Windchill« Info*Engine is an industrial strength, enterprise-level product for delivering information portals to the desktops of end users. Windchill Info*Engine performs real time access û both read and write û to information in virtually any information system from packaged applications, to databases, to mainframes. Windchill Info*Engine plugs into your Internet infrastructure using Web browsers and Web servers. The Windchill Info*Engine server, working in combination with the Web server, communicates with the source information systems via software components called adapters. The purpose of an adapter is to encapsulate and abstract the data and functionality of the information system. Windchill Info*Engine provides many pre-packaged adapters to systems typically found in the manufacturing industry. PTC can easily and quickly create custom adaptersá systems not addressed by the wide range of adapters described below . Adapters are categorized as follows:
╖ Enterprise resource planning (ERP) adapters
╖ Product data management (PDM) adapters
╖ Database and directory service adapters
╖ Requirements management adapter
The Windchill Info*Engine ERP adapters can be used to provide Web-based access to leading ERP systems. In addition, Windchill Release-to-Production uses Windchill Info*Engine to synchronize Part and BOM data between Windchill and ERP systems in an automated fashion.
This adapter provides the ability to:
╖ Create Material Master
╖ Update Material Master
╖ Create BOMs
╖ Update BOMs
╖ Get Material cost breakdown
╖ Execute any BAPI
╖ Execute any RFC
R/3 versions 3.1 and 4.5 are supported.
This adapter provides the ability to:
╖ Create Item Master
╖ Update Item Master
╖ Create BOMs
╖ Update BOMs
╖ Get Item cost breakdown
╖ Get multiple organization data
Oracle Applications 11.0.x is supported.
This adapter provides extensive create, read, update, and delete capability, including:
╖ Product structure manipulation
╖ Attribute manipulation
╖ Check in, check out
╖ Revisions
╖ Baselines
╖ Lifecycle control
Metaphase versions 2.3, 3.0, and 3.1 are supported.
This adapter is included with Windchill Foundation and is the means by which Federation between Windchill systems is accomplished. In addition to providing several pre-packaged webjects it also includes a means of adding custom webjects. Each version of Windchill comes with an adapter for that version.
Info*Engine adapters provide the ability to manage and view information in virtually all commercially available databases or directory services.á
The Oracle adapter provides high performance native access to Oracle databases.
It provides the ability to:
╖ Query, update, create, and delete objects and attributes
╖ Get bulk streams
Oracle 7 and 8 are supported.
JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) is a Java standard for accessing database and document management applications. Virtually all modern databases provide JDBC drivers. Examples include: MS Access, DB2, Sybase, Lotus Notes, and many more. See http://java.sun.com/products/jdbc áor visit the Web site of your database vendor for more information. In addition, there is a JDBC/ODBC bridge so any database that supports ODBC may be accessed.
This adapter provides the generic ability to:
╖ Query, update, create, and delete objects and attributes
╖ Get and put bulk and BLOB streams
JDBC version 1.1 is supported.
This adapter provides the ability to perform standard SQL queries against many types of databases, including some that do not have native SQL support. It is particularly useful for accessing older database applications and those running on legacy hardware. The list includes: Adabas, AllBase, All-in-1, Datacom, DB2, dBASE, ENSCRIBE, FOCUS, IDS-II, InfoAccess, Informix, IDMS, IMS, Infoman, C-ISAM, ISAM, VSAM, QSAM, Ingres, MS SQL Server, M204, Millenium, Nomad, NonStop SQL, Nucleus, OMNIDEX, OpenM, MUMPS, Oracle, PACE, Progress, Rdb, RMS, RedBrick, ShareBase, StoreHouse, Supra, Sybase, System2000, Teradata, TOTAL, Unify, Universe, WDS, WIIS
JNDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface) is a Java standard for accessing directory services. The JNDI adapter provides the ability to access to any directory service supporting JNDI. This includes LDAP (most X.500 directory services have LDAP drivers), NIS, and NovellÆs NDS. See http://java.sun.com/products/jndi or visit your directory service vendorÆs Web site for more information.
This adapter provides the generic ability to:
╖ Query, update, create, and delete of all directory information
╖ Download BLOB streams
JNDI version 1.1 is supported.
By some estimates up to 80% of the worldÆs information is held on mainframes. Unlocking the information held captive in mainframes is critical to streamlining many business processes. This adapter provides the ability to access mainframe terminal based applications (green screens). The adapter provides fully automatic parameterized screen capture and playback. At capture time, the screens necessary to accomplish a given task are executed and captured. At run-time the adapter emulates a terminal executing those screens.
The adapter supports the 5250, 3270, HP 700/92 and DEC VT100/220 protocols.
The Windchill Info*Engine DOORS Adapter can be used to provide Web-based access to the leading requirements management application from QSS, DOORS.
This adapter provides the ability to query many types of DOORS objects including:
╖ Modules
╖ Projects
╖ Requirements
╖ Attributes
DOORS version 4.1.1 is supported.
If the information system
you need to access is not supported via a standard adapter, PTC will create a
custom adapter.á This system must have
an interface mechanism that can be called from a æCÆ or Java program. PTC
Global Services consultants use an adapter development kit designed to quickly
produce an adapter to your specifications. .
Windchill Info*Engine Adapters provide a broad range of information system support, enabling companies to maximize the value of their product information assets residing in incumbent and legacy systems.á This solution offers the necessary capabilities that underpin manufacturersÆ collaborative product commerce strategies, resulting in streamlined business processes spanning functional and organizational boundaries and collaboration throughout the extended enterprise.