Getting Started with the Sample Configuration

This document contains instructions for downloading, installing, and testing the sample configuration of SupplierConnect. This will include running the test harness web application which allows you to process sample cXML and eBIS-XML order documents.

SupplierConnect has been developed and tested using version 1.4 of the Java SDK. The latest 1.4 release of the Java SDK should be installed, and the JAVA_HOME environment variable should be set to the home directory of your SDK installation.

NB: you can check the version of JDK on your path using the command "java -version"

SupplierConnect has been developed using Apache Ant version 1.5, although the build script should be compatible with future versions. Download and install the latest version of ant, ensuring to add the $ANT_HOME/bin directory to your path.

The sample configuration has been deployed and tested under JBoss/Jetty version 3.2.1 (May 4, 2003), however should work with newer versions if required. Download this package and install it to a suitable location.

Download the latest source release of SupplierConnect, and unpack the zip file to a suitable location. This location shall now be referred to as $SC_HOME

Some properties that vary from platform to platform are externalised into a file called build.properties. This file is not included in the release package, however an example file is included. In $SC_HOME, copy the file build.properties.example to a new build.properties file. Edit build.properties and alter the property jboss.dir to refer to the root directory of your JBoss installation. On the Windows platform, ensure you use double \\ backslashes in the path.

From a command prompt in $SC_HOME, execute the command "ant". This will generate, compile, package, and deploy SupplierConnect to your JBoss server. Check that the build has been completed successfully, you should see the message "BUILD SUCCESSFUL".

From a command prompt in $JBOSS_HOME/bin execute the command "run". This will start the JBoss application server and deploy the SupplierConnect application. Check the console for log messages indicating that "[MainDeployer] Deployed package: file:/D:/jboss/server/default/deploy/supplierconnect.ear"

• Open the URL http://localhost:8080/supplierconnect/ in your web browser. This will display the main page of the test harness web application. From here you can select to test the SupplierConnection sample configuration with a test cXML Order document or a test eBIS-XML Order Document.
• Click on the correct link to test your chosen format. A page will be displayed showing you the content of the test document.
• Review the contents and click the "Process" button to have SupplierConnect process the document as though it had been received from a customer across the internet. The resulting page shows the response that would be sent back to the customer.
• Click the "done" link to return to the main page. The main page will now show a new result XML file in it's list of result files.
• Click the "view" link corresponding to the new result file to view the contents of the processed business document.

If that worked, then the sample configuration is succesfully deployed!

The sample configuration is configured to receive purchase order documents from customers across the Internet in either of cXML or eBIS-XML formats. The configuration is set up with a "pipeline" for each type of document. Both pipelines handle incoming documents by parsing and validating, then transforming the content into a common format and saving to a temporary directory.

A servlet "listener" is configured in the sample configuration for each type of incoming document. cXML orders are received on the URL /cxml and eBIS-XML orders are received on /ebisxml. The servlet based listener is ideal for purposes such as integrating with the Ariba Supplier Network, which communicates using HTTP post. Any type of listener could be created however e.g. for JMS queues.

The test harness is provided to allow you to drop a test message directly into the pipeline of your choice, and view the results.

The diagram above illustrates the cXML pipeline.

The next steps are to work out your requirements for sending or receiving documents with your customers or business partners, and design and build listeners, pipelines, and handlers to meet your requirements. Read the Customisation Guide for an overview of how to customise SupplierConnect for your own needs.

Also remember to join the mailing lists or contact the project team for more information.