A metadata-aware Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) framework for an application server environment. The framework allows the connector writer to connect to a system using a low-level API. The framework provides a space in a connector in which to define high-level functions. Using the framework, the user can mine metadata for the functions and generate a description of each high-level function that can be dropped into the framework and appear as a high-level function invokable through the connector. This high-level function manifestation, when invoked, drives the low-level API provided by the connector. An adaptive layer may wrap a native Common Client Interface (CCI) exposed by a connector to provide an abstract connector that allows a higher-level abstraction of external Enterprise Information Systems (EIS). The adaptive layer may interpret metadata to model an external EIS as a logical data source. The adaptive layer may be referred to as a metadata-aware CCI adapter.