A SupportPac for creating Atom feeds
SupportPac CA8K, released on 20 March 2008, shows you how to introduce some of the very latest Web technologies into your CICS TS system. The primary technology it demonstrates is how to create an Atom feed from existing CICS data, such as a Temporary Storage queue. The purpose of the SupportPac is to show that this can be done today, using existing CICS facilities. So it uses the funky new URIMAP and PIPELINE resources to map Atom feed request URLs into CICS resources that you want to publish. In its simplest form, this means that if you want to publish some data into a feed, all that your application needs to do is write the data on to a TS queue, and then let the SupportPac code do the heavy lifting of the Atom protocol.
Now you might have thought that PIPELINE definitions were only for use by SOAP and Web Services, but that’s not strictly true. You can also configure a pipeline to execute an arbitrary program as a message handler for any protocol, and that’s just what this SupportPac does to handle Atom. But it also uses the pipeline’s XML configuration file to provide some of the Atom metadata, and to help you to specify exactly which CICS resource you want to publish, and how its data is laid out.
If you want to publish CICS data that is not in a CICS TS queue, the SupportPac lets you do that, too. It can link to a program that you provide, which can extract data from wherever it likes – from your database manager, for instance – and return it in a container for insertion into the feed. There is a sample program that demonstrates using the sample FILEA file that is distributed with CICS.
Once you can deliver stuff into an Atom feed, it’s then fairly easy to request it from a Web browser using Ajax technology, and the SupportPac also includes some JavaScript to help you to do this. This could lead you on to develop mashups that incorporate CICS data, but the SupportPac doesn’t go that far.
The SupportPac doesn’t only let you request data from CICS, it also lets you manipulate it using a REST interaction style. So, as well as using the HTTP GET method to request TS queue items, you can use the POST, PUT, and DELETE methods to create, update and destroy them as well. The ability to use all four of these methods in a pipeline request did show up a CICS problem, so you have to apply the fix for PK58721 before using the SupportPac.
On TS 3.2, UK33060 is PE hold AK60040 and prevents UK34459 from applying. Would love to try this out but fix unavailable.
Aw, curses! Sorry about that. It looks like a fix for PK60040 has been built and should be available in a few days.
PTF UK35298 for PK60040 is now available.
Hi Peter, downloaded and received UK35298, went to APPLY UK34459 UK34460 UK34464 UK34470 (all necessary for the Support Pak) and UK33821 was missing. Downloaded and RECEIVED UK33821 and then tried the APPLY of UK34459 again. Got GIM43401W MODULE DFHPIXMT IN SYSMOD UK33821 WAS NOT INSTALLED IN ANY TARGET LIBRARY. Looks like there is an APAR already open (PK64521) dealing with the the missing JCLIN for DFHPIXMT. Guess I go back to waiting for a fix instead of trying CA8K.
I was trying to install and test out support pac ca8k – pmr 73487,487,000
(Delivering Atom Feeds from Cics)
Basically I was asking IBMLINK how does one execute this
Example or invoke it after downloading all the supportpac materials and
then setting up all the definitions in CICS…(running cics ts 3.2 with rsu0812)
I did find a typo……..in the pipe definition … In the dfh$web2.dat…which is the
Source for the dfhcsd definitions …..for pipeline
DEFINE PIPELINE(DFH$W2F1) GROUP(DFH$WEB2)
DESCRIPTION(CICS Web2.0 Atom Feed FILEA pipeline)
STATUS(ENABLED) SHELF(/u/uuuuuuuu/supportpac/ca8k/shelf)
CONFIGFILE(/u/uuuuuuuu/supportpac/ca8k/pipe/w2atomtfilea.xml)
This does not match the xml file name of w2atomfilea.xml the above pipe def has
A “t” before the “filea” part of the xml file name but the xml file name
Delivered is w2atomfilea.xml……and so the pipe won’t enable till you change pipe
Def to match xml name…
I installed all the default definitions provided and did not do any user customization
Of any of the programs or xml…..
