shows.

Human task support

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 has been updated to support the new features in WebSphere Process Server, such as being able to specify a substitution policy for each task, as figure 5 shows. For example, you can select a substitution policy of "no substitution", when the assigned person is the only one who can perform the task. You can select "Replace absent users with their substitutes" to enable substitution, or "Prefer present users" if you want to select substitutes who are marked as being present.

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.0.2 introduced a new feature, enabling the generation of a Web client user interface. WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 extends this ability offering several choices:

• Web Client. As with the previous version, you can generate a Web client. Ad-hoc sub-tasks are now supported in the generated client. You can create new sub-tasks and view a list of previously started sub-tasks. There is no support yet for follow-on tasks though.
• Portal Client. Portlets can be generated for use with the MyTasks portlet supplied with WebSphere Portal Server. WebSphere Integration Developer now includes the WebSphere Portal Toolkit for customization of the portlets, as well as a WebSphere Portal unit test server.
• Lotus Forms. WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 enables you to generate forms based on the human tasks in the process. You can then use Lotus Forms Designer to improve the look and feel of the forms. Generated JSPs can then invoke the forms at runtime. Alternatively, you can use existing Lotus forms with WebSphere Integration Developer. You can also generate a new business process along with an interface and business object, based on a form.

The Virtual Member Manager comes preconfigured with several groups and IDs, enabling the rapid prototyping of human tasks. A new query test button enables you to test your query right from the editor, without having to first deploy the project.

Integration

When you need to invoke external services in WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1, a new wizard helps to bring in the proper WSDL. You can define services through adapters, both the J2C-based WebSphere Adapters, legacy WebSphere Business Integration Adapters, as well as services located in a registry. In addition to supporting WebSphere Service Registry and Repository, direct support for UDDI has been added in the wizard. When you use WebSphere Adapters, a redesigned wizard simplifies and improves usability. The adapters now have icons on the pallet. When you drag and drop an adapter into the Service Component Architecture assembly editor, the associated RAR file for the adapter is automatically installed into the module, and the wizard for that adapter is launched. Additionally, if the adapter requires specific JAR files for the target system, the wizard prompts for their location. Previously, a manual step was required during the install to point to the correct files. You can also define external services through a new menu option, as figure 7 shows.

Another new wizard enables you to more easily define external data, helping you to create business objects. You can use Java™ classes and COBOL copy books to define business objects. Options in the wizard enable you to generate the business graph for each business object, or to generate container business objects to pass file metadata when using the WebSphere Adapter for Flat Files.

Another new option from the menu is for binding resource configuration. In WebSphere Integration Developer V6.0, each adapter had to be separately configured. WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 enables you to use a single binding resource to reuse multiple bindings. This includes function selectors, data handlers, and data bindings.

The assembly editor has also been updated to support the new bindings in WebSphere Process Server V6.1.

Mediation module editor

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 includes several improvements that you can use when you create mediation modules to run in the WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus component of WebSphere Process Server. The mediation module editor includes support for the new mediation primitives:

• Set message type. Use with weak typed variables to cast them as another type. For example, a variable with a type of xsd:anySimpleType can be cast as a string for the purpose of mapping and string operations.
• Service invoke. Invokes a service as a step in a mediation flow. The primitive provides three terminals for timeout, normal and error. In addition to specifying the timeout, you can specify a retry count with an optional delay.
• Fan out. Provides the ability to fork out to multiple parallel flows.
• Fan in. Provides a join point for multiple input messages that enables message aggregation.
• Business object map. Enables greater reuse by letting you create maps and submaps in the business object map editor that can be directly used in mediations. The business object map editor has a new feature to map similar fields. For example, if a string field called customerNumber exists in the source and destination business object, this new feature can automatically add the move operation. Another new feature helps automatically create a reverse map. For help with larger business objects, Ctrl-F is now enabled to find fields.

You can collapse a grouping of primitives by clicking the folder icon. Favorites is an area that you can use to store those you use most often to save time searching.

Improvements have been made to several of the existing mediation primitives:

• Custom mediations. Multiple output paths are now supported, eliminating the need to use a filter after a custom mediation to control branching. You can control the number of terminals, then specify in your code which terminal to fire. Existing custom mediations do not require any modification to work.
• XSL transformation. New and improved XSLT editor as figure 9 shows. The new mapping editor can now reuse XSLT maps as sub-maps.
• Message Logger. Improved runtime database support.

Other new features

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 includes several other new improved features.

Installation and updates

The footprint for WebSphere Integration Developer has been reduced both on disk and in memory. This enables a faster installation, as well as a faster startup time.

