Using the service flow project tools, you can import host application artifacts (those artifacts that comprise the existing interface definition), as well as components from previous application development projects or business solutions.
The purpose of importing artifacts from a host application is to populate parts of the information model of the service that you are creating.
When you import a COBOL file, a BMS map, or a screen capture of a 3270 or 5250 application screen, the result is schema in .sfmxsd format. The resources resulting from these import / capture operations are referred to in general as messages.
BMS stands for Basic Mapping Support. BMS is an interface between many host system applications (i.e., CICS® and IMS™) and application programs that format input and output display data and route multiple-page output messages without regard for control characters used by various terminals.
A BMS source file contains one or more BMS map sets. A BMS map set typically contains all the screen definitions for an application running on a host system. When you import a BMS source file, each screen definition is automatically tagged with the BMS field names.
In its native state, an application screen represents the user interface to a 3270 or 5250 application on a host system.
A single host application can contain many application screens, each of which has a purpose within the context of the application. Application screens contain both text and control (or formatting functions) and traditionally display as "green screens" on 3270 or 5250 terminals. An application screen represents a schema or message that corresponds to a known terminal screen structure.
The screen capture converts the resource into .sfmxsd -- which is the model by which service flow project stores information.
Screen captures are stored as messages within the terminal applications subproject.
Screen capture files are XML representations of host screens, used to create or customize screen customization or transformations as used by the Host Application Transformation Services product.
You can import and parse one or many HATS screen captures (.hsc files) into the service flow project development environment.
COBOL structures are typically copy book files. You can also import COBOL file types such as .cbl, .ccp, and .cob.
Importing COBOL files enables you to populate your nonterminal or interface definition subproject with message definitions.
The COBOL importer also enables you to capture COBOL structures and store them as structured data types in the workbench. The COBOL record descriptions can be used as service interfaces and flow activity interfaces.
Importing PL/I files enables you to create service flow project components from your existing PL/I nonterminal applications.
You can import files of the following types: .pli, .inc, .mac.
A WSDL file can contain interface definitions for Web services.
The WSDL importer enables you to import specific operations from multiple valid .wsdl files, along with the referenced schema. The importer places the operations and schema into the interface definition subproject and generates a corresponding .sfmxsd file.
A WSDL file can contain interface definitions for Web services.
The importer for outbound Web service definitions reads an outbound Web service definition from an existing WSDL file and generates from the definition the artifacts required to create a node in the flow editor that invokes the outbound Web service. It creates a operations file, a messages file, a WSBind file, and a WSDL file (see Importing an outbound Web service definition).