The message manager tool comprises the
libraries for inclusion in your application program, and the
utilities for setting up and testing a message definition. The
message manager environment is shown in the diagram on the
right.The DP4 message manager is a tool for composing and decomposing messages that are sent to and received from a host system or other applications. The messages consist of data such as records and variables, in a format that can be understood by the receiving system.
For example, you may have a branch application program which needs to look up customer information on a central computer. The central computer is designed to update a terminal, and sends all the data to update the screen display, including the customer details you require. However, your computer is not a terminal at all, it is an intelligent workstation. Before your application can use the data, the customer details must be extracted as distinct fields, in a format that your application program can understand. Message manager provides you with the mechanism for decomposing the message, which you can process in your DP4 application.
The message manager tool comprises the
libraries for inclusion in your application program, and the
utilities for setting up and testing a message definition. The
message manager environment is shown in the diagram on the
right.
The definition of the message formats are held on the database. Because the application programs read the format from the database, you can modify the message format without having to change the application code.
You can find out more about how to use Message Manager in the following topics: