How to Create a New Pipeline

Commerce Server Core Systems provides the following standard templates on which you may base a new pipeline. The template files for creating new pipelines have the .pct file name extension (pipeline configuration template). After you create a new pipeline based on one of the following templates, it is saved with the standard pipeline configuration file (.pcf) extension.

Template name

Description

Basket.pct

A nine-stage pipeline template that you use to create pipelines for basket processing. Contains the following stages: Product Info, Merchant Information, Shopper Information, Order Initialization, Order Check, Item Price, Item Adjust Price, Order Adjust Price, and Order Subtotal.

checkout.pct

A three-stage pipeline template that you use to create pipelines to process checkouts. Contains the following stages: Purchase Check, Payment, and Accept.

ContentSelection.pct

A seven-stage pipeline template that you use to create pipelines to select content for advertising, promotions, and personalization. Contains the following stages: Load Context, Filter, Initial Score, Scoring, Select, Record, Format.

Empty.pct

An empty pipeline without any stages defined.

EventProcessing.pct

A three-stage pipeline template that you use to create pipelines to track ads, promotions, and sales for schedule updating. Contains the following stages: Load Context, Record, and Format.

Product.pct

A single-stage pipeline template that you use to create pipelines to check factors affecting the price of a product. Contains the following stage: Product Info.

total.pct

A four-stage pipeline template that you use to create pipelines to calculate the total cost of an order. Contains the following stages: Shipping, Handling, Tax, and Order Total.

These templates provide pre-configured pipeline stages that are likely to be generally useful in developing your Commerce Server Core Systems application. However, you can change the names of stages, and delete or add stages, to suite your individual needs. Further, the affinity that a particular pipeline component may have for one or more particular pipeline stages does not restrict the use of that component in any stage whatsoever. Nevertheless, pipeline affinity is useful in limiting the default number of component choices when adding components to a particular stage.

To create a new pipeline

  1. Click Start, click Programs, click Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 , click Tools, and then click Pipeline Editor.

  2. On the File menu, click New.

  3. In the Choose a Pipeline Template dialog box, select a template, and then click OK.

  4. Add pipeline components, modify the stages, and so on, to suit the needs of your Commerce Server Core Systems application.

  5. On the File menu, click Save As, type the name of the file in the File name box, and then click Save.

See Also

Other Resources

Extending Commerce Foundation

How to Open an Existing Pipeline for Editing

How to Add a Component to a Pipeline

How to Change the Order of Components in a Pipeline Stage

How to Create a List of Values Read and Written by a Pipeline

Pipeline Editor Property Pages

How to Create a Custom Pipeline

Using the Pipeline Editor