Intro to P6 Apps
Platform 6 is both a development platform to easily build enterprise-class transactional applications, and the runtime allowing companies to run these applications.
Applications developed on Platform 6 typically allow end users to exchange electronic transactions with trading partners and automate B2B processes:
- receive and send transactions leveraging blockchain and peer-to-peer technologies or using more traditional transport protocols (AS2, HTTPS, SFTP, FTPS…)
- transform data from any structured source format to any target format (XML, CSV, TXT, binary, Excel, EDI, PDF…) - and validate output files
- orchestrate business document flows (routing documents, scheduling tasks…)
- interface with multiple systems (ERP, CRM, SaaS solution…) using any type of integration method (batch or synchronous, inbound or outbound…)
- expose APIs allowing external solutions to easily communicate with the app
- allow users to search and display transactions, handle workflow tasks (reviewing, completing or approving inbound or outbound transactions), benefit from dashboards displaying KPIs, reports and content
- allow admin users to manage organizations and other app users, granting them permission sets and assigning them to nodes in the organizational tree structure
An application developed on a Platform 6 instance can be packaged and deployed on other Platform 6 instances (Platform 6 being then used as a runtime).
A packaged P6 application is a signed and encrypted file containing all the resources created by the app developer (service items, bundled resources, custom services…).
Built-in Services¶
Platform 6 comes with a large set of built-in services that can be leveraged and combined to build applications.
Custom Services¶
Developers can also create their own custom services using their preferred language, and connect them to other services thanks to the P6 Common Message Bus.
Groovy DSL¶
Platform 6 scripts and routes are written in Groovy, a Java-syntax-compatible object-oriented programming language.
Groovy allows objects to be bound into the interpreter which modify and extend the language notation. Platform 6 benefits from a powerful Groovy DSL (domain-specific language).
Read the Platform 6 Groovy DSL guide for details about the mini-language developed for the operation and the control of Platform 6 instances.
Common Message Bus API¶
Platform 6 services communicate with one another through a bus connector called Common Message Bus. The Common Message Bus API explains how to send a specific message to a deployed built-in service.
Platform 6 additional tools¶
- Audit Providers: audit the Platform 6 functions
- Jobs Control Panel: manage and monitor all the long running jobs
- Service Status Header: manage the service execution lifecycle
- P6 Sync: extract and push configuration (service items) between a P6 instance and a filesystem
Demo App¶
Shipped with each Platform 6 instance, the Demo App has been designed and built to help developers understand how Platform 6 can be leveraged to create applications. Developers are highly encouraged to install the Demo App and go through the documentation to understand how it works, step by step.