CICS Web Service Types and Methods

A provider CICS Web service is made available over the Web to a requester, which can be another Web service, a JSON request, or a SOAP request. The requester makes one or more requests to the provider, which then provides the requested data back to the requester.

Using Enterprise Developer, you can create a provider CICS Web service using either the top-down or the bottom-up method.

Top-down method

To use the top-down method, you start with a WSDL file, request and response JSON files, or a RESTful JSON file. These files describe an existing CICS COBOL application that runs as a Web service. From the WSDL file, request and response JSON files, or RESTful JSON file, you generate a CICS provider skeleton program containing a set of COBOL language structures to process requests, and a WSBIND file that maps the input and output of the provider program to the input and output of the described Web service.

Bottom-up method

To use the bottom-up method, you start with an existing CICS COBOL application, and expose its functionality as a Web service suitable for access across the Web. Minimally, the CICS COBOL application must consist of a main program (.cbl) file, and two copybook (.cpy) files - one containing input data structures, and one containing output data structures.

From the original application, Enterprise Developer generates WSDL or JSON that describes the application, and a WSBIND file that maps the input and output of the application to the Web service.

If you want to make your provider Web service available to multiple clients via the Web, you can distribute the generated WSDL file or JSON files from which requester clients can be generated. Organizations that distribute WSDL and JSON files for this purpose are called Web service provider agents.

All CICS Web service requesters (also called clients) are created using the top-down method. You start with a WSDL file or a set of request and response JSON files such as are supplied by a Web service provider agent, that describe the underlying CICS application. From the WSDL or JSON, Enterprise Developer generates a CICS client application to launch the Web service requester, and to receive returned data. In addition, Enterprise Developer generates a WSBIND file or a set of request and response JSBIND files. A bind file maps the input and output of the application to the Web service.