Method-Oriented B2B Application Integration

Chapter 4

Sungchul Hong

Method-Oriented B2B Application Integration

• Share common business logic or methods

• Defining methods that can be shared

• Providing the infrastructure for such method sharing.

• Hosting methods on a central server

• Accessing methods inter-application (distributed objects)

Sharing Processes

• Multitier client/server– A set of shared services on a common server that

provided the enterprise with the infrastructure for reuse and integration.

• Distributed object movement• Reusability (objective)• Expand intra-enterprise sharing to trading partners• Sharing common logic to process credit requests

Characteristics

• This method requires changes in application.

• Invasive B2B application integration.

• Political problems

Advantages and Disadvantages

• Share business logic allows integration of application.

• Efficiency

• Expense of implementation, testing, and redeployment of application

When to leverage Method-Oriented B2B Application

Integration• When two or more companies need to share

common program logic.• When two or more companies wants to share the

development costs and the value of a common application.

• When the trading community is small and specialized and is able to collaborate on a common application that all companies share.

Example

• Simple binding

• One application is C++ based and runs on a Linux.

• The other is an NT-based client/server application written in Java on the front-end, with Sybase serving as the back-end database.

Example – cont.

• 1. Move much of the business logic to a shared server (application server)

• 2. Rebuild each application using a method-sharing mechanism ( distributed object technology like CORBA, COM+)

• It allows easy cross-accessing of methods.

• Use tools

System Development

• Understand all the processes, methods, and programs that exist within the enterprise.

• Break the process down to their scenarios.– Rules, logic, data, and obkects

Rules

• A rule is an agreed-upon set of conditions– Travel reimburse rules

• Control the flow of information.– Inside of the organization– Trading partners

• These rules will become accessible to manu applications

Logic

• Logic is a sequence of instructions in a program.– Sequential processing– Iteration– Selection

Data

• Data is sharing information between trading partner applications.

• Objects– Data– Methods

Method Warehousing

• Identifies the methods• Centralized entity (like data warehouse)• Remotely invoking processes, or methods, for any

application.• Integrate all enterprise applications between

trading partners.– Tax law changes changes automatically propagate to

all lined applications– Expense method warehouse + change all

applications

Framework

• Consist of abstract classes and their object collaboration as well as concrete classes.

• Many definitions

• Shared objects and processes

• Provide the infrastructure for sharing methods

The Value of Frameworks

• Ability to reuse existing code• Contains rebuilt objects• Objects can be shared among many applications• Reuse code throughout an industry• Pre-designed and pre-tested application

architectures• Problem: incompatibility among frameworks, cost

Framework Functionality

• Pre-built subsystems, architecture, and code– Inheriting, customizing by adding set of classes

• Components come with interface not code.– Change their look, feel, behavior by altering their

properties.

• Object frameworks work with other frameworks.• Object frameworks generally provide access to

their services through APIs.• Provide complete framework

Framework Types

• Object frameworks are made up of both abstract and concrete classes.– Encapsulation, polymorphism, inheritance, and

abstraction

• Service frameworks– Distributed object framework

– CORBA DCOM and COM

• Procedural frameworks– Black box

Framework Categories

• Application service frameworks– Encapsulate enterprise application functionality– GUI interface framework

• Domain frameworks– Certain problem domains– Common application architectures

• Support frameworks– Network support, device access