BDC Architecture and Application Definition Files
All of the push from Microsoft seems to be making SharePoint the starting point for everything within your organization. Probably one of the bigger steps toward making that happen is using the BDC, which is an included feature in MOSS Enterprise. The BDC allows the integration of other LOB applications, such as an HR Employee application, a customer database stored in SQL Server, or information in SAP or Oracle. After the information is connected to using an application definition file it can be used in Web Parts, search, as columns in lists, and in custom solutions. Figure 11.1 illustrates this process.
Figure 11.1. BDC architecture.
Before any solutions can be created using the BDC, the first step is to create the application definition file (ADF). The application definition file defines what data to connect to, how the information in the data is structured, and how to access the information. In the BDC, the application is referring to the LOB application to connect to. The data being connected to is known as the entity, which can be thought of as a table in the database, for instance, a table of resellers or products. In the sample application definition file used in this chapter, the application is Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and the entities are product category, product subcategory, product, and reseller. This file, as shown in Figure 11.2, is typically written by a developer. If a developer isn’t available, there are tools that will create the application definition file for you, such as the Microsoft Business Data Catalog Definition Editor available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6D94E307-67D9-41AC-B2D6-0074D6286FA9&displaylang=en. There are also third-party products available for free and purchase that will help with the authoring of the application definition file.
