Product update XML Composer

1
Product update XML Composer

• Peter Prager
• Canam Software Labs, Inc.
• Session 2F
• EDGE 2003 Barcelona, Spain

2
Agenda

• Overview of XML Composer
• Architecture of XML processing
• Review of product features
• XML based external system interfaces
• Value proposition
• How is it different then the Proxy XML
  capability?

3
Overview of XML Composer

• What it is
• A Windows based development tool that generates
  XML processing External Action Blocks (EABs) for
  Advantage Gen applications
• There are two types of XML processing EABs
• XML Reader
• At runtime, parses XML document
• XML Writer
• At runtime, creates XML document

BI-DIRECTIONAL
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Overview of XML Composer

• Transforms data between XML and Advantage Gen
  views
• Enables XML data to be manipulated as regular
  Advantage Gen views
• Allows visual design of XML data structure
• Visually map attribute views to XML elements and
  attributes
• Works in all platforms by generating External
  Action Block code (COBOL, C, Java)
• High performance, specialized code generated
• No other runtime objects required

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Architecture of XML processing
xml_reader_eab
Reading an XML document
Import
Proc Step
buffer_view
Message Queue
xml_doc (text 4096)
Read data source containing XML
1
3
Export
data_view
RDBMS
bank_name (text 32) bank_id (numeric 9,0)
Use
2
4
6
Sequential File
xml_reader_eab
status_view
7
xml_return_code (text 2) xml_message (text
80) xml_position (numeric 15,0) xml_source (text
120)
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Process XML data now in regular views using
action diagram statements
5
Web service
XML reader logic (parses XML)
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Architecture of XML processing
xml_writer_eab
Writing an XML document
Import
Proc Step
buffer_view
Message Queue
xml_doc (text 4096)
1
Gather data that will make up XML content
Export
data_view
RDBMS
bank_name (text 32) bank_id (numeric 9,0)
Use
2
3
4
6
Sequential File
xml_writer_eab
status_view
7

Write XML to data source
xml_return_code (text 2) xml_message (text
80) xml_position (numeric 15,0) xml_source (text
120)
8
Web service
5
XML writer logic (creates XML)
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Review of product features

• Design
• Code generation
• Runtime features
• Runtime error handling
• Maintenance
• Dictionary

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Designing XML handlers

• Need two sides to create XML handler
• Advantage Gen EAB with import/export views
• EAB source code analysis
• Use Advantage Gen plug-in interface
• XML document
• Build manually node by node with built-in editor
• Import XML schema
• Import sample XML document
• Validate XML document
• Map attribute views to XML nodes
• Additional documentation schema, mapping

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Generating code for XML handlers

• Generate source code for all Advantage Gen
  language environments
• COBOL
• C
• Java
• Java requires JAXP compliant parser installed on
  the target JAVA runtime environment
• Single or batch generation

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Runtime features

• Can read and write formatted nodes
• Date, Time, Timestamp, Numeric
• Decimal symbol set on document level
• Number of decimal places set on node level
• Field Domain Compatible formats
• Date - text, date ,number
• Time - text, time, number
• Number - text, number, date (if lengthgt8),time
  (if lengthgt6)
• Text text, timestamp (if length 20)
• Timestamp text, timestamp

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Runtime error handling

• Error handling needs special work attribute set
• CANAM-XML
• XML-RETURN-CODE (2 characters)
• XML-MESSAGE (80 characters)
• XML-POSITION (numeric 15 digits)
• XML-SOURCE (120 characters)
• Possible error codes returned by XML handler
• OK - Successful.
• EB - End of buffer.
• XML Reader parsing was OK so far but end of
  buffer is encountered while more data was
  expected.
• XML Writer buffer is exhausted while more data
  was needed to be written out.
• IC - Invalid character.
• ER - Unknown error
• MN - Missing node. A mandatory node is missing.
• UE - Unknown entity.
• UN - Unknown node. A foreign node has been
  encountered within a non-extensible element or
  attribute list boundary.
• DA - Duplicate attribute.
• PE - Pattern error. A date/time/timestamp field
  value could not be parsed from the input source
  based on the desired pattern format.

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Maintaining XML handlers

• XML handlers appear in HE or CSE as EABs
• Can perform change impact analysis quickly
• How to migrate changes quickly to XML handler?
• Adoption
• View changes
• Generate EAB source code as usual

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Using the dictionary

• Use standardized node names across XML handlers
• Important for data architects
• Can have multiple dictionaries
• Can import/export dictionary content

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XML based external system interfaces

• Most XML based document processing requirements
  are to communicate with external (non-Advantage
  Gen) systems
• Can employ similar development practices for
  external systems with

AG Transaction 1
AG Transaction 2
XML writer EAB
XML reader EAB
RDBMS 2
Message Queue
RDBMS 1
RDBMS 3
Non-AG Transaction
XML reader subroutine
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Value proposition

• Allows developers to focus on the business logic
  instead of the XML handling code
• Use regular Action Diagram Statements to
  manipulate XML data in traditional views
• Reduced learning curve
• Easy to use interface for XML Advantage Gen
  view mapping
• Learn to use one tool for
• all types of XML applications
• varied architectures
• for all supported platforms (COBOL, C, Java)
• Much faster development and maintenance
• Visual design
• External Action Block (EAB) source code
  generation
• Version control (adoption)
• Hi return on investment (ROI)
• The XML Thunder companion product is available
  for the other side (non-Gen systems) for easy
  integration

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Differences from Proxy XML support
XML Composer Proxy XML
Architecture All (block mode, batch, client/server, background, web) Web (COM and Java proxies)
Language environment COBOL, C, Java COM and Java
Applications Any AG application need to have access to XML values on any AG target platforms. (intra-and inter-system communications) When data is passed to AG servers using Proxies.
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Demonstration

• Thank you!