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<chapter id="connector_framework">
  <title>Connector Framework</title>
  <para></para>
  <para>There is a lot of information stored in many of different places: databases, repositories, SCM systems,
    registries, file systems, services, etc. The purpose of the federation engine is to allow applications to use the JCR API
    to access that information as if it were all stored in a single JCR repository, but to really leave the information where
    it is.</para>
  <para>Why not just copy or move the information into a JCR repository?  Moving it is probably pretty difficult, since most 
		likely there are existing applications that rely upon that information being where it is.  All of those applications
		would break or have to change.  And copying the information means that we'd have to continually synchronize the changes.
		This not only is a lot of work, but it often makes it difficult to know whether information is accurate and "the master" data.
	</para>
  <para>ModeShape lets us leave information where it is, yet access it through the JCR API as if it were in one big repository.
		One major benefit is that existing applications that use the information in the original locations don't break, since they
		can keep using the information. But now our JCR clients can also access all the information, too.  And if our federating ModeShape repository is
    configured to allow updates, JCR client applications can change the information in the repository and ModeShape will propagate
    those changes down to the original source, making those changes visible to all the other applications.
	</para>
	<para>
		In short, all clients see the correct information, even when it changes in the underlying systems. But the JCR clients can get to all of the information
		in one spot, using one powerful standard API.
	</para>
  <sect1 id="connectors">
    <title>Connectors</title>
		<para>
			With ModeShape, your applications use the <ulink url="&JSR283;">JCR 2.0 API</ulink> to work with the repository,
			but the ModeShape repository transparently fetches the information from different kinds of repositories and storage systems,
			not just a single purpose-built store.  This is fundamentally what makes ModeShape different.
		</para>
		<para>How does ModeShape do this?  At the heart of ModeShape and it's JCR implementation is a simple graph-based 
			<emphasis>connector</emphasis> system.  Essentially, ModeShape's JCR implementation uses a single 
			connector to access all content:
			<figure id="modeshapejcr-and-connector">
				<title>ModeShape's JCR implementation delegates to a connector</title>
				<graphic align="center" scale="100" fileref="modeshapejcr-and-connector.png"/>
			</figure>
				That single repository connector could access:
		</para>
 		<itemizedlist>
			<listitem>
				<para>a transient, in-memory repository</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>an Infinispan data grid that acts as an extremely scalable, highly-available store for repository content</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>a JBoss Cache instance that acts as a clustered and replicated store for repository content</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>a JDBC database used as a store for repository content</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>a repository that accesses existing JDBC databases to project the schema structure as read-only repository content</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>a repository that accesses a file system to present its files and directory structure as (updatable) repository content</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>a repository that accesses the content in another JCR repository</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>a repository that accesses an SVN repository to present the files and directory structure as (updatable) repository content</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>a federated repository that presents a unified, updatable view of the content in multiple other systems (which are accessed via connectors)</para>
			</listitem>
		</itemizedlist>
		<figure id="modeshape-connectors">
			<title>ModeShape can put JCR on top of multiple kinds of systems</title>
			<graphic align="center" scale="100" fileref="modeshape-connectors.png"/>
		</figure>
		<para>
			Really, the federated connector gives us all kinds of	possibilities, since we can use that connector on top of lots of connectors 
			to other individual sources.  This simple connector architecture is fundamentally what makes ModeShape so powerful and flexible.
			Along with a good library of connectors, which is what we're planning to create.
		</para>
		<para>
			For instance, we want to build a connector to access <ulink url="&MODE;-282">existing relational databases</ulink> so that some
			or all of the existing data (in whatever structure) can be accessed through JCR.  For more information, check out our
			<ulink url="&MODE;?report=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.project:roadmap-panel">roadmap</ulink>.
			Of course, if we don't have a connector to suit your needs, you can <link linkend="custom-connectors">write your own</link>.
