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How It Works

Server Enterprise Edition provides an execution environment for your COBOL programs. It exposes these programs as services that can be called by clients. Client/Server Binding for Enterprise Server supplies a service package, CSBIND, that runs the server programs of your client/server applications, and handles their communication requirements.

CSBIND is provided in a COBOL archive file which you deploy to the enterprise server of your choice. When you do this, CSBIND is installed along with the default client/server service, MFCLISRV. This service exposes CSBIND so that clients can call it. You can create additional services that expose CSBIND. Each service is associated with one or more listeners, which listen for service requests.

Your client program calls the supplied client module, MFCLIENT, which resolves the service name by contacting a Micro Focus Directory Server. MFCLIENT then connects to an appropriate listener on your enterprise server. The enterprise server runs the CSBIND module and passes it the client request. The CSBIND module then calls your server program. The response is returned via the listener connection to your client.

CSBIND runs in a conversational mode and does not exit when the response is returned to the client. When the client is prepared to make its next request, it again calls MFCLIENT which sends the request over the existing connection, continuing the conversation with the same CSBIND process.

Note: Enterprise Server runs service programs within Server Execution Processes (SEPs). When a service completes, the SEP that ran it is available to handle further service requests. A conversational program, like CSBIND, may run for a long period of time, and only terminates when the conversation with the client is complete. While the program is running, the SEP is occupied and is not available to handle other service requests. Therefore, for each CSBIND conversation that is taking place, Enterprise Server starts an additional SEP to ensure that it has sufficient to deal with new service requests.
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