MANASYS
Jazz Build 16.1.238
Offers End-to-end Web Services
Summary
Build #238 offers the first release of End-to-end Web Services, integrating the generation of mainframe CICS web services with generation of client-side interface that encapsulates the rules of the service, presenting properties and methods that can be discovered by Intellisence and used by user-developed client logic. This brief video gives an overview of this new facility, while this help page gives the detail.
There are a few other changes and error corrections, mostly related to web service improvements.
Major Change
· When a JSON web service program has been generated, the Jazz workbench has a [Client] button. If the Jazz program has been fully processed (COBOL produced and compiled, and the WSBind objects (binding object, JSON descriptions of the input and output messages) created, then clicking [Client] will produce a C# interface object that encapsulates the rules of the service, making the development of client-side user function in C#, VB, Java, or other languages compatible with .NET relatively easy.
Miscellaneous
Changes
· Support for COBOL Level 6.2, which offers better numeric validation than the traditional IF xxxx IS NUMERIC. Now MANASYS generates validation code using TEST-NUMVAL functions, which supports input forms like $12,345.67 for DECIMAL and MONEY data, and floating point formats for FLOAT and LONG. It is recommended that users whose COBOL systems support level 6.2 or better use this option (Configure/COBOL tab). This applies to all ACCEPT logic, whether batch, classical CICS, or web service.
· Support
routine JZNXTKY has been corrected: parameter changed from COMP to COMP-5.
001420 49 JZL-KeyField
PIC S9999 COMP-5.
JZNXTKY
· Support routine JZTRIM now recognizes “null” as a special value (or “n” for a 1 character field, “nu” for 2, “nul” for 3) and will set the corresponding SQL field to NULL, not the literal “null”.
· Web services provide better support for scrolling, setting ReturnCode = F for first, L for last, and N for Nth when several records meeting retrieval criteria exist. Currently only supported for DB2.
Getting the Latest
Build
This build will download automatically when Get Jazz is clicked.
Existing users should
1. Update their Jazz folders by clicking [Configure] and [Initialise Project], then following the dialog to download all the C# templates: -
@InList.cs
@IsFloat.cs
@IsInt.cs
@IsNoLongerThan.cs
@JazzClient.cs
@Method.cs
@ReadNoScroll.cs
@ReadScroll.cs
@RequestResponse.cs
Also support routines
JZNXTKY.cbl
and JZTRIM.cbl
2. Recompile support routines JZNXTKY and JZTRIM.
3. If you’re running MANASYS Jazz from a saved shortcut, check that you’re running build #238 by looking at Help/About, or the line 4 comment of the generated COBOL. If you have a saved shortcut to the previously-loaded version then this may continue to run the old version.
What Next? Planning for the Next Release
We’re never short of ideas, but the important ideas are yours. What would you like us to do next? Every release is an opportunity to rethink and reset, so there’s never a better time to suggest enhancements.
Possible developments: -
· Client-side interface generation. This has met objectives for the first stage, but this is just the start, and provision of client-side code has created some exciting possibilities. These include
o Implementing ViewState definitions, providing a facility that works for web services the way that Viewstate works in ASP.NET, supporting web service conversations, and chained execution sequences.
o Build 16.1 has worked with program JSPG2, a DB2 update program. The web service dialog will be reviewed to provide more options and flexibility, and will provide much easier handling of multi-record situations, including generalised enquiries, and record sets such as Client/Orders/Transactions with multiple levels of hierarchy and unknown numbers of records at each level.
Please let us know your priorities and suggestions for further development.
Robert Barnes
CEO, Jazz Software Ltd
Skype: Robert.Barnes3
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/robert-barnes-5b833a
IBM PartnerWorld member