Development Video

I have just uploaded a new HD video to youtube showing WebSphere sMash being used to create Web 2.0 style Situational Applications based on a CICS TS application. Its based on one of the demonstration scenarios for IMPACT session 3100 on Mon, 4/May 03:45 PM – 05:00 PM in Venetian – Lando 4203

The example application I choose is a book lending library implemented as a CICS program. The library program does not yet have a web service or ATOM interface so I chose to interface directly to the transactions building and interpreting the COMMAREAs from sMash.

In the video you’ll see how I use the JZOS to create java classes from an ADATA file that I created using the COBOL compiler. Then using the PHP to Java Bridge I can build the necessary data structures “COMAREAs” to communicate with the CICS application using CTG. Using PHP I built a simple RESTFul web service to represent the CICS program.

Next I build an AJAX front end using the sMash AppBuilder. I use ZRM to add a web 2.0 style review capability to the library application.

Although the book lending library application is just a simple example, I think this is quite an interesting use-case. Many enterprises have a number of key applications running on their CICS systems. Such applications are central to the enterprise and so data they hold is also likely to play an important part in situational applications built rapidly to address an urgent business need or exploit a near in opportunity.

There are estimated to be between 3 and 5 million PHP programmers in the world today making this a much more available skill than that of COBOL programming. By using sMash together with CICS Transaction Gateway enterprises can employ PHP skills to develop situational applications rapidly and inexpensively.

The source code for this example is available in the cookbook.
The example is heavily based on the example in the developerworks article written by Jonathan Lawrence and Robin Fernandes to Illustrate the CA1S support pack PHP SupportPac for CICS.

My thanks to Robin and Jonathan for their help.
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Rob Nicholson