Using Custom Log Files with Log4j - BPEL

In day to day development, every application requires logging of data/errors in the log files.

In BPEL code development, we may use the following lines in a Java Embedding activity to log texts and errors in the Server log files (i.e servername-diagnostic.log)

com.collaxa.ServerLogger.error("SOA_5007", "Severity :3", "SFO-SOA_5007 generic process failed");   

java.lang.String ErrorMsg = (String)getVariableData("ErrorMessage");       

com.collaxa.ServerLogger.error(ErrorMsg);]

But a server log contains a clutter of information apart from our application specific logged messages. It would be a good thing to do if we can have a custom log file for our application specific logging.

Log4j is a wonderful logging API, which we are going to use in our implementation. We are going to have 2 step configuration  - 

 - Environment Specific Configurations

 - Application Specific Configurations

Environment Specific Configurations

1. There are two ways of adding a custom jar for use in your application  - 

a. Copy log4j-1.2.16.jar to //soa/modules/oracle.soa.ext_11.1.1 and execute ANT script in this directory. This will recreate the oracle.soa.ext.jar file adding the log4j lib to the classpath.

Prerequisites:  

Option 1

a) cd  to directory of oracle.soa.ext_11.1.1 

b) >  C:\\\modules\org.apache.ant_1.7.1\bin\ant (in windows)

bash$  ./u01//modules/org.apache.ant_1.7.1/bin/ant (in Unix)

Option 2

In WINDOWS

In environmental variables, set 

ANT_HOME  = F:\oracle\Middleware\modules\org.apache.ant_1.7.1

Path = %ANT_HOME%\bin

Then from cmd go the directory and type ant and hit enter.

In UNIX

For C shell (csh), edit the startup file (~/.cshrc): 

set path=(/usr/local/jdk1.6.0/bin )

For bash, edit the startup file (~/.bashrc): 

PATH=/usr/local/jdk1.6.0/bin:

export PATH

For ksh, the startup file is named by the environment variable, ENV. To set the path: 

PATH=/usr/local/jdk1.6.0/bin:

export PATH

For sh, edit the profile file (~/.profile): 

PATH=/usr/local/jdk1.6.0/bin:

export PATH

Then load the startup file and verify that the path is set

b. Place the jar in /user_projects/domains/domainName/lib

2. Create a new folder for Log4j configuration and log files like /Log4jConfigFiles

3. Add to this folder the configuration files (log4jConfig.xml and log4j.dtd, for example)

4. Set the log file name and path (/Log4jConfigFiles/customErrorLog.log, for example) in the log4jConfig.xml

5. Change the setDomainEnv script(.cmd for windows or .sh for Unix) found in /user_projects/domains//bin to point to Log4j configuration file:

In Unix

JAVA_OPTIONS="-Dlog4j.configuration=file /Log4jConfigFiles/log4jConfig.xml" 

In Windows

set JAVA_OPTIONS=-Dlog4j.configuration=file:"/Log4jConfigFiles/log4jConfig.xml"

6. Restart the SOA managed server. 

Application Specific Configurations

1. Import  log4j-1.2.16.jar to the project libs (right click in the project name and select “Project Properties”, go to “Libraries and Classpath” and add the jar file)

2. Insert a Java Embedding activity

3. In the BPEL source code, import the Logger class adding the code below before the “bpelx:exec” created for the Java Embedding component

4. Edit the Java Embedding activity and insert the necessary log instructions like to test the functionality:

Logger mLogger = Logger.getLogger("myCustomLog");  

mLogger.info(" >>>>>>>>> This is my first log4j statement ****************");  

mLogger.debug(">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Logger Debug Stmt");  

mLogger.error(">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Logger Errorrr"); 

java.lang.String ErrorTrace = ((org.w3c.dom.Element)getVariableData("inputVariable","payload","/client:process/client:input")).getFirstChild().getNodeValue(); 

mLogger.info("erroorrr trace ::::"+ErrorTrace); 

mLogger.info(ErrorTrace);

All the files mentioned in this post can be downloaded from here .

You can also find a working SOA project inside the downloaded zip named "TestCustomLog.zip" implementing the above described functionality.

________________

thanks, D

Using Query By Example feature of DB Adapter - using SQL 'and' clause dynamically

QueryByExample option of the DB Adapter forms (infers) a SELECT statement at runtime, dynamically from the XML input that you provide while invoking the adapter service. So, it is not necessary to write a design time SELECT query.

