What Is a Component in Iguana (and Why Should You Care)?

When people first see Iguana, one of the things that stands out is the collection of small colored bubbles that make up an interface. Each bubble represents a component, and together they form the full path that data travels through. For new users, these components are one of the most important ideas to understand. They shape how you design, maintain, and scale every integration you build.

This article provides a simple explanation of what components are, and why they matter so much in practice.

Components are small, focused units in a data flow

A component in Iguana is a single building block that performs one job. For example, some listen for incoming data. Some process or transform data. Others send data to a destination system.

Think of components as steps in a workflow. When you break an interface into these steps, you can see exactly how data moves from the source to the final output. Instead of one large all-purpose script, you work with a set of clear and focused pieces.

This structure keeps things easier to understand at a glance, which helps both developers and operations teams.

Why Iguana uses components

There are a few core ideas behind this design.

Separation of concerns

Each component handles a specific task. A source component deals with incoming protocols. A mapper handles transformation logic. A destination component sends data to the target system. By separating these responsibilities, the workflow becomes cleaner and more predictable.

Reuse across projects

Once you build a component that listens for HL7, or one that transforms a particular message type, you can reuse it in other interfaces. Over time, teams build up their own internal libraries of components that speed up future projects.

Easier troubleshooting

When something goes wrong, you can see which component encountered the issue. You do not have to search through a large combined workflow. By isolating the problem to one place, you save time and reduce guesswork.

Scalability as your integrations grow

A component based design makes it simple to add new system connections, chain different workflows, or branch data into multiple paths. You can connect components in linear flows, fan out to multiple destinations, or build more complex patterns when needed.

How components help you build a reusable library

One of the advantages of working with components is that they are not tied to a single project. Once you create one that solves a certain problem, you can save it and use it again.

For example:

• A component that listens for HL7 via LLP

• A component that maps a specific segment or message type

• A component that sends JSON to a remote API

• A component that reads files from a shared directory

• A component that applies validation rules you use at every clinic or customer site

Since Iguana connects with Git, you can store these components in a shared repository. New developers can pull down what the team has already built and avoid starting from scratch. Over time this becomes a major efficiency boost, and it also keeps your projects consistent.

An integration approach that matches how real workflows evolve and scale

Clinics, labs, and partners rarely send identical messages or follow identical workflows. Requirements shift. A connection that begins as HL7 may expand to include API calls. A single clinic may turn into five clinics, each with slight variations.

A component based model makes this manageable. You adjust only the pieces that need to change. You plug in new components when requirements grow. And you keep everything else stable.

That is the reason these small units are at the heart of every Iguana interface. They help developers move faster, give operations teams a clearer view of the data flow, and create a structure that scales cleanly as your environment becomes more complex.