			<figure id="modeshape-connectors-future">
				<title>Future ModeShape connectors</title>
				<graphic align="center" scale="100" fileref="modeshape-connectors-future.png"/>
			</figure>
		</para>
		<para>
		</para>
		<para>
	  	It's even possible to put a different API layer on top of the connectors.  For example, the new <ulink url="&JSR203;">New I/O (JSR-203)</ulink>
			API offers the opportunity to build new file system providers.  This would be very straightforward to put on top of a JCR implementation,
			but it could be made even simpler by putting it on top of a ModeShape connector.  In both cases, it'd be a trivial mapping from nodes that represent
			files and folders into JSR-203 files and directories, and events on those nodes could easily be translated into JSR-203 watch events.
			Then, simply choose a ModeShape connector and configure it to use the source you want to use.
			<figure id="modeshape-connectors-vfs">
				<title>Virtual File System with ModeShape</title>
				<graphic align="center" scale="100" fileref="vfs-and-connector.png"/>
			</figure>
		</para>
    <para>Before we go further, let's define some terminology regarding connectors.</para>
 		<itemizedlist>
			<listitem>
				<para>
					A <emphasis role="strong">connector</emphasis> is the runnable code packaged in one or more JAR files that
					contains implementations of several interfaces (described below).  A Java developer <emphasis>writes</emphasis>
					a connector to a type of source, such as a particular database management system, LDAP directory, source code
					management system, etc.  It is then packaged into one or more JAR files (including dependent JARs) and deployed
					for use in applications that use ModeShape repositories.
				</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>
					The description of a particular source system (e.g., the "Customer" database, or the company LDAP system) 
					is called a <emphasis role="strong">repository source</emphasis>.  ModeShape defines a &RepositorySource; interface
					that defines methods describing the behavior and supported features and a method for establishing connections.
					A connector will have a class that implements this interface and that has JavaBean properties for
					all of the connector-specific properties required to fully describe an instance of the system.  Use of JavaBean
					properties is not required, but it is highly recommended, as it enables reflective configuration and administration.
					Applications that use ModeShape create an instance of the connector's &RepositorySource; implementation and set 
					the properties for the external source that the application wants to access with that connector.
				</para>
			</listitem>
			<listitem>
				<para>
					A repository source instance is then used to establish <emphasis role="strong">connections</emphasis> to
					that source.  A connector provides an implementation of the &RepositoryConnection; interface, which
					defines methods for interacting with the external system.  In particular, the <code>execute(...)</code> method
					takes an &ExecutionContext; instance and a &Request; object.  The &ExecutionContext; object defines the
					environment in which the processing is occurring,
					while the &Request; object describes the requested operations on the content, with different concrete subclasses
					representing each type of activity.  Examples of commands include (but not limited to) getting a node, moving a node, creating a node, 
					changing a node, and deleting a node.  And, if the repository source is able to participate in JTA/JTS distributed transactions, then the
					&RepositoryConnection; must implement the <code>getXaResource()</code> method by returning 
					a valid <code>javax.transaction.xa.XAResource</code> object that can be used by the transaction monitor.
				</para>
			</listitem>
		</itemizedlist>
		<para>As an example, consider if we wanted ModeShape to give us access through JCR to the information contained in a
			relational database.  We first have to develop a connector that allows us to interact with relational databases using JDBC.
			That connector would contain a <code>JdbcAccessSource</code> Java class that implements &RepositorySource;,
			and that has all of the various JavaBean properties for setting the name of the driver class, URL, username, password,
			and other properties.  If we add a JavaBean property defining the JNDI name, our connector could look in JNDI to find a JDBC
			<code>DataSource</code> instance, perhaps already configured to use connection pools.
		</para>
		<note>
			<para>
				Of course, before you develop a connector, you should probably check the
				<ulink url="http://docs.jboss.org/jbossmodeshape/latest/manuals/reference/html/provided-connectors-part.html">list of connectors</ulink> 
				ModeShape already provides out of the box. And we've been adding new connectors with almost every release.
