Creating an XML Handler using an XML Schema
This tutorial will help you
to understand:
- How to create an XML Reader
(parser) and an XML Writer from a COBOL data structure
- How to modify the buffer size
that at runtime will hold the XML document
- How to set the generation options
- What files you should have after
code generation
- How to write a Writer calling program
- How to write a Reader calling program
1.
Launch XML Thunder
2.
The welcome screen will appear and give you two
different options, one to Create a New XML Handler and
one to Open existing
handlers. (If you disabled
the welcome screen, please click
toolbar or choose XML
Handler -> New from main menu.). For now, click the first
option.
3.
If the wizard starts with the Begin
panel, click Next.
4.
On the Source panel, choose XML Schema from
the list, click Next.
5.
On the next panel, type in the path to the tutorial Schema
example BAXSD.xsd
or click 
to locate it. Click Next
6.
A list of available root elements will be displayed.
Click on the item named: BANK and click
Next.
7.
On the Names panel you should see the following
screen. Leave the names unchanged. Click
Next
.
8.
On The IDS Design panel, choose the
option to always keep the IDS and the XML design In-Sync
9.
On the Design View panel choose the IDS
and XML design panes together option.
10.
On the Finish panel, review the information and
click Finish.
11.
After few moments, the XML handler design window will
be displayed. It should look like this:
12.
Before code generation, we will set the XML buffer
size. Click XML
Handler – Properties, switch to General pane
and type 32000
in Buffer
Size entry field. Click OK.
13.
Click Generate
or select Tools
-> Generate… from the main menu.
14.
On Generation dialog, adjust settings to generate a Writer, set the Program ID/Source Name to BAXSDW, set the destination
folder, check the Generate IDS, set its Source Name to BAXSDWC
and Generate
.
15.
Upon normal completion, adjust settings to generate a Reader, set the Program ID/Source Name to BAXSDR, change the IDS
Source Name to BAXSDRC option and click Generate .
16.
At the destination folder, you should now have BAXSDW.cbl,
BAXSDR.cbl, BAXSDWC.cpy
and BAXSDRC.cpy
files, the XML Writer, Reader, Writer IDS and Reader IDS respectively. Main
test programs BAXSDW_test.cbl
and BAXSDR_test.cbl
(located at Installation Folder/TutorTX/Main Test Programs), copy BAXSDWC and BAXSDRC and
call BAXSDW and BAXSDR to demonstrate how an XML Writer and Reader can be used
within a COBOL main program.
17.
Copy the following files to a temp folder:
BAXSDW_test.cbl
BAXSDR_test.cbl
BAXSDW.cbl
BAXSDR.cbl
BAXSDWC.cpy
BAXSDRC.cpy
18. Launch your favorite COBOL IDE, load these files, compile them and run BAXSDW_test. It should produce BAXSDW.xml. Now let’s analyze the most important sections of the BAXSDW_test.cbl program.
19.
The generated XML file will look like:
20.
Run BAXSDR_test.cbl. It will read back the XML
file. Let's take a look at the main section
of this program.
