Using the TIBCO ActiveSpaces Operators

The TIBCO ActiveSpaces connectivity solution is implemented as a suite of seven global Java operators that allow a StreamBase application to connect to an ActiveSpaces Metaspace and Space, and that allow the application to exchange tuples seamlessly with the Space. Depending on your operators' configuration settings, your application acts either as a leech or a seeder within the Space, and may connect to the Space as a remote client.

In addition to the ability to get, take, and put tuples to and from a Space, a number of other operations are supported using the appropriate operator. The complete list of supported operations and operators is described below.

The different ActiveSpaces operators share a connection to the same Metaspace (and optionally the same Space), provided they are configured to do so. Each operator lists the Metaspaces and Spaces available in corresponding combo box settings (see Properties: Operator Properties Tab). The lists are specified in a dedicated section of the application's sbd.sbconf file. Here is an example of such a section, containing all possible settings (either active or commented out):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<streambase-configuration xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
  xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="http://www.streambase.com/schemas/sbconf/">

  <adapter-configurations>

  <!-- This section contains the configuration settings for 
       the ActiveSpaces operators -->
  <adapter-configuration name="activespaces"/>

    <!-- This section defines a Metaspace -->
    <section name="metaspace-definition">

      <setting name="id" val="sbms"/>
      <setting name="member-name" val="me"/>

      <!-- Edit these URLs to reflect your Metaspace's required values -->
      <setting name="discovery-url" val="tcp://10.97.233.31:50000"/>
      <setting name="listen-url" val="tcp://10.97.233.31:50001"/>
      <setting name="reconnect-interval-ms" val="10000"/>
      <setting name="connection-timeout-ms" val="30000"/>

      <!-- Authentication.
           Note that the <authentication-pwd> value can either be enciphered 
           using sbcipher or can be plain text.
        <setting name="authentication-domain" val="myDomain"/>
        <setting name="authentication-username" val="myName"/>
        <setting name="authentication-pwd" 
          val="dgrqnVai/TG6QgpPrb2ASOMCA4oVaijxqsUauHYbEff6fjoCQT9UunhREY8vtIu6oxiztD3k9TIjuk4v2m3t7g=="/>
        <setting name="security-policy-file" val="myPolicyFile"/>
        <setting name="security-token-file" val="myTokenFile"/>
        <setting name="identity-pwd" 
          val="dgrqnVai/TG6QgpPrb2ASOMCA4oVaijxqsUauHYbEff6fjoCQT9UunhREY8vtIu6oxiztD3k9TIjuk4v2m3t7g=="/>
      -->

      <!-- This section defines a Space managed by this Metaspace -->
      <section name="space-definition">
        <setting name="id" val="sbspace"/>
        <setting name="is-seeder" val="true"/>
      </section>

      <!-- This section defines another Space managed by this Metaspace -->
      <section name="space-definition">
        <setting name="id" val="sbspace2"/>
        <setting name="is-seeder" val="true"/>
      </section>

    </section>

    <!-- Other Metaspace definitions go here -->

    </adapter-configuration>
  </adapter-configurations>
</streambase-configuration>                 

In each <section name="metaspace-definition"> and <section name="space-definition"> section, the <setting id="SomeName"> tag should match its id value to the actual Metaspace or Space name it represents in the ActiveSpaces system. This is also the value listed in the Operator Properties tab of each operator's Properties view.

A best practice is to define your Metaspaces and Spaces before placing operator instances on the canvas, so that the lists are already available in the Properties view and the operators can be configured right away.

This section describes the properties you can set for a TIBCO ActiveSpaces operator, using the various tabs of the Properties view in StreamBase Studio.

Each operator has only one input port, used to receive commands describing an operation to be performed on the ActiveSpaces Space (such as Get, Put, Connect, and so on). The schema for each operator is different because different operations require different parameters.

One optional field is common to all operators: a tuple field named passthrough. If present, it is passed on, unchanged, to the output stream of the operator. You can use this mechanism to attach context data to you commands to an operator, allowing you to identify this command again later on downstream.

For all operators, fields are optional unless noted otherwise below.

Every operator has only one fixed output port, used to deliver the results of executing operator commands, plus one optional Status output port if the operator's Enable Status Port option is checked.

When exchanging tuples between StreamBase and ActiveSpaces, the fields and field types of these tuples are expected to match in the following ways:

The table below lists all the type translations supported by the operator.

As mentioned in previous sections, every operator in the ActiveSpaces suite has the capability to initiate connection to its assigned Space. However, for complex applications it is more desirable to leave all operators' Connect On Startup property unchecked, save for one Control operator at the beginning of your EventFlow logic to initiate the connection. Add a Filter operator connected to its Status port to wait for a status tuple with status='SpaceEvent' and info=['Space state changed', 'READY'] before letting the rest of the ActiveSpaces operations (such as Browse queries) take place. This allows for greater control over the required sequence of events, such as ensuring Listen queries are sent before the first Put operations are performed.

The StreamBase installation comes with a sample demonstrating the use of this operator. To load the sample in StreamBase Studio, select File → Load StreamBase Sample and look under the Extending StreamBase section for an entry called ActiveSpaces Operator.

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