Classification of Types
CentraSite includes a set of types that are classified in the following categories:
Predefined asset types
Custom asset types
Composite asset types
Association types
Predefined Asset Types
CentraSite is installed with a number of predefined types. Some of these types are core types that belong to CentraSite itself. You can modify these types.
Other predefined types are installed to support the use of CentraSite by products such as the webMethods Product Suite. These types belong to other products, which expect the type definitions to remain unchanged. Modifying or deleting these types in CentraSite can lead to inconsistencies or errors in the product that uses the type. For example, if you modify or delete a type that is used by the webMethods Product Suite, components such as the webMethods Integration Server may no longer be able to publish assets to CentraSite. You must not modify these predefined asset types.
The following table identifies the predefined asset types that are installed with CentraSite and indicates to which product they belong.
Type Name | Owner |
Alias | CentraSite |
API-Key (Virtual type of Application) | CentraSite |
API Gateway (Virtual type of Gateway) | CentraSite |
API Portal (Virtual type of Gateway) | CentraSite |
Application | CentraSite |
Application Server | CentraSite |
ApplinX Application | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX External Web Operation | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX External Web Service | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX Flow Procedure | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX Path Procedure | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX Procedure Group | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX Program Procedure | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX Screen | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX Screen Group | webMethods Product Suite |
ApplinX Server | webMethods Product Suite |
BPEL Partner | CentraSite |
BPEL Partner Link | CentraSite |
BPEL Partner Link Type | CentraSite |
BPEL Process | CentraSite |
BPEL Role | CentraSite |
BPM Package (Virtual type of Package) | webMethods Product Suite |
BPM Process Project | webMethods Product Suite |
CAF Security Role | webMethods Product Suite |
CAF Task Rule | webMethods Product Suite |
CAF Task Type | webMethods Product Suite |
Decision Entity | webMethods Product Suite |
E-form | webMethods Product Suite |
Endpoint Alias (Virtual type of Alias) | CentraSite |
Event Type | CentraSite |
Gateway | CentraSite |
Gateway Application | CentraSite |
Interface | CentraSite |
IS Connection | webMethods Product Suite |
IS Package | webMethods Product Suite |
IS Routing Rule | webMethods Product Suite |
IS Server | webMethods Product Suite |
IS Service | webMethods Product Suite |
IS Service Interface | webMethods Product Suite |
IS Specification | webMethods Product Suite |
IS Type Definition | webMethods Product Suite |
JDBC Datasource | webMethods Product Suite |
Mediator (Virtual type of Gateway) | CentraSite |
OAuth2 Client (Virtual type of Application) | CentraSite |
OData Service | CentraSite |
Operation | CentraSite |
Organization | CentraSite |
Package | CentraSite |
Portlet | webMethods Product Suite |
Portlet Preference | webMethods Product Suite |
Process | webMethods Product Suite |
Process Pool | webMethods Product Suite |
Process Step | webMethods Product Suite |
Process Swimlane | webMethods Product Suite |
REST Method (Virtual type of Operation) | CentraSite |
REST Parameter | CentraSite |
REST Payload | CentraSite |
REST Resource | CentraSite |
REST Service | CentraSite |
REST Server | CentraSite |
REST Link | CentraSite |
REST Callback | CentraSite |
REST Schema | CentraSite |
REST Example | CentraSite |
REST Media Type | CentraSite |
REST Encoding | CentraSite |
Rule Action | webMethods Product Suite |
Rule Data Model | webMethods Product Suite |
Rule Event Model | webMethods Product Suite |
Rule Parameter | webMethods Product Suite |
Rule Project | webMethods Product Suite |
Rule Set | webMethods Product Suite |
Scheduled Report | CentraSite |
Secure Alias (Virtual type of Alias) | CentraSite |
Service | CentraSite |
Simple Alias (Virtual type of Alias) | CentraSite |
SmartList (Virtual type of Package) | CentraSite |
TN Document Type | webMethods Product Suite |
TN Group | webMethods Product Suite |
Transformation Alias | CentraSite |
User | CentraSite |
Virtual type OData Service (Virtual type of OData Service) | CentraSite |
Virtual type REST Service (Virtual type of REST Service) | CentraSite |
Virtual type Service (Virtual type of Service) | CentraSite |
Virtual type XML Service (Virtual type of XML Service) | CentraSite |
Web Application | webMethods Product Suite |
Web Application Page | webMethods Product Suite |
WS-Policy | CentraSite |
XML Schema | CentraSite |
XML Service | CentraSite |
Predefined Virtual type Asset Types
Certain predefined types installed with CentraSite are classified as Virtual type types. A Virtual type type has the same set of attributes as its base type, but has its own set of profiles and properties, and adds its own behavior. A Virtual type type can also have its own lifecycle model and policies.
Virtual type types do not have a separate storage structure or a schema, so the instances of a Virtual type type are stored as regular assets. For example, a Virtual type Service asset inherits the same set of attributes as its base type, Service, and adds its own behavior, yet it is stored as a Service asset.