Usecase
Say we have a query

SELECT * FROM departments WHERE location_id=1700 AND department_id=30

now, we require that if deparment id is supplied in the input only then the portion "AND department_id=30" will be used in the query.

To explain this, the default HR schema of the Oracle database and the DEPARTMENTS table in that schema can be used.

So, our input schema goes this way -

Here, we supply dept_id and loc_id as the input to fetch records using the DB Adapter service.

Configure the database adapter to use QueryByExample and select the table Departments

Our BPEL flow looks like  -

Assign the bpel inputs to the Departments collection elements of the adapter

Populate the output.
Now, test the composite first with input loc_id as 1700. You can see the output returns multiple records.
Now, test again with loc_id as 1700 and dept_id as 30. You can see the recods are filtered and the query returns a single record.

The working Jdev project can be found here .
[Note: You need to configure the datasource, connection pool and have a JNDI name jndi/hrS in the adapter configuration, to make this code functional w/o change]

Storing and retrieving shared resources like xsd, wsdl, dvm etc in SOA MDS

Its a common idea to share reusable artifacts across composites in Oracle SOA Suite 11g. SOA MDS provides us with the option and has its own advantages.

1. For deploying any shared resource in SOA MDS, we need to create a generic project in Oracle JDeveloper and create necessary folders under it and store the dvm file.
In our example, DTEMS is the project created and the hierarchy of folders is
TestingDvm -> dvm ->idName.dvm (this folder structure will not be visible in JDeveloper, but only in the project workspace).

2. Now, in JDeveloper right click the project (here DTEMS), go to Project Properties -> Deployment.
Click New, select Archive Type as JAR File, name the jar and click OK.
Now in JAR Options, uncheck “Include Manifest File”

From Project Output -> Contributors deselect all.

Go to Filters and check the folder under which the dvm files are located (TestingDvm here) and click OK

Now, the archive is created named “DvmArchive”

3. Now, we need to create a SOA Bundle for packaging the created JAR and deploy it in server.

For that, go to Application Properties of the application under which the project is created and then go to Deployments.

Select Archive Type as SOA Bundle, name the bundle and click OK

In the next screen, go to Dependencies, check the archive (containing the jar) created before (DvmArchive) and click OK

Now, the SOA Bundle named “dvmSOABundle” is created.

4. Now we need to Deploy this SOA bundle to the server.

5. Now, to see the deployed shared resources , we need to create a SOA-MDS connection (DB based connection)

6. Now you can see the resources in the desired folder structure under the /apps directory as below

7. And we are done; the resource can be accessed in the project as ---

              "oramds:/apps/TestingDvm/dvm/idName.dvm"

Export/Import OSB Projects using WLST with Apache Ant - OSB 11g

In this post, we are going to export and import (deploy) OSB projects. Oracle has provided some standardized Python (infact Jython - the java version of Python) scripts which will be processed by  WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST). So, lets go straight into "how-to" of doing things.

We are going wrap the WLST scripts from ANT tasks using weblogic server provided <wlst> tag for Ant. And our WLST is going to process the import (import.py) and export (export.py) scripts.

1. Set JAVA_HOME

JAVA_HOME= <location of java home>

export JAVA_HOME

echo $JAVA_HOME

2. Set CLASSPATH. CLASSPATH variable should contain weblogic.jar, alsb.jar and com.bea.common.configfwk_1.3.0.0.jar .

FMW_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/fmw

CLASSPATH=$FMW_HOME/wlserver_10.3/server/lib/weblogic.jar:$FMW_HOME/Oracle_OSB1/lib/alsb.jar:$FMW_HOME/Oracle_OSB1/modules/com.bea.common.configfwk_1.3.0.0.jar

export CLASSPATH

echo $CLASSPATH

[Note: mutiple paths are seperated by colon(:) in Unix]

3. Now, place the 4 files (build.xml, build.properties, export.py and import.py) in a specific location in the server, say /tmp/OSBScripts.

