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previous chapter, the output of a business form is a structured XML document. XML is the lingua franca that is easily interoperable with back-end processes and applications, such as database, Web services, application services, and so on.
This chapter provides you with a general overview of the back-end integration process and the benefits of InfoPath 2003 in regard to this process. When you have finished this chapter, you will have an understanding of how to integrate your business forms with several business scenarios.
Integration Requirements
InfoPath is interoperable with any server and client process that can take an XML message as input. Since it is also programmable, you can implement any script code that interacts with third-party applications using COM objects as your communication model. The programming model also permits you to submit the form data to more than one back-end system for a better integration with your business. Consider, for example, an order confirmation form where you submit some information to the order process application and other information to a data warehouse for marketing analysis.
When you create a new template from a data source, you have three choices:
XML schema or XML data file
Database (Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft Access only)
Web service
In the first case you have a file-system-based form, in the sense that you can create and read InfoPath documents from the file system (or Web storage such as Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server) that follows (is validated) by the XML schema used during the template design.
If you choose the second option, the meta data (template XML schema) is defined by the selected table or SQL Query statement. Then, the data source that will be available will reflect all information found into the database. By default, any submit is saved directly into the database table selected during the design phase.
The last choice is a Web service. Depending on the Web method signature (if it lets you submit data), you will submit the form data automatically to the Web service without writing any piece of script code. This is the InfoPath behavior default. In business forms, back-end integration is often more complex than the preceding scenarios, and you have to, for example, submit information to different data sources or, in the case of a database, different tables or databases (i.e., either the data warehouse or supply chain database). As explained in the previous chapter, InfoPath is extensible by custom scripts, and you can also control the back-end integration through your script code.
