Creating Components That Use Custom Data Types

LiveCycle ES provides the ability to create components that use custom data types as input and output values. Creating components that support custom data types lets you create processes that support data types that are used within your organization or within your workflows. For example, you can create a data type that keeps track of account information, such as the account balance. After you create a custom data type, you can use it within LiveCycle ES processes.

The following illustration shows the Variable dialog box that is accessible in Workbench ES. Notice that the data type of the Customer variable is com.adobe.livecycle.sample.customer.Customer, which is an example of a custom data type.

A variable that is based on a custom data type can be used in processes that you create in Workbench ES. For example, the Customer variable shown in the previous diagram can be used in processes that involves tracking customer information.

The bank component that is created in this section is related to a fictional bank where a new customer profile can be created and a new account opened for the customer. This component contains two services: Customer service and Account service.

The Customer service contains the following operations:

createCustomer: Creates a new customer.

updateCustomer: Updates customer information.

getCustomerInfo: Retrieves information about the customer.

deleteCustomer: Deletes the customer.

The Account service contains the following operations:

createAccount: Creates a new account.

updateAccount: Updates account information.

getAccountInfo: Retrieves information about the account.

deleteAccount: Deletes the account.

Note: Before you create a component that uses custom data types, it is recommended that you understand how to create components. For information, see Creating Your First Component.

Sample files

This section creates Java classes and interfaces that correspond to Java files that can be located in the sample email component located at C:\Adobe\LiveCycle8\LiveCycle_ES_SDK\samples, where C:\ is the LiveCycle ES installation location. As you read through this section, it is recommended that you also refer to the sample files.

Summary of steps

To develop a component that uses custom data types, perform the following steps:

1.	Set up your development environment.

2.	Create your application logic.

3.	Define the component XML file.

4.	Deploy the component to LiveCycle ES.

5.	Test your component.

Current page: http://livedocs.adobe.com/livecycle/es/sdkHelp/programmer/sdkHelp/componentCreatingMultiple.159.1.html