Chapter 3 Working with the AI Component Builder

Understanding AI Component Deployment

Once you have defined a component that has one or more methods, you can deploy it to Jaguar, where it can then be used in Jaguar client applications.

This section covers the following topics:

Understanding the Deployment Wizard

The Component Builder provides a wizard that makes it easy to deploy components. The wizard performs the following functions:

Defines the component in Jaguar
Copies the connection and Java source code for the component to the Jaguar java\classes directory
Compiles the Java source code for the component on the Jaguar server

When you deploy a component, you must provide the information on the dialog boxes described in the following table:

Table 3-7: Information needed by the Deploy Components wizard
Wizard Dialog Box	Field	Description
Jaguar connection information	User name	Valid Jaguar user ID.
Password	Valid password for Jaguar user ID.
Host name	Name of the machine on which Jaguar is running. Be sure that Jaguar is running.
Port number	Number of the port on which Jaguar is listening.
Jaguar package information	Package name	The package name currently selected for this component. Enter a new name, accept the selected name, or select a different name from the Existing Packages field.
Existing packages	The list of package names currently available. Click a package name to select the package.

After you provide the information needed by the wizard, a progress window appears and provides you with status as the components are deployed. If deployment is not successful, use the messages that appear in the progress window to troubleshoot errors.

For each Jaguar server you deploy components into, the first time you deploy a component, a message indicates that the feature for deploying components is not yet installed in the Jaguar server. Click OK to install this feature.

Understanding Deployed Components in Jaguar

Each AI for CICS component built and deployed to Jaguar consists of two or more Java classes that work with the AI for CICS Adapter, which allows those CICS programs to be viewed in Jaguar as components.

The Adapter consists of a set of Application Integrator classes that are also referred to as the Application Integrator run-time classes. Internally, the Adapter provides access to CICS programs; it also provides security, transaction control, datatype conversion, and error handling integration.

For each component that is deployed, AI for CICS creates (or modifies, if one already exists) the following items on the Jaguar server:

A Jaguar package (modified, if it already exists)
A Jaguar component definition
An IDL module (modified, if it already exists)
An IDL interface
Java source files for the component
Java class files for the component
A file that contains the component's connection

When components are deployed into Jaguar, the following steps occur:

The Jaguar package and IDL module are created only if they do not already exist:
- If the package already exists, AI for CICS adds the new component to the existing package.
- If the module already exists, AI for CICS adds the new IDL interface to the existing module.
The Application Integrator deployment feature creates implementation files and stores them in the <jaguar_install_dir>\java\classes directory.
The component connection is created in a file named connection_name.ser in the Jaguar java\classes\SybAiConnections directory.
The Application Integrator component definition is added to the Jaguar repository in addition to standard Jaguar component properties. Application Integrator components also include a collection of user-defined Jaguar properties, which allow you to configure additional options for the component, such as debugging and connection caching.
If the deployed component properties need to be changed, you can edit them in Jaguar Manager. See Chapter 4, "Jaguar and Application Issues," for details.

Understanding Deployed Connections in Jaguar

When you deploy a component into Jaguar, the Component Builder also deploys the connection that is associated with the component.

When a component is deployed into Jaguar, the information for the component's connection is sent to Jaguar in the form of a serialized file, which is located in the Jaguar installation directory structure (in the java\classes\SybAIConnections directory). If you need to change connection information for a component, you must edit the connection in the Component Builder, and then redeploy the component and connection.

Sybase provides samples with the Application Integrator software. These samples include tutorials designed to help you learn to use the Component Builder to create components and connections. See the online documentation in the Sybase\Application Integrator 3.0 program group for information on running the tutorials.