How to learn Siebel EAI?

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I do not intend to teach you Siebel EAI through this post. I just want to share my thoughts and point you in direction from where you can start and be on your way. Lot of people have asked me above question and I thought it would be nice to share with all the answer I usually give them.

The best way to learn Siebel EAI or anything, for that matter is to actually do it. Theoretical knowledge is required to create a base but if you like to be proficient in it then you need to have hands on. I am not asking you sit and wait till you actually get an opportunity to work. You can do your homework by learning concepts and terms related to Siebel EAI. Try few simple things and be ready for the occasion where you actually chance to implement all that you have learnt.

Here is the list of important things that you should know/learn to set off in Siebel EAI world.

XML:
You must understand XML, if you want to jump in Siebel EAI. XML is heart of EAI and to put in simple words Siebel EAI is nothing but manipulation of XML. So you should be able to modify, understand and create XML documents. You should understand terms such as XSD, Schema, element, attribute, hierarchy, root element etc.

There are quite a few resources available on web from where you can get knowledge of XML. Once you are equipped with XML knowledge it will be easier for you to understand Siebel EAI concepts. Siebel bookshelf is a great resource to start learning Siebel Concepts. There are 5 PDF files available in bookshelf explaining various concepts, techniques of Siebel EAI.

Business Service:
When working on Siebel EAI requirements you will have to deal with Siebel business services. So, try to get detailed knowledge on things like how to create a custom business service, how to modify a business service, how does class impact functionality of business service,Import/Export business service. There are lot of vanilla business services that you will need to use while working on Siebel EAI

Workflows:
Workflows are another area which you should know about need not to be master of workflows but you should have basic knowledge of workflows. You should be able to understand terms like process property, input argument, output argument, workflow step, connectors and different type of steps available in a workflow.

Note: Knowledge of business service and workflow will not only help in Siebel EAI, it will also help while doing requirements involving configuration and scripting. 

EAI Siebel Adapter:
You should make yourself  very comfortable with this business service especially methods like Query, Upsert, Insert, Update. This business service is gateway to Siebel EAI and it will be used in 99.9 % of EAI requirements that you will work on .

Integration Object:
You should know everything about Integration Objects and you should be able to answer questions such as

• What is Integration Object?
• What is purpose of Integration Object?
• How to create Integration Object?
• What is difference between Name and External Name field?
• How to add field in Integration Component?

Above mentioned EAI concepts are enough to put on your way. With experience and practice you will be able to use this knowledge to learn advance EAI concepts like data transformation, data mapping, web services etc.

I hope this helps somebody. Do tell me your feedback about this article weather good or bad which I can use to improve upon and make this article better and more useful for beginners.