			</para>
		</note>
		<para>
			Our new connector might also have a <code>JdbcAccessConnection</code> Java class that implements the 
			&RepositoryConnection; interface.  This class would probably wrap a JDBC database connection,
			and would implement the <code>execute(...)</code> method such that the nodes exposed by the connector
			describe the database tables and their contents.  For example, the connector might represent each database table
			as a node with the table's name, with properties that describe the table (e.g., the description, whether it's a
			temporary table), and with child nodes that represent rows in the table.
		</para>
		<para>
			To use our connector in an application that uses ModeShape, we would need to create an instance of the 
			<code>JdbcAccessSource</code> for each database instance that we want to access.  If we have 3 MySQL databases, 
			9 Oracle databases, and 4 PostgreSQL databases, then we'd need to create a total of 16 <code>JdbcAccessSource</code> 
			instances, each with the properties describing a single database instance.  Those sources are then available for use by 
			ModeShape components, including the <link linkend="jcr">JCR</link> implementation.
		</para>
		<para>
			So, we've so far learned what a connector is and how they're used to establish connections to the underlying sources 
			and access the content in those sources.  Next we'll show how connectors expose the notion of workspaces, and describe
			how to <link linkend="custom-connectors">create your own connectors</link>.
		</para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="connector-library">
    <title>Out-of-the-box connectors</title>
    <para>
    	A number of connectors are already available in ModeShape, and are outlined in detail
      <link linkend="provided-connectors-part">later in the document</link>.
			Note that we do want to build <ulink url="https://jira.jboss.org/jira/secure/IssueNavigator.jspa?reset=true&amp;mode=hide&amp;pid=12310520&amp;sorter/order=DESC&amp;sorter/field=priority&amp;resolution=-1&amp;component=12311441">more connectors</ulink>
			in the upcoming releases.
    </para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="custom-connectors">
    <title>Writing custom connectors</title>
    <para>
		  There may come a time when you want to tackle creating your own connector.  Maybe the connectors we provide out-of-the-box
			don't work with your source.  Maybe you want to use a different cache system.  
			Maybe you have a system that you want to make available through a ModeShape repository.  Or, maybe you're
			a contributor and want to help us round out our library with a new connector.  No matter what the reason, creating a new connector
			is pretty straightforward, as we'll see in this section.
    </para>
	  <para>
		  Creating a custom connector involves the following steps:
		  <orderedlist>
		    <listitem>
		      <para>Create a Maven 3 project for your connector;</para>
		    </listitem>
		    <listitem>
		      <para>
						Implement the &RepositorySource; interface, using JavaBean properties for each bit of information the implementation will
						need to establish a connection to the source system. Then, implement the &RepositoryConnection; interface with 
						a class that represents a connection to the source.  The 
						<code>execute(&ExecutionContext;, &Request;)</code> method should process any and all requests that may come down the pike,
						and the results of each request can be put directly on that request. This approach is pretty straightforward, and gives
						you ultimate freedom in terms of your class structure.
					</para>
					<para>
						Alternatively, an easier way to get a complete read-write connector would be to extend one of our two abstract
						&RepositorySource; implementations. If the content your connector exposes has unique keys (such as a unique string,
						UUID or other identifier), consider implementing &MapRepositorySource;, subclassing &MapRepository;, and
						using the existing &MapRepositoryConnection; implementation.  This &MapRepositoryConnection; does most of the work
						already, relying upon your &MapRepository; subclass for anything that might be source-specific.
						(See the <ulink url="&API;graph/connector/map/package-summary.html">JavaDoc</ulink> for details.)
						Or, if the content your connector exposes is simply path-based, consider implementing &PathRepositorySource;, 
						subclassing &PathRepository;, and using the existing &PathRepositoryConnection; implementation.  
						Again, &PathRepositoryConnection; class does almost all of the work and delegates to your &PathRepository;
						subclass for anything that might be source-specific.
						(See the <ulink url="&API;graph/connector/path/package-summary.html">JavaDoc</ulink> for details.)
					</para>
					<para>
						Don't forget unit tests that verify that the connector is doing what it's expected to do.  (If you'll be committing the connector
						code to the ModeShape project, please ensure that the unit tests can be run by others that may not have access to the
						source system.  In this case, consider writing integration tests that can be easily configured to use different sources
						in different environments, and try to make the failure messages clear when the tests can't connect to the underlying source.)
