The External Business Function operation calls an extension service. Only extension services that implement the 'BusinessFunctionPlugin<T>' interface and that are running can be selected as an External Business Function in the workbench. Extension services are created using the 'Modular Service Platform' (MSP) API and are deployed and managed in the 'Modular Services' page in the Self-Service UI (SSUI).
Refer to the Self-Service UI topic for general information about the SSUI. For detailed information, refer to the 'User guide' in the SSUI and the 'Modular Services Platform API Guide' links in the 'Modular Service Platform' section of the Technical Documentation, available at [system]/sdk or accessible from the Start Page.
To rely on an extension service for your business logic, use the External Business Function operation from a business function. Then, call the business function from a JavaScript business action using the 'Business Function' bind (explained in the Business Action, Condition, and Function Binds topic of the Resource Materials online help documentation). Refer to the Calling a Business Function from a JavaScript Business Rule topic for information on executing and testing business functions.
For more information on editing a business function, refer to the Editing a Business Rule or Function topic in the Business Rules documentation.
Note: When testing a JavaScript business function in the workbench using the Test & Time Business Rule dialog, the file size is limited to 1 MB. This limit only applies to the testing process and is not enforced when running the business function outside of the Test & Time Business Rule dialog.
External extension services can be called by STEP in:
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the inbound integration endpoint (IIEP) External Receiver and/or the External pre-processor, which is defined in the IIEP - Configure Pre-processor topic.
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the outbound integration endpoint (OIEP) External Delivery Method and/or the External post-processor, which is defined in the OIEP - Event-Based - Output Templates Section topic and the OIEP - Select Objects - Output Templates Section topic.
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the External Business Function operation (this topic).
Configuration
The following example includes an External Business Function with parameters defined in the extension service.
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External Business Function - This dropdown displays extension services that are running.
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Custom parameters - The extension service code determines the parameters displayed (in the red box below) and they can be configured as optional or mandatory (indicated by an asterisk (*) and bold text). The parameter type is displayed as read-only text.
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Timeout - Set this default parameter to define the milliseconds to wait before failing the business function.