The User Interface program provides a means by which your application can initiate a transaction to an external system, and your external system can respond, as shown below.
User Interface
User can be considered as the reverse of the GLI interface method, since it is the application that is initiating the transaction.
You can use User in conjunction with GLI to create a two-way environment (although NOF alone can also provide both these facilities).
The following table summarizes the features and capabilities of the User Interface program method.
| Capability/Feature | Scope/Limitations |
|---|---|
| Host types | All |
| To other Systems | Yes |
| To external DMS II systems | Yes |
| To external non-DMS II systems | Yes |
| Transaction Initiated by | System |
| Response from other system | Yes |
| Multithreading | No |
| Recovery | User responsible for recovery logic |
| Ispec logic performed | Not applicable |
| Duplicate Protection | User must provide own logic within the User Program |
| Security | Not applicable |
| Multilanguage | Supported |
| External user program | Required (Skeleton program supplied on Release tape) |
| Glb.Work | Not applicable |
You must write your own User Interface program in COBOL.
You can base this program on the sample program provided with your Agile Business Suite Software. Refer to Skeleton User Program. Your User program must perform the following functions:
Receive a transaction from the application through the logic of an Ispec or Report
Construct the transaction in the format required by the external system, and pass it to that system for processing
Wait for a response from the external system
Construct the response into the format required by the application and transmit it to the application
User is a single-threading environment. Processing within the originating Ispec or Report is suspended until the reply is received.