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sumithar · Beginner Joined: 22 Sep 2006 Posts: 84 Topics: 29

Not sure if this is the right forum but anyway here goes. If a new web app is being designed which needs to get data from both a mainframe DB2 and VSAM data source what is the (or an) approach?

Do I create a screenless CICS tran that I invoke from the web app?

I searched on this board on the terms "web vsam" and got one hit which talks about web enabling existing CICS tran. Since I don't have an existing CICS tran I was wondering if some alternate approach is there.

Thanks

CICS Guy · Intermediate Joined: 30 Apr 2007 Posts: 292 Topics: 3

If the new web app is being hosted by a CICS, then standard CICS commands are all you need to access VSAM files defined and available to CICS......
If the new web app is being hosted by a CICS, then it alread has a CICS tran that it is running under....

sumithar · Beginner Joined: 22 Sep 2006 Posts: 84 Topics: 29

Sorry boss, I don't understand. What did you mean when you asked "the new web app is being hosted by a CICS"? The Web App is a java/HTML/javascript application that will run on WebsphereAppServer on a different box than the mainframe. It is pulling data off multiple sources among them are

DB2 on the mainframe
and
VSAM (needless to say, on the mainframe)

I could get to DB2 on the mainframe using JDBC/ODBC connectors. But do I have no choice but to use CICS in some fashion to get to the VSAM?

deepeshk79 · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 4:08 am Post subject:

Do you have MQ in your shop ? If you are using Websphere MQ, its going to be easy.

From your Web App (Java or .Net or any client which supports MQ), you can write your data to transmission queues which in turn can be linked to the Local Queues residing in Mainframe. These queues can be then trigger a CICS Transaction which inturn can trigger programs to read your VSAM files or DB2 Tables and return back values via Queues to your Web App.

So the answer is you can create a screenless CICS Tran which can be invoked whenever there is a hit in your Queues.

sumithar · Beginner Joined: 22 Sep 2006 Posts: 84 Topics: 29

Thanks, we do have MQ. So the short answer seems to be that if VSAM is involved then no way except via CICS.
Would you recommend CICS even for DB2 access? (as opposed to JDBC calls)?

deepeshk79 · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:17 am Post subject:

I would always prefer using CICS Trans for such a purpose. Another way (again using CICS) is to create Web Services. You can create fine grained Web Services that exclusively interact with VSAM and DB2 and return the desired values.

Check for Tools like WDz & HATS which are handy in creating and deploying the services.