Windchill Info*Engine® is an enterprise application integration (EAI) framework that allows companies to create focused business applications comprised of information extracted from multiple data sources. In today's competitive business environment, companies require the involvement of all organizations, as well as external partners, in the decision support process. Informed decision making means higher quality products and faster time to market.

Information and processes that have been traditionally locked away in legacy and incumbent information systems can now be seamlessly and logically connected using Windchill® Info*Engine to create an integrated enterprise solution for every member of the supply chain. With Windchill Info*Engine's information acquisition and Web-enabling capabilities, members of the extended enterprise can obtain the information they need when they need it.

CAPABILITIES

Windchill Info*Engine uses the Web as a universal platform to provide a scalable application framework, combining information from loosely coupled systems into robust business process solutions. Using Web browsers, Windchill Info*Engine can quickly generate and deliver role-specific applications, providing end users with the exact information they require. Communicating through existing intranets, extranets, or the Internet, Windchill Info*Engine can access and deliver information to everyone involved in the product and process lifecycle.

Windchill Info*Engine provides a top-down approach to application integration by combining multiple information sources, without relying on source-level programming. In part, this capability is due to its ability to work within industry-standard IT infrastructures, network protocols, and application programming interfaces (APIs)-e.g., structured query language (SQL), open database connectivity (ODBC), Java® database connectivity (JDBC), lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP), HTML, and XML. This approach allows business analysts to develop composite solutions from a business process perspective.

Windchill Info*Engine is composed of multiple modules which provide a robust, open, extensible platform upon which to create a composite product-lifecycle information application. The resulting business solution takes advantage of existing technology, hardware, and legacy systems, making the most of a company's past investments. Windchill Info*Engine creates a borderless environment, within defined security parameters, enabling users to:

• Locate, select, and pull down information resources retained across widely dispersed networks. Individuals can access the information without being aware of the technical nature of these information assets, the underlying servers on which they reside, or the network technology that facilitates their delivery.
   
  
• View network-based information in a Web browser. Information consumers can interact with various resources without having to configure the desktop client with endless varieties of application software.
   
  
• Examine integrated, disparate information. Such information is compiled from enterprise resources and placed into the organization's everyday business processes, translating the concept of business process reengineering into a practical reality.

The Windchill Info*Engine Server offers native support for both messaging and transactional semantics, providing robust extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) functionality. Using supplied functions, including create, read, update, and delete, it supports bidirectional information access and extraction from almost any system. Data manipulation functions, such as sort, join, merge, and intersect, are also provided to perform data transformation and formatting operations. The Windchill Info*Engine server has two primary components:

• Webject libraries
  Webject libraries enable users to automatically map database schemas and object models into departmental applications. Webject tags are HTML objects that can be inserted into an HTML template file. When the Web server encounters a Webject function tag in an HTML file, the object tag is resolved to execute a specified command. The Windchill Info*Engine server then performs an action against the targeted system. Webjects may be used to perform a number of activities, including the following: creating generic APIs to interface applications, defining display formats, and describing computational operations that are external to any of the applications.
   
  
• Template libraries
  Template libraries define the specific processes to be performed. Template processes provide access to generic applications through Windchill Info*Engine's interface, as well as to associated generic display screens. Template subelements define the correlation to business objects such as bills of materials (BOMs) and to tasks such as creating a part. Windchill Info*Engine templates provide a flexible mechanism for defining what information must be accessed for a compound application and how it should be displayed. Sample templates are provided and can be easily customized or extended to meet specific business needs.

PTC provides an extensive set of packaged adapters, which provide access to information from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and product data management (PDM) applications, as well as from virtually any legacy system or database. In cases where a packaged adapter is not available, PTC offers a service to create an adapter tailored to the customer's proprietary applications. Windchill Info*Engine security mechanisms ensure that all established system security and permission rules are strictly enforced. Adapters are capable of interacting bidirectionally with various systems, using an array of available capabilities. Information systems may be accessed at a variety of levels, including:

• APIs such as BAPI for SAP R/3 or prebuilt API adapters such as Metaphase, Baan PDM, or Oracle® MFG
   
  
• Database-level access through Oracle, OBDC/JDBC, and JNDI/LDAP
   
  
• Access to mainframe systems provided via the optional enterprise business application interface (EBAI) adapter and the EDA/SQL adapter

This wide range of techniques ensures that Windchill Info*Engine can be used as a consistent, reusable integration platform regardless of the specific systems involved.

Windchill Info*Engine is available stand-alone or as part of the Windchill Collaboration Factor!, a solution which offers an interenterprise collaborative environment for sharing and visualizing valuable product and process knowledge, regardless of where that information resides or what format it is in. The Windchill Collaboration Factor! in turn supports the Windchill Factor! e-SeriesÖ, which delivers a complete set of enterprise solutions to address collaborative product commerce (CPC). From product planning through production and everything in between, the Windchill Factor! e-Series exploits the Internet for product collaboration, and in so doing, raises the value of product information to an enterprise asset.