Re: RPG as Web service

Syd,

Yes, IceBreak builds the WSDL file automatically. It lets you create SOA
complaint WebServices from any RPGLE service program in few steps:

- Set the compiler directive type="webservice".
- Set the "export" keyword on the function you want to populate.
- Use the IceBreak keyword extensions Input, Output or InOut on the
parameter list.
- Suffix your source file with the .asmx extension.

When you refers to the WebService from the Browsers URL IceBreak will:

- Compile the RPGLE program into a service program
- Create a source file QSOAPHDR with prototypes for your functions, so you
can reuse them as a normal ILE service program in the iSeries environment
- Build the SOAP wrapper functions for your exported functions (They have
the same name suffixed by an "_")
- Build a WSDL file that describes how to invoke the webservice


A program sample could look like:


<%@ language="RPGLE" pgmtype="webservice" %>
<%
h nomain
p*name++++++++++..b...................keywords
p Calculator B export
d Calculator pi
d x 10i 0 Input
d y 10i 0 Input
d z 10i 0 Output

/free
z = x + y;
/end-free
p Calculator E
%>

This sample takes x and y as input parameters and calculates the sum z.

As you can see - it is pretty much a normal service program except for the
input/output keywords in the D-Spec.

Basically it is a normal service program with no mainline. It simply exports
a number of procedures. You are not restricted to only one.

You can use ILOB's to pass large data chunks (12MB) from and to the
WebService. So you are not restricted to the 32k RPGLE boundary!


I hope this helps.

Regards,

Bent Ronne


-----Original Message-----
From: web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Syd Nicholson
Sent: 22. september 2008 22:40
To: Web Enabling the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: Re: [WEB400] RPG as Web service

Hi Nathan,

IceBreak does comply with "Web Services" and implements services like SOAP,
XML, etc. It is a simple matter to create SOAP, XML, etc. with RPG in
IceBreak. It is not limited to the HTTP protocol.

I am not sure what WSDL files are, I've never to used them - I will need to
check with the IceBreak manufacturers if this is included in Icebreak.
Perhaps if thy are monitoring this thread they can reply!.

Syd


----- Original Message -----
From: "Nathan Andelin" <nandelin@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Web Enabling the AS400 / iSeries" <web400@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 8:27 PM
Subject: Re: [WEB400] RPG as Web service

From: Dr Syd Nicholson
The web service(s) I have created in IceBreak work very well and
very fast ...

I appreciate your endorsement of IceBreak, but it still sounds like you
and I are out of sync, regarding what constitutes a web service. And that

seems to be a common problem. The term "web service" seems to be applied
overly broadly to any process that makes HTTP requests, or generates HTTP
responses. But the standards bodies try to limit the term to more
specific protocols, using WSDL files, SOAP messages, and XML, etc.

Actually, I don't understand web services protocol that well, myself. I
think Aaron Bartell and Scott Klement understand it a lot better than I,
for example. Perhaps like you, I'm much more familiar with HTTP protocol,

where data is exchanged using little more than &name=value pairs, and
prefaced by HTTP request or response headers.

For the sake of this discussion, I'd suggest that we stick to web services

that implement WSDL, SOAP, XML, specifications, etc. Does IceBreak
generate or consume WSDL files, for example? Have the folks who created
IceBreak written anything to consume Web services?

Nathan.




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