					</para>
		    </listitem>
		    <listitem>
		      <para>
						Configure ModeShape to use your connector.  This may involve just registering the source with the &RepositoryService;,
			   		or it may involve adding a source to a configuration repository used by the <link linkend="modeshape-connector-federation">federated repository</link>.
					</para>
		    </listitem>
		    <listitem>
		      <para>
						Deploy the JAR file with your connector (as well as any dependencies), and make them available to ModeShape
		      	in your application.
					</para>
		    </listitem>
		  </orderedlist>
		  Let's go through each one of these steps in more detail.
	  </para>
	  <sect2 id="custom_connector_project">
	    <title>Creating the Maven 3 project</title>
	    <para>
				The first step is to create the Maven 3 project that you can use to compile your code and build the JARs.
	    	Maven 3 automates a lot of the work, and since you're already <link linkend="maven">set up to use Maven</link>,
	    	using Maven for your project will save you a lot of time and effort.  Of course, you don't have to use Maven 3, but then you'll
	    	have to get the required libraries and manage the compiling and building process yourself.</para>
	    <note>
	      <para>ModeShape may provide in the future a Maven archetype for creating connector projects.  If you'd find this useful
	        and would like to help create it, please <link linkend="preface">join the community</link>.
				</para>
		    <para>In lieu of a Maven archetype, you may find it easier to start with a small existing connector project.
					The <emphasis role="strong">modeshape-connector-filesystem</emphasis> project is small and provides good example of implementing a path-based repository.
		    	See the Git repository: 
					<ulink url="&GitRepository;/tree/modeshape-&versionNumber;/extensions/modeshape-connector-filesystem/">&GitRepository;/tree/modeshape-&versionNumber;/extensions/modeshape-connector-filesystem/</ulink>
		    </para>
		  </note>
	    <para>
				You can create your Maven project any way you'd like.  For examples, see the 
				<ulink url="http://maven.apache.org/guides/getting-started/index.html#How_do_I_make_my_first_Maven_project">Maven 3 documentation</ulink>.  
	    	Once you've done that, just add the dependencies in your project's <code>pom.xml</code> dependencies section:
			</para>
	  	<programlisting language="XML" role="XML"><![CDATA[
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.modeshape</groupId>
  <artifactId>modeshape-graph</artifactId>
  <version>2.4.0.Final</version>
</dependency>
	 ]]></programlisting>
			<para>
				This is the only dependency required for compiling a connector - Maven pulls in all of the dependencies needed by 
				the 'modeshape-graph' artifact.  Of course, you'll still have to add dependencies for any library your connector needs
				to talk to its underlying system.
			</para>
	  	<para>
				As for testing, you probably will want to add more dependencies, such as those listed here:
			</para>
			<programlisting language="XML" role="XML"><![CDATA[
<!-- ModeShape-related unit testing utilities and classes -->
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.modeshape</groupId>
  <artifactId>modeshape-graph</artifactId>
  <version>2.4.0.Final</version>
  <type>test-jar</type>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.modeshape</groupId>
  <artifactId>modeshape-common</artifactId>
  <version>2.4.0.Final</version>
  <type>test-jar</type>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<!-- Unit testing -->
<dependency>
  <groupId>junit</groupId>
  <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
  <version>4.4</version>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
	<groupId>org.mockito</groupId>
	<artifactId>mockito-all</artifactId>
	<version>1.8.4</version>
	<scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.hamcrest</groupId>
  <artifactId>hamcrest-library</artifactId>
  <version>1.1</version>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<!-- Logging with Log4J -->
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
  <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
  <version>1.6.1</version>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>log4j</groupId>
  <artifactId>log4j</artifactId>
  <version>1.2.16</version>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
	 ]]></programlisting>
	  	<para>
				Testing ModeShape connectors does not require a JCR repository or the ModeShape services.  (For more detail,
	  		see the <link linkend="testing_custom_connectors">testing section</link>.) However, if you want to do
	  		integration testing with a JCR repository and the ModeShape services, you'll need additional dependencies
				(e.g., <code>modeshape-repository</code> and any other extensions).
