In Enterprise Service Tools for:
- Web services for CICS® project, or
- XML Transformation for CICS project
Two types of runtime XML conversion are provided: Interpretive
XML conversion and Compiled XML conversion. The compiled XML conversion
has more capabilities than the interpretive XML conversion.
When you select either of the
two types of conversion, the selection applies to both request XML
conversion and response XML conversion for the resulting service provider or service
requester.
Runtime XML conversion includes:
- XML to Language Structure conversion (conversion
of data from XML format to some high-level language data format such
as a specific COBOL data structure):
- Service provider: The service provider converts the data in a service request from
XML format to a high-level language data format.
- Service requester: The service requester converts the data in a service response from
XML format to a high-level language data format.
- Language Structure to XML conversion (conversion
of data from some high-level language data format such as a specific
COBOL data structure to XML format):
- Service provider: The service provider converts the data in a service response from
a high-level language data format to XML format.
- Service requester:The service requester converts the data in a service request from
a high-level language data format to XML format.
Interpretive runtime XML
conversion
Note: Interpretive runtime XML conversion is
available only in
Web services for CICS projects,
XML Transformation for CICS projects and in service
flow projects (see
Availability in
this topic).
The supported runtime environments
(Web services for CICS and XML Transformation for CICS)
includes an interpretive XML converter that can be invoked during
the processing of service requests and service responsesto convert data from XML format
to a high-level language data format or from high-level language data
format to XML format. Using the interpretive XML converter has the
advantage of freeing CICS Web service developers from
the task of writing their own XML conversion programs.
In both, Web services for CICS and
XML Transformation for CICS, the interface that the runtime
environment provides to a Web service that uses interpretive runtime
XML conversion is called the Native interface.
However,
using the interpretive XML converter has the following disadvantages:
- The interpretive engine does not support all the data constructs
and types in the COBOL language. This makes it necessary for a CICS developer
to write additional code or a wrapper program to process unsupported
types.
- The behavior of the interpretive engine is not configurable, whereas
a user may have very specific needs in processing SOAP messages.
- The interpretive engine cannot be debugged at runtime.
Compiled runtime XML conversion
Note: Interpretive runtime XML conversion is available only in
Web services for CICS projects,
XML Transformation for CICS projects and in service
flow projects (see
Availability in
this topic).
If you choose not to use the interpretive XML converter, or if
your Web service is not targeted to run in either the
Web
services for CICS or XML Transformation for CICS runtime
environment, then the following must be done:
- You must provide an request XML conversion program and an response
XML conversion program that your target runtime environment can invoke
to perform conversion of data from XML data format to high-level language
data format and back (perform conversion of data from high-level language
data format to XML data format).
- You use this development method you must write the conversion
programs, transfer them to the host, compile them, and make them known
to the target Web service runtime environment.
In both Web services for CICS and
XML Transformation for CICS, the combination of the runtime
environment and the user-supplied XML conversion programs is called
the Vendor interface.
In this case, the wizards in the Enterprise Service Tools can be
very helpful. You can use a wizard in the Enterprise Service Tools
to generate a COBOL source code module that contains a driver program
for a service provider or service
requester (a driver program which is highly configurable through
options that you can select when you are going through the wizard)
as well as request and response XML conversion functions (also configurable
through the wizard) and other supporting functions. The XML conversion
functions provide broad support for COBOL data constructs and types,
so that in most cases you are not required to write a wrapper program.
The entire COBOL program module can be debugged at run time. The wizard
can also generate other files that are required to deploy a Web service
on the host.
See the example application provided by the Enterprise Service
Tools: The CICS catalog manager example application.
Note: - In the Web services for CICS environment, for the scenario
in which you want to create a new Web service interface for an existing
COBOL application (bottom-up scenario), the wizards in the Enterprise
Service Tools provides more functionality than does the batch file
(DFHLS2WS) included in the CICS Web services assistant (see
"The CICS Web services assistant", in the CICS Transaction
Server for z/OS Version 4.1 Information Center,
available from CICS Transaction Server for z/OS® V4.1
- Library).
- In the XML Transformation for CICS environment,
for the scenario in which you want to create a new XML
Transformation for an existing COBOL application (bottom-up scenario),
the wizards in the Enterprise Service Tools provides more functionality
than does the batch file (DFHLS2SC) included in the CICS XML
Transformation assistant (see "The CICS Web
services assistant", in the CICS Transaction
Server for z/OS Version 4.1 Information Center,
available from CICS Transaction Server for z/OS V4.1
- Library).
Availability
Interpretive
runtime XML conversion is currently only available in
Web
services for CICS projects, XML Transformation for CICS projects and
in service flow projects:
| Type of project: |
XML conversion mechanisms: |
| Web Services for CICS Project |
- Create New Service Interface (bottom-up) wizard - You can choose
either:
- Interpretive XML conversion; or
- Compiled XML conversion.
- Map an Existing Service Interface (meet-in-middle) wizard:
- Compiled XML conversion only.
- Create New Service Implementation (top-down):
- Interpretive XML conversion only.
|
| SOAP for CICS Project |
Compiled XML conversion |
| XML Transformation for CICS Project |
- Create New Service Interface (bottom-up) wizard - You can choose
either:
- Interpretive XML conversion; or
- Compiled XML conversion.
- Create New Service Implementation (top-down):
- Interpretive XML conversion only.
Note: Map an Existing Service Interface (meet-in-middle)
wizard is not supported.
|
| IMS™ SOAP Gateway Project |
Compiled XML conversion |
| IMS Web 2.0 Project |
Compiled XML conversion |
| Batch, TSO, z/OS UNIX® System
Services Project |
Compiled XML conversion |
| Database application project |
(Not applicable) |
| Service flow project |
- Default:
- Interpretive XML conversion
- Full header web services:
|