HostBridge Technical Overview
The list outlines HostBridge components and support for CICS Transaction Server, IBM System z, and services technologies. Italics indicate support added in HostBridge versions 6 and 6.5.
HostBridge Tools and Support
- Services Types and Protocols
- XML
- SOAP/WSDL (formal) services
- SOAP 1.2, via HB SOAP stack or IBM SOAP for CICS (6.1)
- REST/RESTful (informal) services
- XPath 2.0 (W3C-standard XML path language simplifies navigation within XML documents, interaction with nodes)
- JSON (JavaScript Object Notation: lightweight data interchange format commonly used with ECMAScript; part of the ECMAScript standard, provides for simpler CICS interaction with Ajax/object-based web applications)
- Atom
- HTML
- HostBridge Base Product
- Prerequisite for all other HB components and features
- Auto-converts CICS BMS applications to XML
- HB Process Automation Engine/HBJS: JavaScript-based integration/web
services, orchestration/ automation of transaction micro flows as Web services
- Rebuilt on a new code base for v6 (HB v5 scripts still supported)
- ECMAScript Edition 3/JavaScript 1.8
- E4X (ECMAScript for XML), simplifies consumption and production of XML
- Runs inside or outside of CICS
- Runs as an Enclave SRB
- HostBridge for zIIP (HBzIIP)
- HB v6.5 Process Automation/HBJS running outside of CICS as an Enclave SRB
- HBJS engine, HBJS scripts run on zIIP
- zIIP-enabled HostBridge Base Product currently in development
- Eclipse-Based Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
- Includes CICS Transaction Explorer, enabling CICS application navigation/orchestration
- Independent IDE
- IBM Rational Application Developer plug-in
- CICS Explorer plug-in
- HTTP Interface
- LINK/EXCI Interface
- MQ Interface
- Application Access
- CA Ideal™, CA Telon®, CA ADS™/IDMS™, CA Gener/OL™
- Fidelity/ALLTEL
- CSC Vantage (VIDD)
- Data Access Modules
- DB2
- VSAM
- DL/I
- DDA for Datacom
- Specialty Connectors
- Pega
- Siebel
- IVR
- Batch to CICS
- eTransX
- WIRE – HostBridge Web Interface Rules Engine
- Supports XML from HostBridge, TN3270 from IBM mainframe
- Rapid development/deployment of web interfaces for CICS
- Classic, standard, enhanced modes
- .NET facility, XSLT Stylesheets, ASP.NET custom controls, etc.
- CICS Transaction Server v3.x/v4.x Support
- • Terminal-oriented (visual) transactions: BMS, non-BMS, 3270,
CA types
• COMMAREA (non-visual) programs
• Data resources: DB2, VSAM, DL/I, Datacom
• Connectivity: HTTP, LINK/EXCI, Enhanced WebSphere MQ
• Enhanced Multi-Region Operation (MRO)
• Formal web services technologies: SOAP/WSDL
• Informal web services technologies: REST, Atom, other Web 2.0
• CICS Event Processing
• Channels and containers
• Link with channels
• CICS resources: TSQueues; TDQueues; ENQ/DEQ; TWA, TCTUA, CWA, EIB, etc.; commit/rollback; many others
• CICS Explorer
• XML Toolkit for z/OS- DOM
- XSLT (Stylesheets)
- Validating Parser
- zIIP specialty engine (HostBridge for zIIP)
- Rational Developer for System z
- SFM Plugin for creating invocable CICS services
- • Terminal-oriented (visual) transactions: BMS, non-BMS, 3270,
CA types
- Security
- HostBridge leverages existing mainframe security, e.g., RACF, ACF/2, TopSecret
- Services treatable as SAF resources (6.1)
- SSL
- Digital certificates
- IP Address/Host Name inclusion/ exclusion lists (6.1)