I was ready to execute (or run this) but didn’t see example of how to do this in the PDF
For SUpportPac CA8K – Delivering Atom feeds from CICS)
There was also mentioned a presentation for this….the presentation also has
Another pdf to download to go with….pdf
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/os/systemz/telecon/11jun/prz/
This PDF is “Extending SOA and CICS with Web 2.0″
In this pdf….it talks about the ca8k supportpac and on page 19 it gives what I thought
To be a way to invoke this supportpac….
It uses url => http://yourhostname.com/atom/q/atomictest/feed
The cics defs have everything defined starting with the /atom/q/….etc
But nowhere is the main URL defined so what I did was create a TCPIPS def that
Had port….I then tried various versions of associating it with URIMAP of pipe
And the Pipe and then just not associating it with anything
If I just have a tcpips def…not assoc with any of the pipe or URIMAP defs….
And I turn on CEDX with CPIH transaction and then enter the following URL in Netscape 7.0
http://ouripaddress:port/atom/q/atomictest/feed – the ouripaddress:port comes from TCPIPS def but pdfs don’t say anything about having one???
I see it do various things in dfh$w2fd – container atomparameters, go to prog dfh$w2ts, back to container, read tsq atomictest,goes back to dfh$w2fd
Do freemain and then asra
it ends up getting +DFHSR0001 M528CIC3 An abend (code 0C4/AKEA) has occurred at offset X’000012FA’
In program DFH$W2FD
Also get
DFHPI0500 02/13/2009 18:05:13 M528CIC3 CPIH The CICS Pipeline Manager DFHPIPM encountered
an error while trying to link to program DFH$W2FD. No further details are available. PIPELINE: DFH$W2Q1.
DFHPI0997 02/13/2009 18:05:13 M528CIC3 CPIH DFH$W2Q1 The CICS pipeline manager has encountered an
error: unidentified problem.
I have a feeling that I may not be invoking the sample correctly or I may be missing some definition…
Do I invoke in a browser as I try to above….or do I invoke another way…..
If I do invoke via browser….do I use the above….
Also, If I do invoke in browser..how do I assoc the url with the cics region…??
Should I have used TCPIPS def or ?? Another method??
If anyone can help answer how to get to to run…I would really appreciate this…
Thanks again so much for any help
or tips you can provide to run this
supportpac…..Anna Smith (202) 307-5369
PS…won’t work with our IE browser 7.0 but will work somewhat with netscape 7.0
the email address was wrong…
It’s anna.m.smith@usdoj.gov for the ca8k
supportpac question
i’m not sure question got thru….here is is again..
Have cics ts 3.2 rsu 0812 on z/os 1.9
Downloaded supportpac and uploaded to uss side the
required files and also put in defs to CSD
Did not change anything in supportpac…did not
do any customizations…
Was not sure how to invoke this…..
Looked in both the pdf with supportpac and also
in pdf that came with video presentation…
Ended up using netscape and url
http://ouripaddress:port/atom/q/atomictest/feed
to invoke this…
Also, i used an existing TCPIPS def for the port
Supportpac did not mention how to do this
Keep getting error in DFH$W2FD
Did CEDA with CPIH transaction
I see it do various things in dfh$w2fd – container atomparameters, go to prog dfh$w2ts, back to container, read tsq atomictest,goes back to dfh$w2fd
Do freemain and then asra
it ends up getting +DFHSR0001 M528CIC3 An abend (code 0C4/AKEA) has occurred at offset X’000012FA’
In program DFH$W2FD
Also get
DFHPI0500 02/13/2009 18:05:13 M528CIC3 CPIH The CICS Pipeline Manager DFHPIPM encountered
an error while trying to link to program DFH$W2FD. No further details are available. PIPELINE: DFH$W2Q1.
DFHPI0997 02/13/2009 18:05:13 M528CIC3 CPIH DFH$W2Q1 The CICS pipeline manager has encountered an
error: unidentified problem.
I have a feeling that I may not be invoking the sample correctly or I may be missing some definition…
Do I invoke in a browser as I try to above….or do I invoke another way…..
If I do invoke via browser….do I use the above….
Also, If I do invoke in browser..how do I assoc the url with the cics region…??
Should I have used TCPIPS def or ?? Another method??
If anyone can help answer how to get to to run…I would really appreciate this…