About Application Links and Event Definitions

An event definition is a specific format that lets SBM applications and external products declare the events they can raise, and lets receiving applications understand these events so they can respond to them. Event definitions are listed under the Application Links heading in App Explorer.

An event definition includes data specific to the application or external product, and the following event values: EventType, ObjectType, Product, ProductVersion, and ProductInstance. SBM uses the event definition to construct an event map that is deployed to the Event Manager. At runtime, the Event Manager receives the event, and if the event is in a deployed event map, it invokes the associated asynchronous orchestration workflow, passing the event definition data to the workflow.

Important: Orchestration links, not event definitions, are used to define events for synchronous orchestration workflows. For more information, see About Orchestration Links.

Event definitions can be created in two ways:

Automatic: If you use the Action Wizard to create a new orchestration, a new event definition is created under the Application Links heading. This event definition is designed to be used with the Event without Reply that already exists in the application under the Orchestration Links heading. The application link lets the orchestration know what the incoming event will look like; the orchestration link lets the application generate an event that looks like what the orchestration is expecting. For more information, see the orchestration workflow information in Using the Action Wizard.
Manual: You can create a new custom event definition or import an existing one. For instructions, see Creating a New Custom Event Definition and Importing an Event Definition File for a New Custom Event Definition. You typically use custom event definitions to do the following:
- Export an event definition (.mtd) or Web Service Definition Language (.wsdl) file from an orchestration and then import the file into any application that needs to raise the event.
  See Tutorial: Calling an Orchestration Workflow from Any Application for instructions.
- Export an .mtd or .wsdl file from an orchestration and then use it to raise an event from an external product. After you export this file, consult the documentation for the external product to determine how to call an operation on the Web service to raise the event.
  See Raising Events from External Products for instructions.

About Application Links and Event Definitions

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