For shops with Visual Basic (VB), C++, or Active Server Page (ASP) developers that need to extend legacy CICS data, WebTek provides Pipeline for Windows.

How Pipeline for Windows works

Pipeline for Windows gives developers classes and methods for requesting and receiving legacy data from CICS applications. This direct connection avoids the complexity of other solutions such as IBM's CICS Transaction Gateway (CTG) and gives developers an easy-to-use API for development.

For VB, C++, and ASP developers

After downloading and running the setup program from the WebTek Tools interface, developers use the Component Manager in VB or C++ to add Pipeline for Windows functionality to current projects using an ActiveX component. For C++ users, WebTek also supplies a DLL for Console applications.

The classes in Pipeline for Windows provide methods for requesting and receiving data from CICS applications, variables for session and state management, and signon/signoff controls to leverage mainframe security. Windows developers collaborate with their CICS application developer counterparts only to agree on a format in which to pass data, such as XML.

For CICS application developers

On the backend, CICS application developers adapt CICS applications to receive and respond to HTTP requests from VB, C++, or ASP programs using familiar EXEC CICS commands within IBM's CICS Web Support (CWS). Using WebTek and CWS, developers can adapt legacy programs to generate XML or any other common format used to pass data.

WebTek provides the Doctemplate utility to simplify uploading and managing templates. Developers can secure access to CICS using the URL Control Table (UCT). The UCT manages all the URLs used by Windows programs to access CICS and allows developers to simplify and customize access based on application requirements.