Integration of external applications and IBM Content Manager with custom event handlers

Brief introduction

IBM Content Manager, Version 8.4.1 supports an event framework for external application integration. Two types of integration are currently supported:

Process integration, dedicated to integration with FileNet Business process Manager

Universal integration for the integration of common external applications

IBM Content Manager, Version 8.4.1 (later referred to as CM8) provides an event handler for process integration. For integration with external applications outside of filenet®business Process Manager, you can support specific application logic in a business solution by using a common integration approach and developing a custom event handler. This article discusses how to design custom event handlers to achieve universal integration with external applications.

The following sections provide an overview of the event framework and various aspects of custom event handlers. Examples help you write custom event handlers that integrate an e-mail application with IBM Content Manager.

The architecture of the event framework

Figure 1 illustrates the architecture of the event framework that supports IBM Content Manager and external application integration. Because the event handlers used for FileNet Business process Manager have resolved the integration of processes, this article focuses on integration with general-purpose external applications.

The event framework provides the following three features:

An event subscription that allows you to specify the type of entries to monitor and the associated events.

Event monitoring, which logs events as they occur and generates event messages that are sent to the Java message Service (JMS) queue.

event handling, which receives event messages from the JMS queue and processes them based on business logic.

Figure 1. The architecture of the event framework

Event subscription data is stored in the configuration table in the CM8 Library server database during event subscriptions. Configure the configuration data using the CM8 System Management client. The administrator specifies the type of entry to monitor and its attributes.

The event Monitoring section mainly handles the generation of event messages. The CM8 application generates event data in the database by interacting with the library server through the CM8 Java and C + + API interfaces. When an event occurs, the library server logs events based on the configuration data. The logged events are placed in the event queue table in the library server database. Events contain event types, event IDs, entry information, and property data. Event monitor obtains event data from the event queue table based on configuration data, converts these events to Java message Service (JMS) messages, and then places the JMS messages in the JMS event queue.

The event handling section mainly handles the use of event messages. The event handler reads the JMS message containing the event data from the JMS event queue, providing the ability to integrate application logic and CM8 document properties. IBM Content Manager, Version 8.4.1 provides an event handler for FileNet Business process Manager, but for integration with other applications, custom event handlers need to be developed.