Professional Biztalk Pipeline Interview Questions & Answers:

1. What is property schema?

A property schema is used with one of the two mechanisms that exist within BizTalk Server for what is known as property promotion. Property promotion is the process of copying specific values from deep within an instance message to the message context. From the message context, these values are more easily accessed by various BizTalk Server components. These components use the values to perform actions such as message routing. Promoted property values can also be copied in the other direction, from the more easily accessible message context back into the depths of the instance message, just before the instance message is sent to its destination. A property schema is a simple version of a BizTalk schema that plays a role in the process of copying promoted properties back and forth between the instance message and the message context.

2. Do you know what is Orchestrations?

Orchestrations can subscribe to (receive) and publish (send) messages through the MessageBox. In addition, orchestrations can construct new messages. Messages are received using the subscription and routing mechanism already discussed. When subscriptions are filled for orchestrations, a new instance is activated and the message is delivered, or in the case of instance subscriptions, the instance is rehydrated if necessary and the message is then delivered. When messages are sent from an orchestration, they are published to the MessageBox in the same manner as a message arriving at a receive location with the appropriate properties is inserted into the database for use in routing.

3. Tell us what interfaces are used in developing a custom dis-assembler component?

☛ IBaseComponent,
☛ IComponentUI,
☛ IDisassemblerComponent,
☛ IPersistPropertyBag

4. Tell us is there an error handling functionality to handle error on pipelines?

Yes. Error-handling functionality called error reporting which enables handling pipeline errors. Error reporting is specified on receive and send ports within the BizTalk Administration console.

5. Tell us what is a Message Type (i.e. BTS.MessageType) and how is it used in BizTalk?

Message Type is a BizTalk System property that is promoted inside a Pipeline. It is made up of Document Name Space # Root Node Name.

6. Tell us is there any Visual Studio Wizard to create custom pipeline components?

Yes there is. The Pipeline Component Wizard is intended to ease development of pipeline components used within a BizTalk Server environment. Supports both C# and VB.NET.

7. Tell me what are types of pipeline components?

☛ General
☛ Assembling
☛ Disassembling
☛ Probing

8. Please explain what is the maximum number of components allowed in pipeline stage?

All stages in the pipeline can take maximum of 255 components, except the assemble stage that has a maximum of one.

9. Tell us is it possible to include and import in a single schema?

Yes, it is possible, both are the ways to utilize already existing schema. The only condition is the schema which is included should have same Target Namespace or no namespace.

10. Tell me what is the minimum number of components allowed in pipeline stage?

Minimum is zero components, example PassThru pipeline.