The value that you select for the flow type of a flow node
determines the other types of generation properties that the flow
node possesses.
All three flow types share certain fundamental generation properties
(such as Request Name, Program Name, Transaction ID, Generate Web
Service Files, and others). The FEPI flow type
and the Link3270 Bridge flow type have additional
generation properties (such as Initial PFKey and Startup Transaction
Data).
When you run the Generate Runtime Code wizard and it processes
a flow node, the wizard generates COBOL source code and control information
to implement how the flow is packaged and invoked, using the generation
properties that you specify in the flow node.
The flow type of a flow indicates (or, depending on how you look
at it, is limited by) the invoke types of the invoke nodes contained
in the flow
(see Table 1):
Note: The
generation
properties editor enforces this rule
by displaying
an error symbol
on
the icon for the node in the hierarchical tree in the left pane of
the editor area (see
Error messages in the generation properties editor).
However, the
flow editor does not display a warning message
if you introduce incompatible node types into a flow (because you
might have a valid reason for making the change).
Table 1. Flow types and the types of invoke nodes
they can contain| If the flow type of the flow is: |
Then the types of invoke nodes that the flow
can validly contain are: |
| Nonterminal |
- LINK with COMMAREA
- LINK with Channel
- WebSphere® MQ
- Outbound Web service request
- Invoke flow (FEPI)
- Invoke flow (Link3270 Bridge)
|
| FEPI |
|
| Link3270 Bridge |
|
The
main flow of your program can be of any flow type. However,
an
invoked flow must have a flow type of either
FEPI or
Link3270
Bridge (see Table 2):
Table 2. Flow types for main flow and invoked flow| If the flow is a: |
Then the flow type of the flow must be: |
| Main flow |
- Nonterminal
- FEPI
- Link3270 Bridge
|
| Invoked flow |
|
Moreover,
only a nonterminal flow can invoke another flow
(see Table 3):- Thus, if a FEPI flow or a Link3270 Bridge flow is the main flow
of a program, it must also be the only flow in the program.
- Also, this means that the maximum depth of invocation for flows
is one level deep (because a Nonterminal flow can invoke only a FEPI
flow or a Link3270 Bridge flow, and neither of those flow types can
invoke another flow).
Table 3. Which flow types can invoke other
flows| If the flow type is: |
Then can this type invoke other flows? |
| Nonterminal |
Yes, it can invoke either of the following flow
types:
|
| FEPI |
No |
| Link3270 Bridge |
No |