Overview
CICS(Customer Information Control System), a transaction system that runs primarily on IBM mainframe.The CICS transport can be used to call mainframe programs by sending XML messages to Mule.Mainframe programs have fixed-length record layouts for input/output.
XML, on the other hand does not have length-restriction for an element's value.
The CICS transport provides transformers to transform messages between XML and fixed-length format.
The typical steps (inside Mule) to send XML messages to mainframe are as follows:
- XML messages are received by Mule from the client (e.g: a JMS queue).
- The mainframe operation to be invoked is detected from the XML message.
- The XML message is converted into a fixed-length mainframe format.
- The mainframe program is invoked via CICS.
- The fixed-length binary response is converted into XML.
- The XML response is sent back to the client (e.g: the JMS reply queue).
An example XML message received from a client is shown below:
- Request XML Message
<sample-command xmlns="<a href="http://ogis-ri.co.jp/SAMPLE-COMMAND">">http://ogis-ri.co.jp/SAMPLE-COMMAND"></a> <customer-info> <customer-no></customer-no> <customer-name>Jones</customer-name> <customer-address>Boston</customer-address> <date>20080401</date> <customer-info> </customer-info></customer-info></sample-command>
The XML is transformed into fixed-length format required by mainframe.
Fixed-length request message
< \+Jones \+Boston \+20080401> | | | | | | | | | | -+cust-no+-\--customer-name \--\--+\--\-+-+customer-address+-\---------------\--\|--date-\- A fixed-length message is received from mainframe.
Response fixed-length message
<00002+20080401+0000050001+Bill Jones +1024, Parker Road, Boston, USA \+006000+0000060001+Matt Jones \+101, Miller Road, Boston, USA \+001000+>
The fixed-length message is transformed into XML as shown below.
Response XML Message
<sample-response xmlns="<a href="http://ogis-ri.co.jp/SAMPLE-RESPONSE">">http://ogis-ri.co.jp/SAMPLE-RESPONSE"></a> <no-of-records>2</no-of-records> <date>20080401</date> <customer-list> <customer-no>0000050001</customer-no> <customer-name>Bill Jones</customer-name> <customer-address>1024, Parker Road, Boston,USA</customer-address> <customer-charge>6000</customer-charge> </customer-list> <customer-list> <customer-no>0000060001</customer-no> <customer-name>Matt Jones</customer-name> <customer-address>101, Miller Road, Boston,USA</customer-address> <customer-charge>1000</customer-charge> </customer-list> </sample-response>
With our library of Cloud Connectors and repeatable integration solutions, you can rapidly create connectivity either on premise or in the cloud.