Installing user-defined extension runtime files on an integration node

Install the compiled runtime files for your user-defined extension on the integration node on which you want to test its function. If your user-defined node uses a custom compiler, install the user-defined node plug-in to the integration node on which you want to deploy the node.

Before you begin

Create and compile your user-defined extension using the procedure described in Compiling a Java user-defined node or Compiling a C user-defined extension.
- The files that have been created for extension created in C depend on the underlying integration node operating system:
  A dynamic link library (DLL), named with a file type of .lil.
  
  A shared object, again with a file type of .lil.
- For Java nodes, a Java Archive file (JAR), with a file type of .jar (on all operating systems).
If you have created a user-defined node, you must also complete the task that is described in Creating the user interface representation of a user-defined node in the IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit.
If your user-defined node contains a custom compiler, you must package your user-defined node project; see Packaging and distributing a user-defined node project.

About this task

This task instructs you to stop and restart integration nodes. This action is required in all but the two circumstances described in step 4 later in this section, although if you do stop and restart the integration node, you can ensure that anyone with an interest in a particular integration server is made aware that recent changes have been made.

This task is applicable to user-defined nodes written in Java or C only. If your user-defined node contains a custom compiler, you must install the compiled runtime files and the user-defined node plug-in to the integration node. If your user-defined node does not contain a custom compiler, install only the compiled runtime files to the integration node.

To install runtime and user-defined node plug-in files on the integration node:

Procedure

Stop the integration node on which you want to install your compiled or packaged user-defined extension file (files with extension .lil, .jar, .par, .pdb, or .lel)
Create a directory if you do not already have one for this purpose. Add the directory to the LILPATH: set LILPATH=<directory>

CAUTION:
Do not put the .lil, .jar, .par, .pdb, or .lel files in the IBM App Connect Enterprise installation directory, because they might be overwritten by the integration node.
Put your user-defined file in the directory, and make sure that the integration node has access to it.
For example, on Linux® use the chmod 755* command on the file. If your user-defined node contains a custom compiler, put your user-defined plug-in file in the same directory.
Stop and restart the integration node to implement the change and to ensure that the existence of the new file is detected.
An integration node restart is not necessary in the following circumstances:
- If you have created an integration server in the IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit, and nothing is yet deployed to it, you can add the .lil, .pdb, .jar, .par, or .lel file to your selected directory.
- If something has already been deployed to the integration server that you want to use, add the .lil, .pdb, .jar, .par, or .lel file to your selected directory, and issue the mqsireload command to restart the group. You cannot overwrite an existing file on the Windows system when the integration node is running, because of the file lock that is put in place by the operating system.
Use these two approaches with care, because any integration server that is connected to the same integration node also detects the new .lil, .pdb, .jar, .par, or .lel files when that integration server restarts, or when something is first deployed to that integration server.
Repeat the previous steps for every integration node that needs the user-defined extension file and user-defined node plug-in file. If all of your integration nodes are on the same operating system type, you can build the user-defined extension file once and distribute it to each of your systems.

If you have a cluster that includes Linux and Windows integration nodes, you must build the user-defined extension files separately on each operating system type.

On Windows, the .pdb file provides symbolic information that is used when stack diagnostic information is displayed in the event of access violations or other software malfunctions.
For C user-defined extensions, store the .pdb file in the same directory as the .lil file to which it corresponds.
Use the mqsicreatebroker command, to specify to the integration node the directory that contains the user-defined extension file.

When you have installed a user-defined extension, it is referred to by its schema and name, just like a message flow.

Results

The integration node loads the user-defined extension files during initialization. After loading the files, the integration node calls the registration functions in the user-defined extension and records what nodes or parsers the user-defined extension supports.

A C user-defined extension implements a node or parser factory that can support multiple nodes or parser types. For more information, see Node and parser factory behavior. Java users are not required to write a node factory.