Map messages

In each name-value pair, the name is a string that identifies the value, and the value is an element of application data that has one of the XMS data types listed in Table 1. The order of the name-value pairs is not defined. The MapMessage class contains the methods to set and get name-value pairs.

An application can access a name-value pair randomly by specifying its name.

A .NET application can use the MapNames property to get an enumeration of the names in the body of the map message.

When an application gets the value of a name-value pair, the value can be converted by XMS into another data type. For example, to get an integer from the body of a map message, an application can call the GetString method of the MapMessage class, which returns the integer as a string. The supported conversions are the same as those that are supported when XMS converts a property value from one data type to another. For more information about the supported conversions, see Implicit conversion of a property value from one data type to another.

After an application creates a map message, the body of the message is readable and writable. The body remains readable and writable after the application sends the message. When an application receives a map message, the body of the message is read-only. If an application calls the Clear Body method of the Message class when the body of a map message is read-only, the body becomes readable and writable. The method also clears the body.