Integration Server services (e.g. flow services) can be called from an RPC client using an adapter listener. For the creation of a listener it is necessary to have a Software AG IDL file which describes the call interface (signature) of the Integration Server service.
This IDL file can be created automatically using the IDL Extractor for Integration Server, a component of the EntireX Workbench which reads a package from the Integration Server and generates a Software AG IDL file from all services which exist in the package. For details how to use the IDL Extractor for Integration Server, see the EntireX documentation.
As an alternative, you can create an IDL file from a specified subset of Integration Server services using a service from the WmEntireX package.
In this document we describe this alternative and give an overview of the data type mapping which is relevant for both approaches:
This service generates an IDL file for a given list of Integration Server services. For each service, a program in the IDL file is created. If the IDL file already exists, it is extended with the newly created program definitions. Duplicate definitions for the same program are possible. In this case, the IDL file has to be corrected manually. Note that this service creates/updates only the IDL file. Creating or updating a listener with the definitions of the IDL file has to be done with webMethods Integration Server Wrapper of the EntireX Workbench. The following parameters are relevant:
| Input Parameters | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
serviceName
String |
The full name of the
Integration Server service (e.g.
folder1.folder2:service).
Multiple services can be specified using a semicolon (;) as
delimiter.
|
fileName
String |
The name of the IDL file. If a relative file name is specified, the base directory is equal to the directory of the Integration Server instance. An absolute file name such as /workspace/myproject/idl.idl can also be specified. |
libraryName
String |
The library name to be used in the IDL file. If the IDL file already exists, this parameter is ignored. |
stringType
String |
The IDL data type which
is used for string data types. Possible values are AV,
AVn, or An. This parameter is optional, default is
AV.
|
language
String |
The target language for
the RPC clients. Possible values are COBOL, Natural,
PL/I, or Other.
|
| Output Parameters | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
result
String |
Either a success message if the generation was successful (which includes the full pathname of the IDL file) or an error message. |
The signature of an Integration Server service specifies the
data types for the parameters of the service. There are three data types:
String, Record and Object. Parameters of
type String are mapped to an IDL alphanumeric data type,
parameters of type Record to IDL groups. Parameters of type
Object cannot be mapped to an IDL data type and thus result in an
error. If such an error occurs, the IDL program which contains the invalid data
type mapping is written to the IDL file, however, all lines are comments.
Starting with version 9.7, a parameter of an EntireX Adapter
service of type Object is mapped to an IDL binary data type.
Depending on the target language, it is either mapped to BV (for
Natural and Other) or to BV256 (for
COBOL and PL/I).
All parameters of type String are mapped to an IDL
alphanumeric data type, available as variable (AV,
AVn) or fixed (An) length. Which alphanumeric type is
used is specified in the wizard page of the IDL Extractor for Integration Server or as a
parameter of the generation service.
Parameters of type String may have an associated context
type which is specified in the constraints of the parameter’s properties. This
content type influences the data type mapping. The content type was already
considered in previous versions of the EntireX Adapter (version 9.6 or
lower). However, its usage was not documented and the mapping was not yet
complete. The handling of the content type has been reworked with version 9.7.
The following table shows both the new and the old mapping. The new mapping is
different from the old one. If you want to use the old mapping with version 9.7
or higher, you have to set the extended setting
watt.com.softwareag.entirex.wmadapter.extractor.contenttype.handling.pre97=true
(in the Integration Server administration page under
Settings > Extended).
| Integration Server Content Type | IDL Data Type - Adapter version 9.7 or higher | IDL Data Type - Adapter version 9.6 or lower |
|---|---|---|
| boolean | L | L |
| decimal | Nx, Nx.y or String1 | N10.2 |
| float | F4 | F4 |
| double | F8 | F8 |
| Date | String2 | D |
| dateTime | String2 | T |
| base64Binary | String2 | BV |
| byte | I1 | I1 |
| unsignedByte | NU3 | I1 |
| short | I2 | I2 |
| unsignedShort | NU5 | I2 |
| int | I4 | I4 |
| unsignedInt | NU10 | I4 |
| long | N19 | String2 |
| unsignedLong | NU20 | String2 |
| integer | N29 | String2 |
| positiveInteger | NU29 | String2 |
| nonPositiveInteger | N29 | String2 |
| negativeInteger | N29 | String2 |
| nonNegativeInteger | NU29 | String2 |
| string | String3 | String2 |
| all others | String2 | String2 |
Notes:
Nx.y is used. If only a total
number of digits is specified, then Nx is used. If no total number
of digits is specified, or the total number exceeds the maximum allowed value,
or the number of fraction digits exceeds the maximum allowed value, then a
string according to 2) is used. The maximum allowed value for the total number
of digits is 29, for COBOL it is 31. The maximum allowed value for the number
of fraction digits is 7, for COBOL it is 31 and for Natural it is 29.
AV, AVn or An is used.
len, then
Alen is used. If the content type specifies a maximum length
max, then AVmax or Amax is used, see 2)
for the choice between A versus Av. If neither length
nor maximum length is specified, the choice is the same as in 2).