			</para>
	    <para>
				At this point, your project should be set up correctly, and you're ready to move on to 
	  		<link linkend="implementing_repository_source">writing the Java implementation</link> for your connector.
			</para>
	  </sect2>
	  <sect2 id="implementing_repository_source">
	    <title>Implementing a <code>RepositorySource</code></title>
	    <para>
				As mentioned earlier, a <emphasis>connector</emphasis> consists of the Java code that is used to access content
				from a system.  Perhaps the most important class that makes up a connector is the implementation of the
				&RepositorySource;.  This class is analogous to JDBC's DataSource in that it is instantiated to represent
				a single instance of a system that will be accessed, and it contains enough information (in the form of JavaBean properties)
				so that it can create connections to the source.
			</para>
			<para>
				Why is the &RepositorySource; implementation a JavaBean?  Well, this is the class that is instantiated, usually
				reflectively, and so a no-arg constructor is required.  Using JavaBean properties makes it possible
				to reflect upon the object's class to determine the properties that can be set (using setters) and read
				(using getters).  This means that an administrative application can instantiate, configure, and manage
				the objects that represent the actual sources, without having to know anything about the actual implementation.
			</para>
			<para>
				So, your connector will need a public class that implements &RepositorySource; and provides JavaBean properties
				for any kind of inputs or options required to establish a connection to and interact with the underlying source.
				Most of the semantics of the class are defined by the &RepositorySource; and inherited interface.
				However, there are a few characteristics that are worth mentioning here.
			</para>
		  <sect3 id="repository-workspaces">
		    <title>Workspaces</title>
				<para>The <link linkend="graph-api-workspaces">previous chapter</link> talked about how connector expose their information through the graph language of ModeShape.
					This is true, except that we didn't dive into too much of the detail.  ModeShape graphs have the notion of <emphasis>workspaces</emphasis>
					in which the content appears, and its very easy for clients using the graph to switch between workspaces.  In fact,
					workspaces differ from each other in that they provide different views of the same information.
				</para>
				<para>Consider a source control system, like SVN or CVS.  These systems provide different views of the source code:
					a mainline development branch as well as other branches (or tags) commonly used for releases.  So, just like one source
					file might appear in the mainline branch as well as the previous two release branches, a node in a repository source
					might appear in multiple workspaces.
				</para>
				<para>
					However, each connector can kind of decide how (or whether) it uses workspaces.  For example, there may be no overlap
					in the content between workspaces.  Or a connector might only expose a single workspace (in other words, there's only one
					"default" workspace).
				</para>
		  </sect3>
			<sect3 id="connector_events">
				<title>Broadcasting events</title>
				<para>
					When your &RepositorySource; instance is put into the library within a running ModeShape system, 
					the <code>initialize(&RepositoryContext;)</code> method will be called on the instance.
					The supplied &RepositoryContext; object represents the context in which the &RepositorySource;
					is running, and provides access to an &ExecutionContext;, a &RepositoryConnectionFactory; that can be used
					to obtain connections to other sources, and an &Observer; of your source that should be called with
					events describing the &Changes; being made within the source, either as a result of &ChangeRequest; operations being
					performed on this source, or as a result of operations being performed on the content from outside
					the source.
				</para>
			</sect3>
			<sect3 id="connector_cache_policy">
				<title>Cache policy</title>
				<para>
					Each connector is responsible for determining whether and how long ModeShape is to cache the
					content made available by the connector.  This is referred to as the <emphasis>caching policy</emphasis>,
					and consists of a <emphasis>time to live</emphasis> value representing the number of milliseconds that
					a piece of data may be cached.  After the TTL has passed, the information is no longer used.
				</para>
				<para>
					ModeShape allows a connector to use a flexible and powerful caching policy.  First, each connection returns the
					<emphasis>default</emphasis> caching policy for all information returned by that connection.
