Entities
An entity is a fundamental concept in iCore Integration Suite. Entities exist as definitions, configurations and tracking entities. Some entities are defined in the local iCore system by the user, while others are built in and considered part of the product, and some are created during execution (tracking entities).
iCore entities are divided into three main categories:
- Definitions – entities used or referenced by other entities.
- Configuration – entities for configuration of process flows, runtime behavior etc.
- Tracking – entities for tracking the progress of a process flow.
An entity must have been defined in the iCore system before it can be used in a configuration. All entities have an ID that is unique in the context of the iCore system the entity belongs to. Some entities are also unique in a global perspective. By defining the entities in Definition, the content of the subsections in Configuration is generated dynamically.
Examples
Below are some examples of how definitions and configurations are connected:
- A Component definition (for example an Adapterflow) requires a Component configuration that specifies the Component's
runtime requirements (for example, which Application pool the Component should run in and
the lifetime of the Component).
tip
Testing Component definitions in the Run Component tool does not require a Component configuration.
- To execute a Component configuration in iCPS (the iCore runtime), you need to specify an Event type and an Event configuration. The Event configuration specifies which Component configuration should be run when an Event of a certain type is triggered.
- A Partner configuration uses Partner attributes to specify certain properties. For example, Partner attributes can be EDI codes that are used for communication between Partners (EDI codes are mandatory and identifies a Partner as a sender or a receiver). When the Partner attributes have been defined you can add them to the Partner configuration and register the EDI codes for the Partner in question.
note
Creating or modifying some entities require a system restart for the change to take effect.
| Component definitions | To make available recently added or modified Component definitions, it is enough to perform an Application pool restart. |
| Component configurations | New Component configurations can be added while the iCore system is running and will be cached in the server on first execution, but any subsequent modifications require a server restart. iCore will use the properties of Component configurations that existed on server startup throughout the server execution time. |
| Event configurations | Modifications to existing Event configurations take effect immediately. However, if a database outage occurs, new Event configurations for system Events that run locally may not function correctly. To take care of this problem, restart the server. |
| Servers | Modifications to existing Servers will not take effect until the server is restarted. However, new Servers can be added and enabled in a running iCore system. |
| Timers | Newly added Timers, or modifications to existing ones, will not take effect until the iCore server is restarted. iCore will use the Timers and Timer properties that were available at server startup. |