What do JDBC commit/rollback and LDAP rebind have in common?

Both are features of their respective protocols and both are available for use from script. All you have to do is get hold of the Connector Interface, aka the "CI".

var ci = thisConnector.getConnector();

Note that "thisConnector" is a handy variable that always references the current component. Also, for TDI versions prior to 6.1.1 you don't have the getConnector() method and must reference the connector member field directly:

var ci = thisConnector.connector;

Once you have the CI, you have direct access to technology/vendor/platform-specific functionality, as well as the standard methods that all CI's must implement in order to support Connector Modes. However, working with the CI directly will not invoke any Hook flows.

Hook flow execution is initiated when an "AL Component" method is called, like getnext() or lookup(). These standard AL component functions can be found in the TDI JavaDocs (Help > Low Level API) . If look at the class com.ibm.di.server.AssemblyLineComponent you'll see these calls. For example, the update() method invokes the Update Mode Hook flow which performs a a Lookup and then branches to either Add or Modify. The actual read and write operations are provided by calling methods in the attached CI: findEntry(), putEntry() and modEntry(), in that order. Calling any of these CI functions directly from script means bypassing the Hook flow logic provided by the AL Component.

In addition to the methods required to support desired Modes, a CI can contain any number of supplementary functions. The JDBCConnector class offers jdbc-specific calls like commit() and rollback(); The LDAPConnector lets you rebind() and getServerInfo().

But the fun doesn't stop here. Many CI's can also return a handle to the underlying system and vendor libraries. For example, the JDBCConnector offers a getConnection() call to return the underlying driver's Connection object, implemented according to this standard interface:

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5/docs/api/java/sql/Connection.html

plus vendor-specific additions.

Another example is the Notes Connector that lets you get a reference to the currently opened Domino Session, Database or View object. Then you can make direct Domino API calls to do stuff like re-certify users or invoke AdminP processes.

And, of course, Functions and Parsers have Interfaces too.