Message model objects: messages

A message describes the structure and content of a set of data that is passed from one application to another.

A message consists of elements that are organized into a logical structure agreed by the sending and receiving applications. This logical structure can be modeled so that message data can be parsed into a logical tree and manipulated easily by the integration node.

In the message model, a message is always based on a global element. The complex type of a global element describes the contents of the global element, and therefore describes all of the content of the message.

Multipart messages

If necessary, a message can contain other messages, and is necessary for modeling certain large and complex messaging standards such as SWIFT and EDIFACT. Such a message is known as a multipart message. The contained messages are known as embedded messages.

Message identification

Messages are identified by their name. In a message set only, a message can also be identified by an alias. The alias is an optional user-specified string that identifies the (multipart) message. The name and alias of a message must be unique within a message set.