Maps and Orchestrations

Maps are normally configured to run in one of the three places: Receive Ports, Send Ports, or Orchestrations. There are some Maps that can only be created inside Orchestrations, specifically the Maps using multiple input messages to produce their output or though more uncommon, Maps that create multiple outputs.

XSLT only works with one input message and one output. The way Orchestration Designer works around this is by creating a temporary multipart message that is used as an input to the Map, where each of the parts contains the message details of the messages used. This is configured through the Transform shape. Should you need multiple outputs, the same concept will apply.

Tip

You can also use the concept of multipart messages to pass parameters to a Map by creating a Schema for the parameter and a message to hold it and using it as one of the input messages to the map.

Orchestrations are covered in Chapter 4, Developing BizTalk Artifacts – Creating Orchestrations...