					Often this policy can be configured via properties on the &RepositorySource; implementation.
					This is optional, meaning the connector can return <code>null</code> if it does not wish to
					have a default caching policy.
				</para>
				<para>
					Second, the connector is able to override its default caching policy on individual requests
					(which we'll cover in the <link linkend="implementing_repository_connection">next section</link>).
					Again, this is optional, meaning that a null caching policy on a request implies that the
					request has no overridden caching policy.
				</para>
				<para>
					Third, if the connector has no default caching policy and none is set on the individual requests,
					ModeShape uses whatever caching policy is set up for that component using the connector.  For example, the federating
					connector allows a default caching policy to be specified, and this policy is used should the sources
					being federated not define their own caching policy.
				</para>
				<para>
					In summary, a connector has total control over whether and for how long the information it provides
					is cached.
				</para>
				<note>
					<para>
						At this time, not every connector takes advantage of cache policies. 
						However, it is anticipated that this will change.
					</para>
				</note>
			</sect3>
 			<sect3 id="repository_source_jndi">
				<title>Leveraging JNDI</title>
				<para>
					Sometimes it is necessary (or easier) for a &RepositorySource; implementation to look up an object in JNDI.
					One example of this is the JBoss Cache connector: while the connector can
					instantiate a new JBoss Cache instance, more interesting use cases involve JBoss Cache instances that are
					set up for clustering and replication, something that is generally difficult to configure in a single JavaBean.
					Therefore the &JBossCacheSource; has optional JavaBean properties that define how it is to look up a
					JBoss Cache instance in JNDI.  
				</para>
				<para>
					This is a simple pattern that you may find useful in your connector.  Basically, if your source implementation
					can look up an object in JNDI, simply use a single JavaBean String property that defines the 
					full name that should be used to locate that object in JNDI.  Usually it's best to include "Jndi" in the
					JavaBean property name so that administrative users understand the purpose of the property.
					(And some may suggest that any optional property also use the word "optional" in the property name.)
				</para>
			</sect3>
			<sect3 id="repository_source_capabilities">
				<title>Capabilities</title>
				<para>
					Another characteristic of a &RepositorySource; implementation is that it provides some hint as to whether
					it supports several features.  This is defined on the interface as a method that returns a
					&RepositorySourceCapabilities; object.  This class currently provides methods that say whether the connector supports
					updates, whether it supports same-name-siblings (SNS), and whether the connector supports listeners and events.
				</para>
				<para>
					Note that these may be hard-coded values, or the connector's response may be determined at runtime by various factors.
					For example, a connector may interrogate the underlying system to decide whether it can support updates.
				</para>
				<para>
					The &RepositorySourceCapabilities; can be used as is (the class is immutable), or it can be subclassed
					to provide more complex behavior.  It is important, however, that the capabilities remain constant
					throughout the lifetime of the &RepositorySource; instance.
				</para>
				<note>
					<para>
						Why a concrete class and not an interface?  By using a concrete class, connectors inherit the default
						behavior.  If additional capabilities need to be added to the class in future releases, connectors may
						not have to override the defaults.  This provides some insulation against future enhancements to the connector framework.
					</para>
				</note>
			</sect3>
			<sect3 id="repository_source_security">
				<title>Security and authentication</title>
				<para>
					As we'll see in the next section, the main method connectors have to process requests takes an &ExecutionContext;,
					which contains the JAAS security information of the subject performing the request.  This means that the connector
					can use this to determine authentication and authorization information for each request.
				</para>
				<para>
					Sometimes that is not sufficient.  For example, it may be that the connector needs its own authorization information
					so that it can establish a connection (even if user-level privileges still use the &ExecutionContext; provided with
					each request).  In this case, the &RepositorySource; implementation will probably need JavaBean properties
					that represent the connector's authentication information.  This may take the form of a username and password,
					or it may be properties that are used to delegate authentication to JAAS.  
					Either way, just realize that it's perfectly acceptable for the connector to require its own security properties.