Few considerations for build.properties

     a. fmw.home=/u01/app/oracle/product/fmw

                           here, mention the path of FMW home

     b. wls.username= weblogic

         wls.password=abc123

                         here, specify the username and password used to connect to server

     c. wls.server  = t3://lpdwa1109.trcw.us.aexp.com:7002

                         here,

                               - t3 protocol is used

                               - port should be the admin server port

     d. export.project=DummyTest

                        here, mention the name of the project that needs to be exported.

     e. export.jar=/tmp/debadri/sbconfig_DummyTest.jar

                        here, specific the jar file name and the location where the project will be exported.

     f. export.customFile=/tmp/debadri/bamdatecheck.xml

                       here, mention the location and name of customization file, if any

     g. import.jar= /tmp/debadri/sbconfig_DummyTest.jar

                       here, mention the name and location of the JAR file which needs to be imported.

     h. import.customFile = None

                      here, name and location of customization file to be applied to the imported jar if any.

Few considerations for build.xml

      a.  <property name="domain.export.script" value=" /tmp/OSBScripts/export.py"/>

      b.  <property name="domain.import.script" value=" /tmp/OSBScripts/import.py" />

                        Always better to specify the full path of export.py and import.py.

      c. We are going to specify the script to execute in the "fileName" property of <wlst>

Here's the oracle doc link to get an insight into using other attributes of <wlst> in running WLST from Ant for WLS 10.3.5

4. Run ant targets from the location where build.xml is placed.

>/tmp/OSBScripts $ <FMW_HOME>/modules/org.apache.ant_1.7.1/bin/ant exportFromOSB

OR

>/tmp/OSBScripts $  <FMW_HOME>/modules/org.apache.ant_1.7.1/bin/ant importToOSB


Here, exportFromOSB - Ant target that exports OSB project from server
          importToOSB -   Ant target that deploys OSB project from local system to the server

[Note: The wlst task is predefined in the version of Ant shipped with WebLogic Server. If you want to use the task with your own Ant installation, add the following task definition in your build file: 

<taskdef name="wlst" classname="weblogic.ant.taskdefs.management.WLSTTask"/>]

All the files (build files and Jython scripts) referred in this link can be found here

______________
thanks, D

Working with SOAP Attachment using Java Callout in OSB 11g

Our use case is to receive an attachment (zip/pdf/doc) which comes as a part of SOAP request and place it in a particular directory.

First, we are going to have a java class which writes the attachment content into a file. As our main purpose is to show how to handle attachment, we are keeping the java code simple. 

WRITING A POJO

1. We will write a java class (BinaryCtxWriter.java), which has a static method accepting a string and a byte array as input params. The method’s purpose is to write the contents of the attached file into a particular directory.

2. Export the class as a JAR (BinaryCtxWriter.jar).

OSB STANDPOINT

1. Create an OSB project and copy BinaryCtxWriter.jar in here.

2. First we need to create a WSDL(PSInterface.wsdl) for the proxy service which will accept an attachment. 

Here, it should be noticed that the request message has 2 parts. One for the message body and the other for attachment.  To handle multiple parts in a message structure, we will be using RPC style SOAP binding. The operation input has a MIME binding.

3. Create a proxy service based on this WSDL. The OSB message flow looks like this

4. For every attachment, OSB keeps the attachment in memory and gives us a reference handler to that location. The context variable "attachments" get populated once any attachment is received. Under "attachments", each "attachment" element contains an individual attachment.

This reference can be accessed as 

                           $attachments/ctx:attachment/ctx:body/ctx:binary-content

In the assign action, we assign the expression $attachments/ctx:attachment/ctx:body/ctx:binary-content 

to a variable. (say “attachmentData”) .

5. Now, we make a Java Callout to the static method that we exposed in the BinaryCtxWriter.jar. 

Assign, the expression $body/soap:submitAttachment/submitAttachment/fileName/text() to the java string argument.

Assign the variable $attachmentData to the byte[] argument.

6. In the response pipeline, we are having the proxy to reply with ‘OK’.

   This is done by replacing the body variable with

<ns0:submitAttachmentResponse xmlns:ns0="http://www.debadri.com/SOAPAttachment/"> 

<submitAttachmentResponse> 

<response>OK</response> 

</submitAttachmentResponse>

</ns0:submitAttachmentResponse>

7. Next, we explicitly delete the "attachments" variable. This is done so as to prevent the client of the proxy service from receiving the attachment again as a part of SOAP message.

In the delete action, in the Variable section mention "attachments"

8. Deploy the OSB application (sbconfig_HandlingSOAPAttachment.jar)

Note: To test this we can use soapUI, Java client or any other WS client. Strangely, testing with OSB test console somehow doesn't function.

All the source code files referred in this post can be downloaded from here

________________

thanks, D