IMS Connect Function and IMS Enterprise Suite Connect APIs

IMS Connect, an integrated function of IMS, improves IMS TCP/IP access and enables easier access to IMS applications and data from the Internet. The functions provided by IMS Connect are indispensable for any IMS shop implementing an on demand business strategy.

IMS Connect provides high performance communications for IMS, connecting one or more TCP/IP clients or local z/OS clients with one or more IMS systems.

The newly released IMS Enterprise Suite Connect API for Java provides IMS Connect client applications with simple calls for quickly and easily interacting with IMS through IMS Connect. The Connect API for Java provides a simple way to configure TCP/IP socket connections to IMS Connect and to configure the interactions with IMS Connect and IMS that you want to perform on those connections through the use of reusable profiles. The Connect API for Java can be used to develop custom IMS Connect TCP/IP client applications in Windows and z/OS environments.

In addition to the Connect API for Java, IMS Connect supports the following IBM-supplied clients:

• IMS TM resource adapter, which allows you to rapidly create and run Java applications that access IMS transactions from the Internet or that process callout requests to the Internet from IMS applications.
• IMS Enterprise Suite SOAP Gateway, which enables existing or new IMS applications to communicate outside of the IMS environment by using SOAP.
• IMS Web 2.0 Solution for IBM Mashup Center, which provides users access to IMS data through RSS, Atom, or XML feeds. With IBM Mashup Center and IMS Version 11, mashup application developers can create feeds to access IMS data by using standard SQL queries.
• Control Center for IMS, which allows you to manage your IMS systems in a graphical interface from a single point of control on your workstation.

IMS Connect provides many features and functions to support IMS Connect client application programs and communications with IMS, including:

• XML conversion support for IMS Enterprise Suite SOAP Gateway and IMS Web 2.0 Solution for IBM Mashup Center. XML conversion support converts XML input messages into the format expected by IMS application programs that are written in select programming languages, such as COBOL, and converts output messages back to XML.
• Commands to manage the communication environment.
• Assistance with workload balancing.
• Reduced design and coding effort for client applications.
• Easier on demand business access to IMS applications and operations with advanced security and transactional integrity.
• Support for custom, user-supplied client application programs that are written directly to the native IMS Connect protocol.

Recent enhancements improve manageability, usability, and performance, as well as provide support for IBM IMS Connect Extensions for z/OS, a separately priced tool that enhances performance and availability reporting for the integrated IMS Connect functionality.

You can find more information about the IMS Connect function of IMS in the Information Management Software for z/OS Solutions Information Center.