webMethods Designer

webMethods Designer:

webMethods designer is a client tool where developers can built and test the code. Before start writing the code, Make sure that designer is connected to integration server and you are in 'service development' perspective as highlighted with underline in below screen.

Designer is mainly consists of 4 window panels 

1. Navigation Panel

2. Edit Panel

3. Properties Panel

4. Pipeline & Result Panel

1. Navigation Panel: After connecting to Integration Server, all packages will be loaded into this panel. You can navigate to existing packages, folders and elements like flow services, documents and triggers. You can also start creating the same mentioned above.

2. Edit Panel: Developers can start building the flow services using flow steps and other built-in services in this edit panel.

•           Flow Service: it is building blocks of flow steps and/or other elements used to achieve a functionality.
•           Flow Steps: Flow steps are like control structures in java or C language. Ex:- Map, Branch, Loop, Repeat, Sequence, Exit, Invoke.

3. Properties Panel: This panel is used to set the properties of the elements so that the elements can exhibit different behaviors.

4. Pipeline & Result Panel: This is the area where pipeline for the elements in edit panel is visible. Actually a pipeline consists of "pipelineIn" with set of input variables and "pipelineOut" with set of output variables. A pipeline is an IData object where it allows objects(variables) to manipulate.

How to build a Flow Service:

To build a service using webMethods flow language you must know about Flow steps. Flow steps are building blocks of a flow service. Each flow step behaves differently based on the changes of its properties. Let me tell you about flow steps along with its properties.

1. Sequence: This flow step is used to execute a set of child flow steps in a sequential manner. Basically, Error handling mechanism is achieved using sequence flow step only.

Above picture shows how to use sequence for constructing a flow service. This structure is common for any top level service.

How to do:

         1. Click on flow steps folder from the 'Palette' at right side of the edit panel.

         2. Click on 'SEQUENCE' flow step, drag and drop in edit panel.

         3. Similarly drag and drop 2 more sequence steps.

         4. Select 2nd and 3rd flow steps and move inside to 1st flow step.

         5. Click on 1st flow step and add comments (--Main--) and set Exit on property to SUCCESS.

         6. Click on 1st child sequence and add comments (--Try--) and set Exit on property to FAILURE.

         7. Click on 2nd child sequence and add comments (--Catch--) and set Exit on property to DONE.

         8. Similarly drop map steps inside the try block & other built in services from wmpublic package to catch block.

How it works: