Setting Up Connections Through Adapters
Adapters provide a connection between the Info*Engine server and information systems. One side of the adapter communicates with the Info*Engine server and the other side communicates with the information system. The adapter translates Info*Engine server requests into information system requests.
Info*Engine provides two types of adapters:
• Native adapters are implemented in the Java language and conform to the formal Info*Engine interface specification. For example, the JDBC and JNDI adapters are native adapters.
• Non-native adapters are implemented in a non-Java language or do not conform to the formal Info*Engine interface specification. Because the implementation is different from Info*Engine, you must also define a gateway for each non-native adapter you install. Gateways translate Info*Engine requests so the adapters can process them. After an adapter receives a request, the adapter sends it to the associated database or data repository. The adapter also returns any information obtained from the data repository to the gateway where it is translated and passed back to the Info*Engine server.
The adapters you use are determined by the information systems from which you want to retrieve information. Info*Engine provides a unique adapter for each information system.
Native adapters can be installed as follows:
• Residing in the same Java Virtual Machine as the Info*Engine webject that accesses the adapter (known as in-process adapters).
• Distributed in their own Java Virtual Machine on the same hardware system or on remote hardware systems (known as out-of-process adapters).
How to install native adapters is determined by your site:
• Gateways usually reside in the same Java Virtual Machine as the calling webject since the code for gateways is installed as part of Info*Engine.
• Non-native adapters are always distributed in their own environment and are run as out-of-process adapters.
The following sections expand on the installation options.