coldfusion and big iron presented by: robi sen. copyright 2001 granularity information architecture...

ColdFusion and Big Iron

Presented by:

Robi Sen

Copyright 2001 Granularity Information Architecture All Rights Reserved

Introduction

Robi Sen– CIO of granularity information architecture inc.,– Teratech/Granularity

Enterprisegroup.granularity.com


Buzzwords

XML, XML/EDI, XSLT, DTD, SCHEME,

WSDL, UDDI, XMI, SOAP, WebServices, BizTalk, ebXML, MidFrame, MainFrame,


The Real Problem

commerce \Com"merce\, n. Note: (Formerly accented on the second syllable.)

[F. commerce, L. commercium; com- + merx, mercis, merchandise. See Merchant.] 1. The exchange or buying and selling of commodities; esp. the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic.

2. Social intercourse; the dealings of one person or class in society with another; familiarity.


Why would you want to connect to a mainframe

Conserve huge Investment Mission Critical (I.e. to hard to migrate due to

dependencies) Information and technology Investment Proprietary and custom irreplaceable applications (I.e.

the software is to hard to migrate) Performance (some midframe and mainframe systems

offer scalability that is unmatched in modern low end clustered server offer)


Typical problem


Example Of a Integrated E-business


Major Problems at present with e-Commerce

1. Lack of systems integration inside corporations. 2. Inability to exchange information between

corporations seamlessly. 3. Inability to access or integrate with other business.


Typical Solution paths

Data level integration Application level integration Method level integration User Interface integration


Data Level Integration

is the process of moving data between various data sources. In its most simple of forms, this is the exchange of data between two different databases to give the illusion of one centralized data source. In its more complex incarnations, it may include the retrieval of data from dozens of data sources (not just databases but perhaps also flat files, data streams, XML files, etc.) and the transformation of complex of data and complex business logic before commitment to, perhaps, even more data sources.


Strengths

Ease of implementation Industry experience and knowledge (I.e. lots of

people have done this and do this so you have resources)

Few draw backs


Data Level Integration

Sometimes impossible with some systems (usually very old Legacy Systems)

With messaging systems some times performance issues


Application level Integration

Refers to the usage of various interfaces exposed by the developers of custom or packaged application that take the form of a product’s API. Application Interface Level EAI allows developers to not only exchange data but also access to processes and or functions of other applications they are integrating with

This type of EAI is most common with ERP systems such as SAP, PEOPLESOFT and or BAAN but is generally not used in environments where many applications and or systems must be integrated.


Strengths

Best performance Greatest Functional possibilities Occasionally simplest approach especially with

more modern systems


Weaknesses

Complexity Coupling is some times to “tight” Great performance but some times unable to

scale massively especially in distributed environs (often people MIX app level and Data level integration at this point)


Method Level

Can be thought of allowing any application in the enterprise access to business logic that exists anywhere else in the enterprise. Generally this takes the form of some sort of distributed object based system. For example a Java EJB, which controls user access levels, may be used by a variety of applications within an enterprise.


Strengths

Useful with newer application s and allows distributed access to logic from many systems (uselly via CORBA, COM, RMI)


Weakness

Usually only possible with newer applications Massive planning and IT investment Complexity


UI Integration

this method of EAI is considered by many to be too antiquated for serious consideration but sometimes it is the only way to exchange information between archaic or overly proprietary systems. This method is often called “screen scraping” owing to the idea that the developers use the various systems User Interfaces as a common point of integration and programmatically step through various screens, filling them out or retrieving data from them as they go. For a variety of reasons this is usually a last ditch resort since this method is often awkward, unreliable, and poorly scaleable.


Strengths

Products make this approach easy Some times your only option especially with

antiquated systems


Weakness

Slow Not very robust Not Very scalable Should be thought of as a last resort Period


Solutions

Figure 2: This diagram shows the simplicity of connecting to a ERP through ODBC but does not convey the limited functionality that is accessible through most ERP’s ODBC interfaces.


Solutions

This diagram shows how a Messaging server can be used to loosely couple numerous different system via a network


XML: 3 simple concepts

DATA The actual content and information

Structure The relations of data within the document

Display How the data should be presented to the target


Web Services

A old idea Like RPC Possibility of creating web orbs Single greatest usage - EAI


Users can define their own tags

XML Technology at a Glance

SGML

XML

HTML

Well Formed Document:<Auto> <Make>Aston Martin</Make> <Model>DB6</Model> <Year>87</Year> <Color>Dark Green</Color> <Price>525000</Price></Auto>

DTD: Document Type Definition<?xml version="1.0"><!DOCTYPE Auto [<!ELEMENT Auto (Make, Model, Year, Color, Price)>]>

The tags indicate the meaning of the marked sections


XSLT

XSLT allows developers to transform almost any source of text and even binary data into almost any other text or binary data.


Now it gets complex: The Stack


A solution - ebXML

ebXMLRegistries COMPANY A

COMPANY B

BusinessScenarios

Business profiles

4. Query aboutCOMPANY A profile

DownloadScennarios and

Profiles

5. Agree onBusiness

Arrangement

6. Do BunsinessTransactions

3. Register Implementation DetailsRegister COMPANY A profile

1. Request Business Details

XML2. Build Local

SystemImplementation


Solutions

Currently no one vendor can do it all


Start simple, grow complex

XML is XML! What you start with today does not limit you from participating in the standards of tomorrow.

XML is relatively cheap XML adoption can be done somewhat

piecemeal.


Selection of Resources The XML/edi Group OASIS non-profit initiative – XML.org IBM www.ibm.com Web Services X12 TMWG – Repository RFI ebXML- www.ebxml.org W3C – www.w3c.org Granularity - www.granularity.com XML.com – www.xml.com XML information for ColdFusion – xml.granularity.com Integration software from Vitria.com - www.vitira.com Integration software from Redix - www.redix.com