Different Adapters for Different Commerce Server Systems
For the latest version of Commerce Server 2007 Help, see the Microsoft Web site.
Commerce Server includes four different BizTalk adapters, one for each of the following Commerce Server systems:
Orders System
Catalog System
Inventory System
Profiles System
In fact, each of these adapters comes in two types: receive adapters and send adapters. For an explanation of the differences between these two types of adapters, see Receive Adapters Versus Send Adapters.
Although the adapters for each of the four Commerce Server systems shown above operate in similar ways, there are a number of differences that generally correspond to the differences between the Commerce Server systems themselves. An example of similar operation is that all four adapters provide ways to export data out of their respective systems and import data into their respective systems. They also all provide two ways for the exporting of data to be initiated: from Commerce Server on a scheduled, periodic basis, and from another application, through BizTalk Server, on an on-demand basis using the BizTalk Server solicit-response messaging pattern.
However, each of the four adapters defines a unique set of XML messages that it supports, and each adapter requires schemas for those messages that are designed to convey the type of data that each Commerce Server system maintains, be it baskets and purchase orders in the case of the Orders System, product catalog information in the case of the Catalog System, or user profiles in the case of the Profiles System.
In general, the Commerce Server adapters support an export message for scheduled, periodic exporting of data from their corresponding Commerce Server system. These adapters also support a query message for on-demand exporting of the same data. Finally, these adapters support an import message for on-demand importing of data into their corresponding Commerce Server systems.
The Orders adapter and the Profiles adapter deviate from this convention to some degree. The Orders adapter has customized messages for importing its data that are explicitly designed to process baskets and purchase orders, allowing Commerce Server to serve as the back end to purchasing that is initiated elsewhere, and to interact more easily and automatically with other systems that affect the status of orders maintained in the Commerce Server Orders System. The Profiles adapter, in addition to the standard export, query, and import messages, also provides messages to update and delete profiles. For more information about the messages supported by each of the four Commerce Server adapters, see Adapter Message Types.