Using the Generic Properties Dialog Box
A generic resource, which can be implemented by adding appropriate rows to certain tables in the Administration database, has the following characteristics:
The configuration data for a generic resource can be changed by using the Generic Resource dialog box in Commerce Server Manager. This dialog box presents a generic interface through which the configuration values of a generic resource can be changed. This eliminates the need to develop a user interface for configuring a new resource.
The configuration data is maintained within this database. Therefore it is automatically packaged for deployment by Commerce Server Site Packager.
The configuration data can also be accessed and changed programmatically using the Commerce Server 2009 administration objects GlobalConfigFreeThreaded, GlobalConfig2FreeThreaded, SiteConfigFreeThreaded, and SiteConfigReadOnlyFreeThreaded.
This level of integration involves the least development effort, consisting of adding the rows to appropriate tables in the Administration database. For more information about how to add these rows, see Adding a Custom Resource.