Overview
An importer generates a catalog entry for an asset from a particular type of input file. For example, the Web service importer installed with CentraSite reads a WSDL file and from it, generates a catalog entry for the service that the WSDL describes. In most cases, the importer also uploads the input file to the CentraSite repository and links the file to the catalog entry. When you import a Web service from a WSDL file, for example, the importer copies the WSDL file into the repository and then links the file to the catalog entry for the Web service.
If during import of a service or schema the importer detects that the asset with the given identification already exists in the catalog, you can either overwrite the existing version or create a new version. If you decide to create a new version, the imported file will be applied to the new version.
You can also choose the option Interactive resolution of Import/Includes, which will allow you to specify how an already existing imported/included file (further WSDL or schema) is handled. For each of the imported/included files you have one of these options:
Overwrite the importing file (WSDL or schema) with new content.
Create a new version of the file with the new content (if, for example, you want to modify a schema but want to retain its previous version).
Reuse any version of the file (if, for example, an intermediate version of a schema is currently referred to by a WSDL, you can redirect it to the newest version).
The following table lists the importers installed with CentraSite and identifies the types of files they require as input:
To import this asset... | You must supply this type of file... |
Web Service (including Abstract Service) | Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) file. |
XML Schema | XML Schema Definition (XSD) file. |
BPEL | Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL) file. |
Process | XML Process Definition Language (XPDL) file. |
Archive | A file that was previously exported from CentraSite Control. |
Note: | You can also call these importers using the Java-based import API, the SOAP API, or a command-line utility. For information about importing objects using the API, see the CentraSite Administrator’s Guide. |
An administrator can add custom asset types to CentraSite and install custom importers for those types. If your CentraSite is equipped with custom importers, consult your administrator to determine which types of files those importers expect as input.