In WebSphere Integration Developer V6.0.2, support packs and fixes for the tooling and the integrated test server had to be applied separately. In WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1, one single package can be applied, making updates to both environments at once. This feature enables customers to more easily manage and control the versions installed on the computers used for development.

WSDL and XSD support

WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 has several improvements for the handling of WSDL and XSD. Additional XSD constructs are now supported, such as xsd:choice, the xsd:any family, and xsd:union. Validation is improved as well, using the same WSDL validator as IBM Rational Application Developer, enabling better performance.

Integrated Test Client

The integrated test client in WebSphere Integration Developer has been improved for usability. The icons on the screen have been repositioned to present a more logical flow of operation. The input UI has been improved with parameter validation, while the status and error columns have been redesigned to simplify error identification. In addition, the environment has been updated to provide faster publishing of projects.

New capabilities enable the automation of testing. You can author test cases manually or from a test client invocation trace. You can organize individual test cases into test suites that belong to a test project. Tests can then be deployed to the integrated test server and executed. In addition, you can use ANT scripts for automatic invocation. You can create a component test project that holds test suites, execution traces, configurations and emulators. The test suite is made up of test cases, based on one of two available test patterns: operation-level testing or scenario based testing.

The test client now emits events, enabling the testing of a monitor model directly in WebSphere Integration Developer, without having to first deploy to WebSphere Business Monitor.

Monitoring

The Monitor Model Editor has been redesigned so that it can be plugged into Rational Application Developer 7.0, without requiring a full install of WebSphere Integration Developer. This enables users with the lower cost tooling to be able to define the metrics for monitoring. However, when the Monitor Model Editor is installed in WebSphere Integration Developer, additional capabilities are available such as KPI templates, and the ability to create monitor models from component types other than only human tasks and WS-BPEL processes.

Monitor Model Editor includes several new features, such as the ability to add user-defined functions written in Java ™. Instead of only Common Base Events, the monitor model can also support the XSD event format. KPIs have been improved to be more flexible and powerful. Refactoring is now supported as well.

Monitoring templates are included to generate common default KPIs. You can select the events as needed, or the template selection will automatically choose the ones needed. This ability will greatly reduce the time required to define a monitoring model.

Lastly, a new Visual Model Editor enables you to import an SVG diagram for use in a dashboard. The diagram can be notated, and colors can be changed based on KPI values. A test environment is included for this feature as well.

Refactoring

Refactoring has been improved, and is now available in more places. You can merge interfaces or move operations from one interface to another, and you can also merge components in the assembly editor.

Excluding libraries from clean

When performing a Project-Clean operation, it can take a long time to perform validation on objects such as large industry schemas. A new option enables you to exclude libraries from the project clean. In a test performed with one such large schema, the project clean time was reduced from 118 seconds to 4 seconds.

Updated business integration perspective

In WebSphere Integration Developer V6.0, the business integration perspective only showed modules and libraries. When you needed to see a Web project, for example, you needed to change perspectives. WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 has a new feature, enabling you to show non-integration projects in the business integration perspective. If you need to edit a user interface for a human task, for example, you can simply open the folder and double-click on the JSP. This feature saves time and reduces complexity.

Summary

In this article, you learned about many of the new features and functions in WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1:

• Ease of use. WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 has been updated for ease of use with improvements for installation and updates.
• Technical implementation model. The technical implementation model can be compared and merged with the business model, including the monitoring model.
• New features. Many new features and functions provide greater usability and flexibility.
• New options. WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 includes new options for clients, business processes, adapters, and human tasks.

You can learn more about WebSphere Integration Developer and other WebSphere Version 6.1 products by reviewing the Resources section.

Resources

• What's new in WebSphere Process Server V6.1
  Describes new features available in WebSphere Process Server V6.1.
  
  
• What's new in WebSphere Business Modeler V6.1
  Describes new features available in WebSphere Business Modeler V6.1.
  
  
• WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1 Announcement Letter
  Describes new features available in WebSphere Integration Developer V6.1.
  
  
• WebSphere BPM zone
  Provides the technical resources you need to manage your business processes.
  
  
• WebSphere Business Integration zone
  Provides the technical resources you need for process integration and application integration.
  
  
• WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Integration Developer
  This resource page provides the technical resources you need for Process Server and Integration Developer.
  
  

About the author

Marc Fasbinder is an I/T Specialist at IBM with the WebSphere Technical Sales team in Southfield, Michigan.

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Table of contents

• Introduction
• Platform currency
• Managing change
• WS-BPEL Process Editor
• Human task support
• Integration
• Mediation module editor
• Other new features
• Summary
• Resources
• About the author
• Comments

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