Chapter 3. Reference

This chapter includes detailed reference information about JBoss ESB Tools.

3.1. JBoss ESB Editor

ESB editor has lots of useful features, they are described in details in this chapter.

ESB File Editor is a powerful and customizable tool which allows developing an application using ESB technology.

ESB file editor has two tabs: Tree and Source.

3.1.1. Source View

You can easily switch from Tree to Source by selecting the Source tab at the bottom of the editor and work in Source view.

Figure 3.1. Source View

The Source view for the editor displays a text content of the ESB file. It is always synchronized with Tree view, so any changes made in one of the views will immediately appear in the other.

No matter what view you select, you get full integration with Outline view. For example, you can work in the Source view with the help of the Outline view. The Outline view shows a tree structure of the ESB file. Simply select any element in the Outline view and it will jump to the same place in the Source editor, so you can navigate through the source code with Outline view.

Figure 3.2. Outline View

3.1.2. Tree View

You can switch to Tree. The Tree view for the editor displays all ESB artifacts in a tree format. By selecting any node you can see and edit its properties which will appear in the right-hand area. For example, a Provider:

Figure 3.3. Tree View

Some properties are represented as links to the associated editors.

Figure 3.4. Property Link to the Associated Editor

Now when editing ESB actions which refer to other files (Drools, Groovy, Smooks, etc.), the label for the field turns into a link to launch the editor associated with that type of file.

Figure 3.5. Property Link to the Associated Editor

Adding, editing or deleting of some artifacts operations are available right in the Tree view. Right-click any node and select one of the available actions in the context menu. For example, you can easily add a new Provider:

Figure 3.6. Adding New Provider

Then you can add Channels and Properties for the Providers the same way or using the forms with Add, Edit and Remove buttons to the right.

You can easily add a new Service too:

Figure 3.7. Adding New Service

The same way you can create a listener for service and other elements of ESB:

Figure 3.8. Adding New Listener for Service

The same actions can be done in the right part of Tree view tab (Form editor) using Add, Edit and Remove buttons.

Filter can be also edited this way

Figure 3.9. Editing Filter

In order to add a new custom Action to your ESB XML file you should select the Actions node under the Services, then right-click and choose New → Custom Action.

Figure 3.10. Adding New Custom Action in the Tree View

Or instead make use of Add... button in the Form editor on the left.

Figure 3.11. Adding New Custom Action in the Form Editor

Note:

Some new components are available to support ESB 4.7, such as: new actions (XsltAction, PersistAction, BpmProcessor, ScriptingAction), new processors (EJBProcessor), new routers (HttpRouter, JMSRouter, EmailRouter).

Then you will see Add Action wizard. There is a need to specify Action name and Action Java class.

Figure 3.12. Add Action Wizard

To get a help with finding a proper class you can select Browse to open Select class dialog.

Figure 3.13. Select class dialog

Moreover it's possible to type a Process name or select it with Edit Process dialog which is called out by clicking Browse.

Figure 3.14. Edit Process dialog

As you can see on the both figures above, the context menu will also prompt you to insert one of the Actions that are supplied out-of-the-box with JBoss ESB. After choosing one an appeared New Pre-Packed Action wizard will ask you to fill out a name field and other fields specific for each Action property. For example, for Content Based Router Action the wizard looks as follows:

Figure 3.15. Add Pre-Packed Action Wizard

After confirming creating the Action you can see it in the Tree under the Actions node and preview as well as edit its settings in the Form editor on the left.

Figure 3.16. Form Editor for Content Based Router

ESB editor can recognize some specific objects. On the figure you can see org.jboss.soa.esb.actions.ContentBasedRouter in the Class section.

3.2. ESB Editor Features

JBoss ESB tooling has powerful editor features that help you easily make use of content and code assist.

This last chapter covers capabilities on how you can use ESB editor.

3.2.1. ESB Syntax Validation

When working in JBoss ESB editor you are constantly provided with feedback and contextual error checking as you type. In the Source viewer, if at any point a tag is incorrect or incomplete, an error will be indicated next to the line and also in the Problems view below.

3.2.2. Support for XML Schema

JBoss ESB Framework fully supports XML files based on schemas as well as DTDs (see Figure 3.1, “Source View”).

The schema checks the child elements of any kind of provider element; the ESB generates errors on startup if you attempt to define an incorrect combination (e.g.: a jms-bus inside an ftp-provider).

Note:

The schema used behind ESB editor now uses the latest version available (from SOA-P 4.3). This removes the errors/warnings some users have reported seeing when using SOA-P specific esb.xml files.