Protocol Connectors Overview

These objects enable AlchemyPoint to operate as a protocol client, making outbound requests and/or connections to remote Internet/Intranet services. Multiple object instances may be specified within a single ServerConfiguration, enabling AlchemyPoint to perform the tasks of multiple types of clients simultaneously. This is useful when building mashups or complex process orchestrations that involve accessing data sources over different protocols (for example: a mashup that monitors a FTP server for updates, e-mailing change alerts to a list of users, and posting an update in a Web-based Issue Tracker).

AlchemyPoint Connectors are all based on a unified framework that provides request parallelization, rate-limiting, retransmission, SSL, authentication, and other advanced functionality. This framework simplifies the process of building Mashups, ProxyServices, WebSpiders? , and other network applications / services.

The AlchemyPoint framework supports three types of connectors: InputConnectors, OutputConnectors, and FullDuplexConnectors.

Supported Protocol Connectors

HTTP:

• HTTPFullDuplexConnector - Accesses HTTP content on a remote web server in response to data received from an AlchemyPoint FullDuplexBinding? , such as those within a HTTPFullDuplexListener. This Connector is useful for creating HTTP proxy services and mashups.

• HTTPInputConnector - Accesses HTTP content on a remote web server on a regular, pre-defined interval. Retrieved content may be utilized within bindings to trigger transformations or other server processes, or dispatched to an OutputConnector for transmission elsewhere.

• HTTPOutputConnector - Posts or otherwise updates HTTP content on a remote web-server in response to data received from an AlchemyPoint Binding? , DispatcherSource? , or InputConnector.

FTP? :

• FTPOutputConnector - Uploads content to a remote FTP server in response to data received from an AlchemyPoint Binding? , DispatcherSource? , or InputConnector.

• FTPInputConnector - Access file content on a remote FTP server on a regular, pre-defined interval. Retrieved files may be utilized within bindings to trigger transformations or other server processes, or dispatched to an OutputConnector for transmission elsewhere.

Local Files:

• FileOutputConnector - Saves file content to a local filesystem directory path in response to data received from an AlchemyPoint Binding? , DispatcherSource? , or InputConnector.

• FileInputConnector - Access file content from a local filesystem directory path on a regular, pre-defined interval. Read files may be utilized within bindings to trigger transformations or other server processes, or dispatched to an OutputConnector for transmission elsewhere.

Mail (SMTP? , POP3? , IMAP? ):

• MailOutputConnector - Sends e-mail messages to an Internet user via an intermediary SMTP server, in response to data received from an AlchemyPoint Binding? , DispatcherSource? , or InputConnector.

• MailMXOutputConnector - Sends e-mail messages to an Internet user via direct SMTP mail forwarding (no intermediary SMTP server required), in response to data received from an AlchemyPoint Binding? , DispatcherSource? , or InputConnector..

• MailInputConnector - Retrieves e-mail messages fro a remote POP3 or IMAP server on a regular, pre-defined interval. Retrieved e-mails may be utilized within bindings to trigger transformations or other server processes, or dispatched to an OutputConnector for transmission elsewhere.

Feeds (RSS, ATOM? ):

• FeedInputConnector - Subscribes to updates from one or more RSS / ATOM feeds on a regular, pre-defined interval. Retrieved RSS / ATOM content may be utilized within bindings to trigger transformations or other server processes, or dispatched to an OutputConnector for transmission elsewhere.

Instant Messaging (AIM? ):

• IMOutputConnector - Sends AIM IM messages to an Internet user via an active IMConnection, in response to data received from an AlchemyPoint Binding? , DispatcherSource? , or InputConnector.

ORMQ:

• ORMQInputConnector - Accesses named queue destinations on an ORMQ Provider in a polling fashion, checking for new messages on a regular interval. This object differs from an ORMQSubscription in that messages are only retrieved from the queue on an interval, versus being processed as soon as they are available.

• ORMQOutputConnector - Posts messages to an ORMQ named queue destination using rate limiting and pipelining. This object is useful when it is necessary to limit the speed at which messages are posted to an ORMQ queue, as ORMQDestination does not inherently support any sort of rate / message limiting capabilities.