Configuring the IMS Connect XML adapter function

To handle the XML data from the client, you can either modify the IMS application to accept the XML input message and to return an XML output message, or use the IBM® Rational® Developer for System z® XML converter drivers to transform the XML data in IMS Connect.

One of the features of the SOAP Gateway is the ability to allow clients to send and receive IMS transaction input and output messages in XML format without the need of changing the backend IMS application. This feature is made possible by the XML adapter function in IMS Connect.

The IMS Connect XML adapter function allows the XML adapter to run inside IMS Connect to perform the XML transformation in the IMS Connect address space. To handle IMS transaction input and output messages in XML format from the SOAP client, the XML adapter converts the XML-tagged data to the appropriate IMS application format that the IMS application accepts.

If you are not using the IMS Connect XML adapter function, you must modify your IMS application to handle XML formats.

If the IMS application is a multi-segment message processing program (MPP), you must use Rational Developer for System z to generate the XML converter.

The following steps provide a high-level description of how to configure the IMS Connect XML adapter function with SOAP Gateway. For detailed instructions on setting up the IMS Connect XML adapter function, see the SOAP Gateway Phone Book sample, which can be downloaded from the IMS Enterprise Suite support site or the IMS Exchange website.

  1. Configure the XML adapter function in IMS Connect.
    For more information, see IMS 14 System Definition information.
  2. Use Rational Developer for System z to generate a WSDL file, a correlator file, and the XML converter driver program for your IMS application. The Rational Developer for System z must be concatenated to the STEPLIB of the IMS Connect startup JCL.
    To compile and bind the converters into a data set concatenated with the IMS Connect STEPLIB:
    • The converter must have an alias that is linked with the converter code, using the same name as the converter, with an X suffix. If the converter name is eight-character long, the last character for the alias must be changed to an X.
    • The converter and the load module name must end with the letter D.
    • The converter should be linked with the option REUS=SERIAL so that the converter is loaded into the memory only once.
    • In the step to link edit the converter, the SYSLMOD statement must specify a PDSE.
    For example, if your converter file name is IMSSGWS1D. Your JCL would contain ENTRY, ALIAS, and NAME statements as follows:
    //LINK    EXEC PGM=HEWL,COND=(4,LT),
    //        PARM='XREF,COMPAT=MIN,REUS=SERIAL'
    ...  
    		ENTRY IMSSGWS1D 
    		ALIAS IMSSGWS1X 
    		NAME IMSSGWS1D(R)  
  3. Upload the XML converter driver that was generated by Rational Developer for System z as part of the WSDL generation to your host IMS machine. Compile and link edit the program file such that it can be accessed by IMS Connect.
    The data set that contains the compiled converters must be concatenated to the STEPLIB with the IMS RESLIB data set. Because RESLIB requires APF authorization, all data sets that are concatenated with it must also be APF-authorized.
  4. Deploy the WSDL and correlator file to SOAP Gateway by using the SOAP Gateway management utility.