				</para>
			</sect3>
		</sect2>
	  <sect2 id="implementing_repository_connection">
	    <title>Implementing a <code>RepositoryConnection</code></title>
	    <para>
				One job of the &RepositorySource; implementation is to create connections to the underlying sources.
				Connections are represented by classes that implement the &RepositoryConnection; interface, and creating this
				class is the next step in writing a connector.  This is what we'll cover in this section.
			</para>
	    <para>
				The &RepositoryConnection; interface is pretty straightforward:
			</para>
	    <programlisting>
/**
 * A connection to a repository source.
 *
 * These connections need not support concurrent operations by multiple threads.
 */
@NotThreadSafe
public interface &RepositoryConnection; {

    /**
     * Get the name for this repository source. This value should be the same as that returned
     * by the same &RepositorySource; that created this connection.
     * 
     * @return the identifier; never null or empty
     */
    String getSourceName();

    /**
     * Return the transactional resource associated with this connection. The transaction manager 
     * will use this resource to manage the participation of this connection in a distributed transaction.
     * 
     * @return the XA resource, or null if this connection is not aware of distributed transactions
     */
    XAResource getXAResource();

    /**
     * Ping the underlying system to determine if the connection is still valid and alive.
     * 
     * @param time the length of time to wait before timing out
     * @param unit the time unit to use; may not be null
     * @return true if this connection is still valid and can still be used, or false otherwise
     * @throws InterruptedException if the thread has been interrupted during the operation
     */
    boolean ping( long time, &TimeUnit; unit ) throws InterruptedException;

    /**
     * Get the default cache policy for this repository. If none is provided, a global cache policy
     * will be used.
     * 
     * @return the default cache policy
     */
    &CachePolicy; getDefaultCachePolicy();

    /**
     * Execute the supplied commands against this repository source.
     * 
     * @param context the environment in which the commands are being executed; never null
     * @param request the request to be executed; never null
     * @throws RepositorySourceException if there is a problem loading the node data
     */
    void execute( &ExecutionContext; context, &Request; request ) throws &RepositorySourceException;;

    /**
     * Close this connection to signal that it is no longer needed and that any accumulated 
     * resources are to be released.
     */
    void close();
}</programlisting>
			<para>
				While most of these methods are straightforward, a few warrant additional information.
				The <code>ping(...)</code> method allows ModeShape to check the connection to see if it is
				alive.  This method can be used in a variety of situations, ranging from verifying that a &RepositorySource;'s
				JavaBean properties are correct to ensuring that a connection is still alive before returning the connection from
				a connection pool.
			</para>
	    <para>
				The most important method on this interface, though, is the <code>execute(...)</code> method, which serves as the
				mechanism by which the component using the connector access and manipulates the content exposed by the connector.
				The first parameter to this method is the &ExecutionContext;, which contains the information about environment
				as well as the subject performing the request.  This was discussed <link linkend="execution-context">earlier</link>.
			</para>
	    <para>
				The second parameter, however, represents a &Request; that is to be processed by the connector.  Request objects can
				take many different forms, as there are different classes for each kind of request (see the
				<link linkend="graph-requests">previous chapter</link> for details).
				Each request contains the information a connector needs to do the processing, and it also is the place
				where the connector places the results (or the error, if one occurs).
			</para>
	    <para>
				A connector is technically free to implement the <code>execute(...)</code> method in any way, as long as the semantics
				are maintained.  But as discussed in the <link linkend="graph-request-processors">previous chapter</link>, ModeShape provides 
				a &RequestProcessor; class that can simplify writing your own connector and at the
				same time help insulate your connector from new kinds of requests that may be added in the future.  The &RequestProcessor;
				is an abstract class that defines a <code>process(...)</code> method for each concrete &Request; subclass.
				In other words, there is a <code>process(CompositeRequest)</code> method, a <code>process(ReadNodeRequest)</code> method,
				and so on.  
			</para>
			<para>
				To use this in your connector, simply create a subclass of &RequestProcessor;, overriding all of the abstract methods and optionally
				overriding any of the other methods that have a default implementation.
