About Data Mapping

As you create orchestrations in SBM Composer, you find that you need to pass data to Web services, use the return values from Web services, or store data values in temporary locations.

In SBM Composer, you use data mapping to arrange the inputs and outputs of Web services. Data Mapping is one of the tabs that is displayed in the orchestration workflow Property Editor when you select an orchestration workflow in App Explorer or when you select a Service step in an orchestration workflow. (As with all Property Editor tabs, the content of the Data Mapping tab depends on what is selected.) When you define inputs, you can either use the mappings suggested by SBM Composer or specify other mappings.

You can do any of the following tasks from the Data Mapping tab:

• Choose an input suggested by SBM Composer (suggested mappings).

• Open the Select a Source popup, in which you select an input from a hierarchical list of choices.

  Note: The outputs from a Web service are available as source elements only for subsequent items in the orchestration workflow.
• Display advanced options with which you map incompatible types or multiple items in the Select a Source popup.
  Note: If incompatible types are mapped, the mapping appears in a warning color (dark blue) preceded by a ! character.
• Use data that accompanies the event that triggered the orchestration workflow.
• Clear mappings for the selected item.
• Set the display of data elements to show a red highlight on the icons of required items.
• Switch between mapping mode and properties mode. In properties mode, you can view and edit the lowest-level details for a working data element or step input, including its namespace and type.
• Initialize values for optional elements and attributes in complex types. For more information, see Element and Attribute Mapping.