Files are 'dropped' usually to interface with other computer systems. It has been my experience that these interfaces are normally quite simplistic as each environment has restrictions on what it can handle and how it can deliver it. I guess there where two main parts to my request.
1. To provide a standard interface for files/messages in and out of the application server without requiring additional 3rd party solutions. Different transfer methods could be plugged into that interface where the transfer method was effectively invisible to the Genero developer, they just pick up or generate their files going in and out. Functionality exists currently in Genero to do some of this today, like SMTP and working with files/directories etc, but each option needs a different coding solution and others like FTP, Message Queuing or AS2 etc don't exist yet and therefore require 3rd party software and further custom coding. Also where functionality does exist in Genero today it has limitations, take email for instance, what if my mailserver uses secure authentication or a proxy? How do you receive email using POP3 or IMAP4 etc,etc...
2. To provide a standard method to react to files coming in. Currently I see it as there are two main alternatives:-
1. Run continuously, monitoring locations and reacting accordingly, idling when nothing to do. . You also need a mechanism to stop/start the monitoring program.
2. Poll every so often for any new files at the monitored locations using a scheduler or 3rd party solution to run the program at the poll time.
I'd prefer it if I could just write my program to process a file, without having to worry about the delivery mechanism and then have it called automatically whenever there is something for it to do. Currently we use the polling method but find it unreliable in practice. We have experimented with various 3rd party products which can monitor directories and run external programs but these also go wrong from time to time, so not ideal and they typically only handle files dropped into a directory, they can't for instance monitor a mailbox or a directory on an FTP server etc...
On example of a product capable of doing what I've attempted to describe (and a lot more besides!) would be BizTalk server. Have a look here (
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/en/us/messaging.aspx) for an overview on how it handles messaging and here (
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/en/us/adapters-included.aspx) for the current list of adapters. Its totally overkill feature wise for our requirements and ruled out price wise too, but it hopefully gives you a better idea of what I was hoping to see one day...
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