Creating a channel description document

Edit online

Create a channel description document when your service provider application uses a channel interface with many containers.

About this task

Use an XML editor to create the channel description document. The schema for the channel description is called channel.xsd and is installed in the <install_path>/docs directory.

Procedure

Create an XML document with a <channel> element and the CICS® channel namespace:

<channel name="myChannel" xmlns="http://www.ibm.com/xmlns/prod/CICS/channel">
</channel>

Add a <container> element for every container that the application program interface uses on the channel.

You must use name, type and use attributes to describe each container.

The following example shows six containers with different attribute values:

<container name="cont1" type="char" use="required"/>
<container name="cont2" type="char" use="optional"/>
<container name="cont3" type="bit" use="required"/>
<container name="cont4" type="bit" use="optional"/>
<container name="cont5" type="bit" use="required">
    <structure location="/u/userid/code/member.copybook"/>
</container>
<container name="cont6" type="bit" use="optional">
    <structure location="/u/userid/code/member2.copybook"/>
</container>

The structure element indicates that the content is defined in a language structure located in a partitioned data set member.

Save the XML document on the local file system.

Channel schema

The channel description document must conform to the following schema:

<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
   targetNamespace="http://www.ibm.com/xmlns/prod/CICS/channel"
   xmlns:tns="http://www.ibm.com/xmlns/prod/CICS/channel" elementFormDefault="qualified">
   <element name="channel"> 1 
      <complexType>
         <sequence>
            <element name="container" maxOccurs="unbounded" "unbounded" minOccurs="0"> 2 
               <complexType>
                  <sequence>
                     <element name="structure" minOccurs="0"> 3 
                       <complexType>
                           <attribute name="location" type="string" use="required"/>
                           <attribute name="structure" type="string" use="optional"/>
                       </complexType>
                     </element>
                  </sequence>
                  <attribute name="name" type="tns:name16Type" use="required"/>
                  <attribute name="type" type="tns:typeType" use="required"/>
                  <attribute name="use" type="tns:useType" use="required"/>
               </complexType>
             </element>
          </sequence>
          <attribute name="name" type="tns:name16Type" use="optional" />
       </complexType>
   </element>
  <simpleType name="name16Type">
      <restriction base="string">
         <maxLength value="16"/>
      </restriction>
  </simpleType>
  <simpleType name="typeType">
      <restriction base="string">
        <enumeration value="char"/>
        <enumeration value="bit"/>
      </restriction>
  </simpleType>
  <simpleType name="useType">
     <restriction base="string">
        <enumeration value="required"/>
        <enumeration value="optional"/>
     </restriction>
  </simpleType>
</schema>

Note:

1 This element represents a CICS channel.

2 This element represents a CICS container within the channel.

3 A structure can only be used with bit mode containers. The location attribute indicates the location of a file that maps the contents of container. The structure attribute may be used in C and C++ to indicate the name of structure.