OW has seen some incorrect use of the Broker suite tools. This can result into problems when the products are upgraded to newer versions. Therefore OW has created the following guidelines for implementation and usage of the Broker Suite 3.0 software:
· The Broker registry keys on Windows platforms are only for Broker internal use. This is not for use for partners to locate the application path of Broker. The only exception are the two registry paths
· My ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareOASHSODBC
· My ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREOASHSBrokerODBC
· Users are allowed to enter optional ODBC connection string information into these text fields.
· These settings are not preserved during update, so users have to store these settings in a registry export file before installing newer versions. Note 1
· All configuration files are only for OW internal use and should not be used by external products. Neither for update nor for retrieving information.
· The OW development team can change the location where the software is stored. This means this path should not be used hard coded by partners.
· UI interface can be changed. So existing documentation or training material, containing bitmaps that show screen dumps, needs to be updated. The owner of this solution or services built with Broker should do this.
· Before shipping, integration solution providers (CRM, SCS, Solutions, etc) should do a complete XML Export of the Broker repository and store the content in a configuration management system. When customer calls with complains or problem rise during customization, this textual representation of the repository content can be used to compare the distributed repository and the one at the customer site.
· End-users should use the Broker Log system (Broker Log Service since 2.2.1) to use the most optimized logging capability, instead of forcing Broker to write to OS text files (by not entering correct DSN in Broker Configure)
· Integration solution developers should use the by Broker provided calls (like for example logTransaction) to log problems in the Broker Log System
In case your current integration solution is not compliant with these rules at the moment and you don’t see an alternative implementation, please contact us so we can discuss your requirement and come to a backward compatible solution. You can do so by contacting your support analyst or an OpenWorld product consultant.