The File adapter is included when you install the Apama software. Each Apama standard adapter includes the transport and codec plug-ins it requires, along with any required EPL service monitor files. The C++ plug-ins are located in the Apama installation's adapters\bin directory (Windows) or adapters/lib directory (UNIX); the Java plug-ins are located in adapters\lib. The EPL files are located in the adapters\monitors directory.

If you develop an Apama application in Software AG Designer, when you add a standard adapter to the project, Software AG Designer automatically creates a configuration file for it. In addition, the standard Apama adapters include bundle files that automatically add the adapter's plug-ins and associated service monitor files to the Apama project.

If you are not using Software AG Designer, you need to create a configuration file that will be used by the IAF to run the adapter. Each adapter includes a template file that can be used as the basis for the configuration file. The template files are located in the installation's adapters\config directory and have the forms adapter_name.xml.dist and adapter_name.static.xml. These template files are not meant to be used as the adapters' actual configuration files - you should always make copies of the template files before making any changes to them.

The File adapter uses the Apama Integration Adapter Framework (IAF) to read information from text files and write information to text files by means of Apama events. This lets you read files line-by-line from external applications or write formatted data as required by external applications.

With some caveats, which are mentioned later in this section, the File adapter supports reading and writing to multiple files at the same time. Information about using the File adapter can be found in the topics below.