Create XML documents from AS/400 database files

Alliance XML/400 can read your AS/400 database files and create XML documents. You can use your externally described database files to generate an XML translation map. Then you can modify the map to add XML tags and control specifications so that you can create the XML document you need. No programming is necessary to create XML maps and generate XML documents. Alliance reads the field definitions directly from your files - you don’t need the DDS source to create the XML maps. [top]

 

Translate XML documents to your AS/400 database files

You can translate XML documents that you have received from a trading partner directly into your AS/400 database files. Alliance helps you by creating an XML map from an XML document and lets you add database files to the map.  You specify where each data element in the XML document is used in your database.  No programming is necessary to create and update the map. [top]

 

Memory resident XML translation for maximum transaction processing speed

For the maximum processing speed Alliance supports memory resident translation. Memory resident translation uses iSeries Shared Memory and data queues for maximum speed of XML parsing and translation. There is no disk I/O required with memory resident translation which means your applications can process larger numbers of transactions with minimal impact on your system resources.   [top]

 

Automatically generate maps and DB2 files

Alliance XML/400  supports the automatic generation of database files and maps. An XML map is a set of instructions on how to convert XML data to an AS/400 database file field, or how to convert an AS/400 database file to XML format. You can import an XML document to an inbound map and Alliance will create the DB2 files and mappings automatically. You can also import an XML document to an outbound XML map and Alliance will generate the DB2 files and mappings need to generate the XML documents. The outbound map also includes a logical view of the data. Automatic generation of maps can save substantial time in the process of creating and configuring XML translations. [top]

 

Xerces with SAX and DOM technology

Alliance incorporates the latest Java parsing and validation capabilities with the Xerces 2 parser with SAX and DOM support. This means that XML documents you receive are validated for proper XML formatting before being translated to your database. And you can use the built-in validating capabilities of Alliance to check your own XML documents. [top]

 

XML standards support

Alliance XML translation technology can be used with any XML standard including XML, cXML, cbXML, ebXML, SOAP, and XML/EDI. You can deploy one XML translation technology on your AS/400 without concern for different standards. Alliance gives you control over the mapping and data transformation process so you can be sure that you can handle any XML project. [top]

 

Data transformation

Alliance XML/400 contains a sophisticated data transformation engine that converts all AS/400 character and numeric data types to XML data types.  For processing XML documents you’ve received into your database, Alliance can convert any XML numeric string value to AS/400 zoned, packed, binary, and floating point format. Alliance automatically detects the type of a field in your AS/400 database and performs the correct translation to and from XML standards. [top]

 

Alliance development tools speed up the process

Alliance XML/400 incorporates productivity tools to help reduce or eliminate tedious development tasks. For example, Alliance can read an XML document and automatically generate an inbound XML translation map. You don’t have to key every XML tag and attribute into the inbound map definition. After you import the XML document you use standard AS/400 panels to map the XML data to your AS/400 database file. Likewise, if you are creating XML documents from AS/400 database files Alliance can generate the XML translation map directly from your externally described files. No DDS source is required. [top]

 

XML translation tutorials

To assist the AS/400 developer or analyst in getting started, and to reduce the learning curve for XML development, Alliance XML/400 includes tutorials that show you, step-by-step, how to do XML translation. For translating XML data to AS/400 DB2/400 format, a tutorial provides a sample invoice XML document, a sample AS/400 invoice database, and an XML map to translate the data. The tutorial is a completely functional example of XML translation.

For creating XML documents from AS/400 data a sample purchase order database is provided. An XML map shows you how the data is mapped to XML definitions. The fully functional tutorial creates an XML document directly from the AS/400 database. Both tutorials provide the maps that show you how to do XML translations. [top]

 

Error detection and management

When you use Alliance XML/400 API to perform translation tasks you always receive a return code that describes the  success or failure of the translation. If there is bad data or an invalid structure in an XML document, or Alliance cannot translate the data for any reason, you will receive an error code that describes the problem. During XML testing you can also turn on application logging which provides a detailed log of translation activity. Whenever there is a problem translating data information is written to the log that shows the cause of the translation error. [top]

 

Email notification

Alliance XML/400 contains a full SMTP email client application that you can use for email notification. You might want to send an email notification to a trading partner when you’ve created a document, or you might want to send an email notification to yourself when an error occurs. You can even use the email API to send an XML document to your trading partner. [top]

 

SNMP error  notification

Alliance XML/400 provides a full API for generating SNMP trap error messages. You can integrate your AS/400 XML applications into HP OpenView or any other network management application that can receive SNMP trap messages. You can send error messages using text strings that you create, or you can send SNMP messages using a message identifier in a message file. [top]

 

Web HTTP, HTTPS communications

Alliance XML/400 includes support for HTTP and HTTPS (secure HTTP) communications. You can receive XML documents using the HTTP server in Alliance, or the secure HTTPS server. You can transmit XML documents directly from the AS/400 using the HTTP and HTTPS client applications. Alliance integrates with the IBM AS/400 Digital Certificate Manager (DCM) for native AS/400 security and certificate management. The Alliance HTTP client application supports proxy server negotiation including the Microsoft ISA proxy server. [top]

 

File based translation with Library Scan

For applications that require file-based translation Alliance XML/400 provides the Library Scan facility. You can place an XML document in a library using FTP or Windows Network and Alliance will automatically translate the document to your AS/400 database. Likewise, you can use Library Scan to automatically create XML documents from an AS/400 database file. Library Scan make as it easy to automate XML translation tasks without the need for programming development. It can also be useful when you do not have a direct Internet connection to your AS/400 and you need to translate files that are received with FTP or other communications protocol. [top]

 

Application monitoring

Alliance XML/400 includes a license for Alliance Application Monitor at no additional charge. Alliance Application Monitor detects error conditions in the AS/400 system and in user applications and reports these errors.  The error conditions monitored include disk utilization, network interface, SNADS distribution queue depth, system and user subsystems, user jobs, and remote network interfaces. Alliance Application Monitor can report errors via message queues, email, and SNMP alerts. [top]