Starting with PeopleTools 8.4, you can send outbound synchronous messages. From a high-level point of view, the primary difference between outbound synchronous and asynchronous is that with outbound asynchronous, the transaction is completed whether or not the message is actually sent or received.

For synchronous outbound messages:

• The transaction must wait for a response from the external system before continuing.
• The transaction must process the response message.
• The external system must ensure that the response message is correctly formatted.

You can use an existing node, or you can create a new node to configure outbound synchronous messages. For information on creating and configuring a node, see How to Create and Configure a New Gateway Node. In either case, you must configure your outbound synchronous transaction.

The iWay Application Adapter for PeopleSoft can work with PeopleSoft outbound synchronous messages. Outbound synchronous messages involve additional configuration steps, both within PeopleSoft and in your application server.

Note: The instructions in this topic build upon the instructions for outbound asynchronous messages. It is strongly recommended that you familiarize yourself with outbound asynchronous messaging before attempting outbound synchronous. For more information on outbound asynchronous messages, see Configuring Integration Broker in PeopleSoft 8.4.

Ensure that both outbound and inbound messages are created and active. PeopleSoft provides template examples called IB_INST_VER_SYNC_MSG and IB_INST_VER_RESP_MSG. For information on examining these messages, see How to Ensure the Message Is Active and Is Routed Correctly.

The following example uses a node and transaction delivered by PeopleSoft. However, this example is for illustrative purposes only and does not work as delivered without additional steps. As of Financials release 8.42, there are no pre-configured outbound synchronous transactions that you can use for testing purposes.

1. Navigate to the Node Definitions page and open the PT_LOCAL node.
2. Click the Transactions tab.

   The Transactions pane opens where you can edit transaction types and request messages as shown in the following image.

   

   One outbound synchronous message, IB_INST_VER_SYNC_MSG, appears in the Transaction Type list.

3. In the IB_INST_VER_SYNC_MSG row, click the Edit hyperlink.

   The Transaction Detail and Messages tabs become available, as shown in the following image.

   

4. Click the Messages tab.

   Request and response messages appear. The target system must ensure that the response message follows the format of the request message. As the target system is your application server, you must transform the XML that is sent and returned from your final destination.

Note: You must use the PeopleSoft-supplied HTTP target connector when you are working with synchronous outbound messages. You cannot use the TCPIP84TARGET connector for outbound synchronous messages.

The sample PeopleCode in the following example is for a synchronous outbound message. It differs from asynchronous outbound in that it must handle a response message.

The following sample code is supplied with the Financials application and is associated with the two messages IB_INST_VER_SYNC_MSG and IB_INST_VER_RESP_MSG.

To view the PeopleCode:

1. From iWay Explorer, open the PSINST_VER record.
2. Select the PeopleCode display option.
3. Select the Field Change (FCh) box for the IB_SEND_SOS_BTN field.

   The following code appears as shown in the following image.