FormatConversionBean - One Bean to rule them all!

[engswee]

Update 9 Sep 2018: FormatConversionBean now available in CPI as well

Update 19 May 2015: Added new converter Base64EncodeConverter

Update 30 Apr 2015: Added new converter Base64DecodeConverter

Introduction

Over the past months, I have introduced various custom adapter modules that are configurable and reusable; aiming to handle various format conversions to/from XML that are not available in standard adapter modules.

I have recently refactored the different modules and consolidated them into a single module, FormatConversionBean. The benefits of this refactoring are:-

• Single point of entry for the different types of conversion


• Refactoring of factory class utilizing ConverterFactory allows dynamic instantiation of converters


• Easily extensible to new converter formats by extending class AbstractModuleConverter


• Conforms to the Open Close Principle whereby new converters can be added without modification to existing code

Converter Class List

Below is the comprehensive list of the converter classes that are part of FormatConversionBean now. This list will be updated as and when new converter classes are introduced in the future.

Converter Class	Source Format	Target Format	Reference
Excel2XMLTransformer	Excel	XML	ExcelTransformBean Part 1: Convert various Excel formats to simple XML easily
XML2ExcelTransformer	XML	Excel	ExcelTransformBean Part 2: Convert simple XML to various Excel formats easily
DeepPlain2XMLConverter	Deep Plain Text	XML	DeepFCCBean - The better FCC at meeting your deep (structure) needs! (Part 2 - Flat File to Deep XML...
XML2DeepPlainConverter	XML	Deep Plain Text	DeepFCCBean - The better FCC at meeting your deep (structure) needs! (Part 1 - Deep XML to Flat File...
JSON2XMLConverter	JSON	XML	JSONTransformBean Part 1: Converting JSON content to XML
XML2JSONConverter	XML	JSON	JSONTransformBean Part 2: Converting XML to JSON content
Base64DecodeConverter	Base64 (Plain/XML)	Binary	Base64DecodeConverter - Base64 decoding made easy!
Base64EncodeConverter	Binary	Base64 (Plain/XML)	Base64EncodeConverter - Base64 encoding made easy!

Usage of Module in Communication Channel

Module Processing Sequence

Number	Module Name	Type	Module Key
<Depending on position of module in chain> 1) Asynchronous scenario, Normally before the last module in channels 2) Synchronous scenario, Before last module to convert request payload After last module to convert response payload	Custom_AF_Modules/FormatConversionBean	Local Enterprise Bean	<Any Arbitrary Value>

Module Configuration

For configuration of parameters, refer to parameter list of each converter.

Source Code and Deployment Archive

The Java source codes for the module are located in the following GitHub repositories.

GitHub repository for equalize-xpi-modules

The EAR file for deployment (compiled on NWDS 7.31 SP13 Patch 0) is also available from the latest repository release below. The EAR file can be deployed directly on PI/PO systems with versions that are same/higher than 7.31 SP13 or 7.4 SP8.

Latest release for repository equalize-xpi-modules

To set up the EJB/EAR projects on NWDS for further customization, refer to the following.

NWDS version	Reference
7.3x or higher	Setup com.equalize.xpi.af.modules Adapter Module project in NWDS easily using EGit
7.1x	Recompile com.equalize.xpi.af.modules as EJB 2.1 modules in NWDS 7.1x

Further Reference

If you plan to download the source codes into your own NWDS installation to make changes and/or develop new modules, the following blog would be useful for performing testing in NWDS prior to deployment into the PI system.

Standalone testing of Adapter Module in NWDS

Guide on EAR deployment via NWDS

Deploying .EAR files Using NWDS