H Normalized Message Properties

This appendix describes normalized message properties.

The appendix includes the following sections:

Section H.2, "Oracle BPEL Process Manager Properties"
Section H.3, "Oracle Web Services Addressing Properties"

H.1 Introduction to Normalized Messages

Header manipulation and propagation is a key business integration messaging requirement. Oracle BPEL Process Manager, Oracle Mediator, Oracle JCA, and Oracle B2B rely extensively on header support to solve customers' integration needs. For example, you can preserve a file name from the source directory to the target directory by propagating it through message headers. In Oracle BPEL Process Manager and Oracle Mediator, you can access, manipulate, and set headers with varying degrees of user interface support.

A normalized message is simplified to have only two parts, properties and payload.

Typically, properties are name-value pairs of scalar types. To fit the existing complex headers into properties, properties are flattened into scalar types.

The user experience is simplified while manipulating headers in design time, because the complex properties are predetermined. In the mediator or BPEL designer, you can manipulate the headers with some reserved key words.

However, this method does not address the properties that are dynamically generated based on your input. Based on your choice, the header definitions are defined. These definitions are not predetermined and therefore cannot be accounted for in the list of predetermined property definitions. You cannot design header manipulation of the dynamic properties before they are defined. To address this limitation, you must generate all the necessary services (composite entry points) and references. This restriction applies to services that are expected to generate dynamic properties. Once dynamic properties are generated, they must be stored for each composite. Only then you can manipulate the dynamic properties in Mediator or BPEL designer.

For more information on normalized message properties, see Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Technology Adapters and Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle B2B.

H.2 Oracle BPEL Process Manager Properties

Table H-1 lists all the predetermined properties of a normalized message for Oracle BPEL Process Manager.

Table H-1 Properties for Oracle BPEL Process Manager

Property Name	Propagatable (Yes/No)	Direction (Inbound /Outbound)	Data Type	Range of Valid Values	Description
`bpel.metadata`	Yes	Both	String	Any string, size limit: 1000	This contains extra information that user wants to associate the BPEL instance to. Whatever was passed in is stored in the metadata column of the `cube_instance` table.
`bpel.priority`	Yes	Inbound	String that can be read into an integer	[1-10]. 1 being the highest priority	Goes into `cube_instance` priority column. Used by system to prioritize.
`bpel.title`	No	Inbound	String	Any string, size limit: 100	Goes into the `title` column of `cube_instance` table.
`bpel.instanceIndex1`	No	Inbound	String	Any string, size limit: 100	This goes into `ci_indexes` table. Extra index for `cube_instance`.
`bpel.instanceIndex2`	No	Inbound	String	Any string, size limit: 100	This goes into `ci_indexes` table. Extra index for `cube_instance`.
`bpel.instanceIndex3`	No	Inbound	String	Any string, size limit: 100	This goes into `ci_indexes` table. Extra index for the `cube_instance`.

H.3 Oracle Web Services Addressing Properties

Table H-2 lists all the predetermined properties of a normalized message for Web Services Addressing.

Table H-2 Properties for Oracle Web Services Addressing

Property Name	Propagatable (Yes/No)	Direction (Inbound /Outbound)	Data Type	Range of Valid Values	Description
`wsa.messageId`	No	Both	String	URI format	This property specifies the identifier for the message and the endpoint to which replies to this message should be sent as an Endpoint Reference.
`wsa.relatesTo`	No	Both	String	URI format	This optional (repeating) element information item contributes one abstract [relationship] property value, in the form of an (IRI, IRI) pair. The content of this element (of type `xs:anyURI`) conveys the [message id] of the related message.
`wsa.replyToAddres`s	No	Both	String	URI format	Is a contract between two components communicating asynchronously.
`wsa.replyToPortType`	No	Both	QName	Any QName	This value is passed to the WS service to configure portType on the service's callback. It is translated to the WSA callback EndpointReference's `PortType` element.
`wsa.replyToService`	No	Both	QName	Any QName	This value is passed to the WS service to configure service on the service's callback. It is translated to the WSA callback EndpointReference's `ServiceName` element.
`wsa.action`	No	Both	String	URI format	This REQUIRED element (whose content is of type `xs:anyURI`) conveys the value of the [action] property.
`wsa.to`	No	Both	String	URI format	This optional element (whose content is of type `xs:anyURI`) provides the value for the [destination] property. If this element is NOT present then the value of the [destination] property is `http://www.w3.org/2005/08/addressing/anonymous`.