A Virtual type type inherits all of its attributes from its base type. Therefore, you cannot add attributes directly to a Virtual type type. To add new attributes to a Virtual type type, you add the attributes to the base type. You can selectively display these attributes on the profiles that you have defined in the type. Similarly, you cannot delete attributes from or edit the properties of attributes in the Virtual type type. All attribute creation, deletion, and definition is performed on the base type and those changes are applied to all of its Virtual type types.
A Virtual type type has its own set of Advanced Settings, which enables you to configure the following properties for a Virtual type type:
Large and small icons
Visible in asset browse
Enable reports
Policies can be applied
Require consumer registration
Enable versioning
Top level type
Enable lifecycle management
Visible in search
Inherit base type profiles
Inherit base type policies
Inherit base type LCMs
Clone base type profiles
Additionally, the Virtual type type has an Inherit Base Type option, which determines whether the profiles, LCMs, and policies of the base type also apply to the Virtual type type. You can enable or disable this option for each Virtual type type.
Customizing Predefined Asset Types
Before using the predefined asset types in your environment, you should examine their type definitions and customize them as necessary.
With respect to customizing the predefined asset types installed with CentraSite, you can:
Modify the asset type's existing properties and options (other than
Schema Name,
Namespace, and the
Base Type (for Virtual type types only)).
Note:
Although CentraSite allows you to change the display name of the predefined types, Software AG recommends that you do not do this. Name changes may lead to problems with future upgrades of CentraSite.
Add custom attributes to any asset type other than the predefined Virtual type types.
Move certain attributes from one profile to another.
Specify which profiles are to be displayed for the asset type.
Change the type's system-property settings (for example, specify whether the type supports versioning or can be used with design/change-time policies)
Add profiles, modify profiles, delete profiles, and rearrange the order of profiles within the asset type.
You
cannot delete any of the predefined attributes that belong to the type. You can, however, delete custom (that is, user-defined) attributes that belong to the type.
You
cannot modify the inherited profiles and attributes of the predefined Virtual type types.
Custom Asset Types
Besides customizing the predefined asset types that are installed with CentraSite, you can also define custom types of your own. For example, if you wanted to include items such as service requests, IT projects, and source code libraries in your registry, you would create a custom type for each of these entities.
Note:
Before creating a custom type, always check to see whether CentraSite provides a predefined type that you might be able to customize and use. Customizing one of CentraSite's predefined types will save you time, especially if the type requires a file importer.
Before creating a custom type, you must first decide which aspects of an entity you want to model in the registry. If you were creating a type to represent IT projects, for example, you might want to capture characteristics such as the name of the project requester, the lines of business the project is expected to affect, the project plan, the project manager and the project's expected completion date. After you decide which specific characteristics and qualities you want to model, you can create a custom type that includes a corresponding attribute for each of those characteristics or qualities.
Note:
A custom type that you add to CentraSite is treated as an asset type (that is, instances of that type are treated as assets).
Composite Asset Types
Certain assets can be stored in CentraSite as a set of related registry objects. Such assets are called composite assets. For example, if a web service provides several operations, this is stored in CentraSite as a composite asset consisting of the Service asset plus a separate Operation object for each of the web service's operations.
The objects that are constituents of a composite asset are referred to as components. In a composite asset there is a root component and one or more sub-components that are related to the root component. In the above example, the Service asset is the root component and the Operation objects are the sub-components. A sub-component of a composite asset can itself be a composite asset.
Depending on the relationships defined, registry operations (such as deleting an asset or exporting an asset) performed on a component of a composite asset can cause the same operation to be performed automatically on other components of the composite asset.
The concept of relationships between different objects in a SOA environment follows the UML idea of association relationships. This is only one of several forms of relationship supported by UML, but most SOA Registry Repositories only offer this form. CentraSite extends this scope to provide aggregation and composition relationships in addition to the existing association relationships. Each of these relationship forms provides its own semantics that affect specific operations that can be performed on composite assets.
You can define composite assets for all asset types, including custom (that is, user-defined) asset types.
Association Types
An association type describes a type of relationship that can exist between objects in the registry.
An association type has a name, a forward label (which describes the relationship of the source object to a target object) and an optional reverse label (which describes the relationship of the target object to the source object).
You use association types to define Relationship attributes in an asset type. In the following example, a Relationship attribute called Managed By has been included in the Project asset type to associate a project asset with the user that manages the project.
You Use Association Types to Define Relationship Attributes in Object Types
When users publish assets to the registry, there are two ways in which they can relate an asset with other objects in the registry.
By establishing the relationship using an asset's Relationship attributes. If an asset's type includes one or more Relationship attributes, users can relate an asset to other objects in the registry by simply setting these attributes.
By establishing an ad-hoc association using the asset's Associations profile. If an asset's type includes the Associations profile, users can relate assets of that type with other objects on an ad hoc basis. Using this profile, users can relate an asset to Virtual type and any other object in the registry (assuming they have View permission on the target object).
When you include Relationship attributes in an asset type, you not only enable users to specify the objects to which an asset is related, you enable the relationships to be discovered and reported by the Asset Navigator feature.
Like asset types, association types are system-wide objects. They apply to all organizations defined in the registry (that is, all organizations within an instance of CentraSite have access to the same global set of association types). You cannot restrict the use of an association type to a specific organization.