			</para>
			<note>
				<para>
					The &RequestProcessor; abstract class contains default implementations for quite a few of the <code>process(...)</code> methods,
					and these will be <emphasis>sufficient</emphasis>	but probably not efficient or optimum.  If you can provide a more efficient
					implementation given your source, feel free to do so.  However, if performance is not a big issue, all of the concrete methods
					will provide the correct behavior. Keep things simple to start out - you can always provide better implementations later.
				</para>
			</note>
			<para>
				Also, make sure your &RequestProcessor; is properly <link linkend="connector_events">broadcasting the changes</link> made during execution.
				The &RequestProcessor; class has a <code>recordChange(&ChangeRequest;)</code> that can be called from each of the <code>process(...)</code>
				methods that take a &ChangeRequest;.  The &RequestProcessor; enqueues these requests, and when the &RequestProcessor; is
				closed, the default implementation is to send a &Changes; to the &Observer; supplied into the constructor.
			</para>
			<para>
				Then, in your connector's <code>execute(&ExecutionContext;, &Request;)</code> method, instantiate your &RequestProcessor; subclass
				and call its <code>process(&Request;) method, passing in the <code>execute(...)</code> method's &Request; parameter.</code>
				The &RequestProcessor; will determine the appropriate method given the actual &Request; object and will then invoke that method:
			</para>
	    <programlisting>
public void execute( final &ExecutionContext; context,
                     final &Request; request ) throws RepositorySourceException {
    String sourceName = // from the &RepositorySource;
    &Observer; observer = // from the &RepositoryContext;
    &RequestProcessor; processor = new CustomRequestProcessor(sourceName,context,observer);
    try {
        processor.process(request);
    } finally {
        processor.close();	// sends the accumulated &ChangeRequest;s as a &Changes; to the &Observer;
    }
}</programlisting>
			<para>
				If you do this, the bulk of your connector implementation may be in the &RequestProcessor; implementation methods.
				This not only is pretty maintainable, it also lends itself to easier testing.  And should any new request types be added
				in the future, your connector may work just fine without any changes.  In fact, if the &RequestProcessor; class
				can implement meaningful methods for those new request types, your connector may "just work".  Or, at least
				your connector will still be binary compatible, even if your connector won't support any of the new features.
			</para>
			<para>
				Finally, how should the connector handle exceptions?  As mentioned above, each &Request; object has a slot where the connector
				can set any exception encountered during processing.  This not only handles the exception, but in the case of &CompositeRequest;s
				it also correctly associates the problem with the request.  However, it is perfectly acceptable to throw an exception
				if the connection becomes invalid (e.g., there is a communication failure) or if a fatal error would prevent subsequent
				requests from being processed.
			</para>
		</sect2>
	  <sect2 id="testing_custom_connectors">
	    <title>Testing custom connectors</title>
	    <para>
				Testing connectors is not really that much different than testing other classes.  Using mocks may help to isolate your
				instances so you can create more unit tests that don't require the underlying source system.
			</para>
	    <para>
				However, there may be times when you have to use the underlying source system in your tests.  If this is the case,
				we recommend using Maven integration tests, which run at a different point in the Maven lifecycle.  The benefit of
				using integration tests is that by convention they're able to rely upon external systems.  Plus, your unit tests
				don't become polluted with slow-running tests that break if the external system is not available.
			</para>
		</sect2>
  </sect1>
	<sect1>
		<title>Summary</title>
		<para>
			In this chapter, we covered all the aspects of ModeShape connectors, including the connector API,
			how ModeShape's JCR implementation works with connectors, what connectors are available (and how to use them),
			and how to write your own connector.  So now that you know how to set up and use ModeShape repositories,
			the <link linkend="sequencing_framework">next chapter</link> describes the sequencing framework and how
			to build your own custom sequencers.  After that, we'll get into <link linkend="jcr-part">how to configure
			ModeShape and use JCR</link>.
		</para>
	</sect1>
</chapter>
