The z/OS Client Web Enablement Toolkit isn't the first choice I think of
when adding Web services call out capabilities to an application. There's a
lot more to Web services than the HTTP(S) transport. That toolkit has a
JSON component, but as far as I know it doesn't help for SOAP. That said,
James Maloy reported late last year, in this very forum, that he's using
the z/OS Client Web Enablement Toolkit as part of his adding Web services
call out support to COBOL applications. Evidently it can be done, and
perhaps James has some further advice.
Here are a couple alternatives to consider:
1. Have you looked at using CICS Transaction Server to provide that Web
services call-out function, using CICS Web Services? (That's not CICS Web
Support, please note.) This redbook:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg247126.pdf
describes CICS as a Web service requester starting in Section 2.4. Figure
2-2 depicts the business logic running within CICS, but that's not a
requirement. Use what should be the familiar external CICS interface (EXCI)
if your COBOL code runs outside CICS.
2. The Web services support in CICS Transaction Server is based on Apache
Axis2, maintained and supported by IBM. If you don't have CICS TS (or
something else that supplies Web services functionality -- IBM Integration
Bus for z/OS, WebSphere Application Server for z/OS, or possibly MQ for
z/OS, as examples), you could obtain Apache Axis2 separately. You'll be
responsible for supporting and maintaining it on your own, so just be aware
of that. Axis2 is available here:
http://axis.apache.org/axis2/java/core/
Dovetailed Technologies presented some sessions at SHARE (sessions 8368 and
8369) several years ago explaining how to do this. Links to their
presentations are available here:
http://dovetail.com/docs/misc/index.html
Some of that information likely needs updating given the passage of time,
and you'll need to decide how best to make the call out from COBOL and do
it. (There are a couple options.)
3. If JSON/RESTful call outs are an option, that'd be great. The z/OS
Client Web Enablement Toolkit is a basic way to do that, and z/OS Connect
is a fuller function alternative.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy Sipples
IT Architect Executive, Industry Solutions, IBM Z and LinuxONE, AP/GCG/MEA
E-Mail: ***@sg.ibm.com
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