CA8K: CICS TS for z/OS: Delivering Atom feeds from CICS
Downloadable files
Abstract
This SupportPac provides sample code to demonstrate how to generate Atom feeds to publish data contained within CICS resources or obtained by running a CICS application.
Download Description
Atom is a protocol for publishing syndicated feeds and similar documents over HTTP. It is described in the following Request For Comment (RFC) documents:
This SupportPac provides sample code to do the following:
Generate Atom feed documents and Atom entry documents in response to HTTP requests directed to CICS.
Configure a CICS PIPELINE definition to map HTTP requests into requests to access particular CICS resources. The requests may conform to the REST style, in which URLs identify specific resources. The four HTTP methods correspond to specific operations on the resources:
GET retrieves an item from the resource
POST creates a new item within the resource
PUT updates an existing item within the resource
DELETE deletes an item within the resource.
There are specific interfaces to interact with CICS Temporary Storage queues. There are also interfaces that link to customized service routines that can be used to access other resources and services within CICS, including an example that accesses the CICS sample file FILEA.
This SupportPac consists of the following sample programs:
DFH$W2FD A High Level Assembler (HLASM) program that runs as a terminal handler program in a non-SOAP provider-mode pipeline to deliver Atom feeds and Atom entries. It reads specific Atom metadata from the PIPELINE configuration file and drives an auxiliary service program to construct the Atom content element.
DFH$W2TS A HLASM program that runs as an auxiliary service program for DFH$W2FD specifically to interact with an arbitrary CICS Temporary Storage queue, whose characteristics are described in the PIPELINE configuration file.
DFH0W2FA A COBOL program that runs as an auxiliary service program for DFH$W2FD and serves as an example of how to interact with other resources. This sample interacts specifically with the sample CICS file known as FILEA.
DFH$W2SD A HLASM program that suggests how you might construct an Atom Publishing Protocol service document using data from the a PIPELINE configuration file.
The SupportPac also contains a JavaScript program dfh$w2w2.js that can be used to generate Atom requests into CICS from a Web browser, using Ajax technology, and sample HTML pages that can be used to drive that JavaScript.
Possible uses: This SupportPac allows you to investigate the provision of feeds containing CICS data to external requesters using REST protocols. These might include feed aggregator applications, or mashup services on highly dynamic Web pages.
Skill level required: Users of this SupportPac must:
Be able to use HLASM to assemble sample programs
Be able to modify and compile COBOL sample programs
Be familiar with CICS Web Support
Understand the requirements of the Atom protocol
Be familiar with creating HFS files and configuring PIPELINE definitions
Details: Author: Peter Havercan: CICS Development, Hursley Category: 2 Released: 20Mar08 Current Version: 1.0
Peter Havercan gave a teleconference entitled "Extending SOA and CICS with Web 2.0" on 11 June 2008. This teleconference explains how, with SupportPac CA8K, you can use existing CICS Web support facilities to deliver atom feeds containing data from CICS. To listen to the replay, go to http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=1083&uid=swg27016019.
Prerequisites
CICS Transaction Server for z/OS (CICS TS) V3.1 or V3.2
PTF UK34429 on CICS TS V3.1 or PTF UK34459 on CICS TS V3.2, for APAR PK58721
PTF UA31443 on z/OS V1.7, for APAR OA16303, or a later release of z/OS
High Level Assembler V1.5.0
IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V3
Installation Instructions
Unzip the ca8k.zip file to a suitable directory on your workstation.
Use the File Transfer Program (FTP) to transfer the files to the z/OS UNIX system where your CICS region runs.
Transfer the files in the images and pdf directories as binary files.
Transfer all other files in character format.
Transfer the files load/ca8k.unload and load/ca8k.uncopy as z/OS sequential files, by entering the following commands (where userid is replaced with your own z/OS user ID):
cd //userid
binary
quote site blksize=3120 lrecl=80 recfm=FB
put ca8k.unload
put ca8k.uncopy
Use theTSO RECEIVE command to reload the ca8k.unload and ca8k.uncopy files:
Entering these commands reconstructs the CA8K.LOAD and CA8K.COPYLIB libraries.
Edit the source/dfh$web2.dat.
The dfh$web2.dat file contains definitions for the SupportPac sample programs and CICS resources in the DFH$WEB2 RDO group. The definitions in the file contain several references to subdirectories of /u/uuuuuuuu/supportpac/ca8k/. Before using this file as input to DFHCSDUP, you should edit these instances to match the directories into which you have actually installed the SupportPac files with FTP in the steps described above. Ensure that the HOSTCODEPAGE specification for character format files matches the actual codepage of the uploaded files, especially for the JavaScript file.
Use the contents of source/dfh$web2.dat file as input to the DFHCSDUP utility to create the required resource definitions.
Refer to the ca8k.pdf file for more details about this SupportPac.
Category 2 SupportPacs are provided in good faith and AS-IS. There is no warranty or further service implied or committed and any supplied sample code is not supported by IBM product service channels.
Please read the license file that accompanies the SupportPac, to determine if you want to use it.
Other CICS SupportPacs
To view the complete portfolio of CICS SupportPacs, go to the
CICS SupportPacs Home Page
Copyright and trademark information
IBM, the IBM logo and ibm.com are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at "Copyright and trademark information" at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.
Rate this page
Please take a moment to complete this form to help us better serve you.
