Connector Framework Structure
The connector framework consists of interfaces described by the JCA 1.0 specification and additional interfaces, defined by the connector framework, which extend the JCA. The connector framework extensions are the focus of this document.
The information described in this section is intended both for the developers of connectors and for the developers of applications that consume existing connectors already deployed on the WebAS.
In addition to the connector metadata and capabilities information, see also:
Data Access and Method Execution
Connector Metadata
The connector metadata contains basic JCA 1.0 parameters and connector framework extension parameters.
JCA parameters are:
· EIS version
· Vendor name
· Description
Connector framework parameters are:
· Default Date and Time Format
· Maximum number of connections allowed
· Default timeout for the connection and queries
Capabilities Manifest
The connector framework IConnectorMetadata interface uses the method getCapabilities to retrieve an ICapabilities object. The ICapabilities interface returns the capabilities of a specific connector. The basic connector has a generic interface to find out what the connector is capable of doing, such as multi-language support, query cancel support, or returning results in chunks of data for higher performance. A specific connector may support only some of the capabilities supported by the connector framework; it can also extend the list of capabilities.
The connector framework has an ICapabilities interface that reflects the capabilities of a connector. The interface ICapabilities defines the connector capabilities. ICapabilities has two methods by which it is possible to retrieve all capabilities supported with the current connector (getAllSupportedCapabilities), and whether or not a specific capability is supported (supports).
A connector has to implement the ICapabilities interface for a specific capability. The method (supports) will return true to indicate that the connector supports a specific capability.
For more details, refer to the Javadocs for the portal and portal runtime APIs, which are located on the SAP Developer Network (SDN) at www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/javadocs.