Tridion Integration Framework

Tridion Integration Framework is the primary integration point for SDL Tridion Sites to consume data and content that is external to the system. The framework provides a high degree of flexibility for your Tridion implementation.

High-level architecture

The following diagram illustrates the high-level view of Tridion Integration Framework within a SDL Tridion Sites implementation:

Tridion Integration Framework provides transparent communication between the Application and the Connector, which enables Connectors to be written in any language. Connectors built on Tridion Integration Framework can be:
  • Used with both Content Management and Content Delivery
  • Written either in Java or C# (.NET Core)

Availability of Tridion Integration Framework with SDL Tridion Sites

Tridion Integration Framework support multiple ways for users to access data that is external to Tridion Sites. Currently, the framework is available in the following two features:

External Content Library (ECL)

On the Content Management side, Tridion Integration Framework supports integration using ECL.

Tridion Integration Framework, supports a number of CRM and multimedia use cases, including the following:

  • Creating a mashup of external data and Tridion content (Tridion Docs content within a Tridion Sites website
  • Consuming external multimedia assets
  • Linking to external data, such as products or contacts

For linking to data, you can resolve the links either on the Content Delivery side or on the Content Management side though links to managed entities.

The ECL integration enables Editors to add the external content using the same methods they do for other Tridion content or external data.

Public Content API (PCA)

On the Content Delivery side, Tridion Integration Framework supports integration using Public Content API (PCA).

Tridion Integration Framework extends the Content Service and enables you to use GraphQL requests to access of Tridion content in a headless fashion. The extension is responsible for downloading Connector packages from the Add-on Service.

Requests made through PCA can support a wide variety of use cases, such as the following:

  • Accessing and managing external data using the same interface as for Tridion Sites content
  • Mashing up external data with Tridion Sites content

Both PCA and ECL operate as Application Clients of Tridion Integration Framework. The Application Client defines what the Connector needs to implement through a contract that defines the capabilities and interfaces. The Application also provides the Connector with an abstract of its logging implementation gives simple logging that runs on either Windows or Linux. While PCA and ECL are currently the only supported Application Clients, additional Application Clients are planned for future releases.