Transferring Data Using a Data Bridge 

Use

The Data Bridge connector enables you to pass a dataset from a Visual Composer component to a Guided Procedures process and vice versa. You should use a Data Bridge connector to pass a dataset when:

·        The dataset is clustered

·        The dataset is flat, but there is a semantic relation between the fields, for example, an address consisting of 10 fields (such as street, zip code, country, and so on)

·        The structure of the dataset is based on a Web service, RFC, and so on

You can automatically add data to the data bridge in one of two ways – either by connecting the data bridge to a data service, or by using the Data Bridge wizard. You can also manually add data to the data bridge using the Define Data dialog box. The dataset of the Data Bridge connector must have the same metadata and type information as the dataset of the element to which it is connected. Visual Composer does not check that the datasets match, so you must manually check that they match before creating the connection.

Prerequisites

The component that you want to use in Guided Procedures is open.

Procedure

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       1.      Add a Data Bridge connector to the component, in one of the following ways, as relevant:

○       Drag a Data Bridge connector icon from the Compose task panel to the Design board.

○       On the Design board, drag out from a clustered out port on a data service in the model, and choose Data Bridge from the context menu.

○       On the Design board, if the model contains a nested view with a Data Bridge connector, drag out from the data bridge port on the nested view icon, and choose Data Bridge from the context menu.

       2.      Add data to the Data Bridge connector. If you added a Data Bridge connector by dragging out from an element on the Design board, the data from the source element is automatically added to the Data Bridge connector. If you added a Data Bridge connector by dragging it from the Compose task panel, add data in one of the following ways:

○       Use the Data Bridge wizard to import data from a data service. The Data Bridge wizard enables you to add data from a data service without adding a dependency to the data service to your model.

                                                  i.       Right-click the Data Bridge icon and choose Import from Service from the context menu. The Data Bridge wizard is displayed.

The Import from Service menu item is available only if data has not yet been added to the connector (including data that was added automatically by connecting the Data Bridge connector to a data service or nested view).

                                                ii.       In the Select Data Service step, search for the data service whose data you want to add to the connector. The search options in this step are the same as the options in the Search task panel. For more information, see Discovering Data Services.

                                               iii.       In the Select Port step, choose the data service port whose data you want to import.

                                               iv.       Click Finish. The data is added to the connector and you can see it in the Define Data dialog box.

○       Use the Define Data dialog box to manually define data:

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                                                  i.       Right-click the Data Bridge icon and choose Define Data from the context menu.

                                                ii.       Manually define the data for the connector in the Define Data dialog box. For more information, see Define Data Dialog Box in the Visual Composer Reference Guide.

       3.      Connect the Data Bridge connector to other elements, as required. The data bridge port can serve as an in port and an out port. You can connect a Data Bridge connector as follows:

○       Within a component, you can connect a Data Bridge connector to the in port or out port of any other element, by dragging from the Data Bridge connector port to the element port. You can connect the data bridge port to multiple elements, using multiple data bind, flow, and mapping connections.

○       For a nested view that contains a Data Bridge connector, in the parent component you can drag from the data bridge port of the nested view and connect it to an out port of a data service or another Data Bridge connector, using a single data bind connection.

Result

The Data Bridge connector is added and configured to transfer data to and from Guided Procedures according to the definitions and connections you created.

Examples

The following example transfers data from a nested view into a parent composite view using two data bridge connectors. The parent composite view is then accessed from Guided Procedures via the data bridge port on the parent composite view.