Micro Focus Enterprise Developer 3.0 for Eclipse > Developing Applications in the IDE > Creating COBOL Projects > Creating and importing COBOL projects > Creating service interface projects

Creating service interface projects

The Interface Mapper is the tool that enables you to define your service interfaces. You can define a service interface for a COBOL application from the COBOL source code. The service interfaces you define can cover a broad range – from those that provide access to a subset of the functions performed by your application, to interfaces that do more than your application in its original form. This is done by associating, or "mapping", the fields in your legacy application to the fields you create in the service interface.

In order to use the service interfaces feature, you must first create a native COBOL project configured to support them. Once this project is in place, you use Eclipse IDE functionality to do the following:

Add your COBOL application files to the project, such as COBOL programs and copybooks: right-click your project and choose New > COBOL Program or COBOL Copybook.
Create and edit a service interface: right-click your project and choose New > Other > Micro Focus IMTK > Java Interface or Web Service.
Import an existing service interface, either a service interface created using different software such as Net Express or a service interface from a different project right-click project and choose Import > Import > Micro Focus Interface Mapper > Service Interfaces.
Deploy service interfaces to run as services on an enterprise server: right-click a service interface and choose Deploy.
Generate clients to access deployed services: right-click service interface and choose Generate Client.

The Interface Mapper user interface for COBOL Program service interfaces is split into two parts. The left side shows COBOL LINKAGE section fields, and the right shows interface fields, reusable fields, and COBOL assignments.