How to create an array of records in BizTalk - xsd

Question

I have an xsd type which consists of some elements. One of the elements is defined like
<xs:element name="Parameters" type="ParametersType" /> where ParametersType is
<xs:complexType name="ParametersType">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Parameter"
type="ParameterType"
minOccurs="0"
maxOccurs="unbounded" />
<xs:element name="UserDefinedParameter"
type="xs:base64Binary"
minOccurs="0"
maxOccurs="1">
</xs:element>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
That is, I have an array of Parameter type records. So I have 2 questions so far:
Ноw to initialize such array and how to work with it in Expression block;
How to tune mapping from incoming message of the same type to my message?

Answer 1

When we talk about arrays here we are really talking about nested, repeatable nodes within your message.
One solution is to decompose your array inside a loop in your orchestration.
This is not simple, but here is an example:
The code inside the various expression shapes:
Inside "Count array items"
intCountArrayItems = xpath(MyMessage, "count(XpathToParameterNodeInYourMessage)");
Inside "foreach array item"
intLoopIndex < intCountArrayItems
Inside "Use array item"
strXPathToArrayItem = System.String.Format("XpathToParameterNodeInYourMessage[{0}]", intLoopIndex + 1);
MyXmlDocument = xpath(MyMessage, strXPathToArrayItem);
// Now you can do what you want with the xml document.
Inside "Increment loop index"
intLoopIndex = intLoopIndex + 1;
The above gives you a way to decompose an array inside your orchestration and access each of your "Paramter" types as an xml document (which you can then do stuff with).
Hope this helps.