Web Service 101 for NonStop Users

One of the challenges about a topic like SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) or Web Service is not that there is a lack of information. On the contrary, the problem is that there is too much information out there, such as in publications, on the Internet, or from vendor data sheets.  A Google search of “SOA” yields over 50 million hits, while a “Web Service” search returns over 419 million results.  So, where are you going to start, and how long is this going to take you to learn all these?

Don’t let this daunt you.  In this article, we will distill the key essentials of SOA and Web Services into several simple, understandable concepts, especially focusing on what are relevant to your NonStop world.

• SOA is an architecture, not a product Service Oriented Architecture, as the term implies, is a conceptual framework, not a product.  You can compare it with other terms like: Client/Server, Object Oriented Programming or Distributed Processing.  The way to implement SOA is usually via Web Services.

• Web Service is more than just a Web application If you have an application running on a web service that interacts with a browser user, that is not a web service.  Web Service refers to a standard method of communication using certain protocols, which we will cover later.

• Web Service is Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Technically, Web Service can provide more than RPC function. But practically, most applications use Web Service to allow a Client program on one platform calling a Server program or routine on another platform.  This also implies that Web Service involves an application to application, end-to-end protocol environment.

• Web Service makes it easy for inter-platform communication This is the essence of Web Service: by following this standard, applications on one platform can easily invoke the service on another platform.

Web Service and NonStop

Guess what? Web Service is basically a different implementation of something you already know very well in the NonStop world: Pathway.  Let’s look at some of the the similarity between Web Service and Pathway.

In Pathway, you have a Requester (Client) communicating with a Server (Server Class) over a message-based protocol.

Web Service is based on the same principle, except that it enables the Client or the Server to exist on platforms other than NonStop over an intranet or the Internet.  For example:

• You can have a client program on another platform like .NET, accessing your Pathway COBOL Server using Web Service.

• You can have a requester program on the NonStop, such as SCOBOL or COBOL, accessing a Stock Quote Service  over the Internet.  In this case, note that we don’t even have to care what platform that service runs on over the Internet.

Here are some of the technical differences between them:

	Pathway	Web Service (WS)
Requester/Client	Requester	WS Client
Server	Server Class	WS Server (or just WS)
Platform	NonStop only	Any platform
Communication protocol	Guardian message system	HTTP
Message Structure	​NonStop ASCII	​XML
Requester/Response Protocol	Guardian message system	SOAP
Request/Response structure	IPM layout	WSDL

If you are interested in learning more about the components used in Web Service, you can request a copy of our PowerPoint presentation which explains what XML, SOAP and WSDL are.

Why is Web Service important to NonStop?

Web Service can open up many new possibilities to NonStop applications, such as:

• Allowing other platforms to access NonStop applications easily

• Enabling NonStop applications to leverage other services and applications within your company

• Interfacing to 3rd party packages such as PeopleSoft, SAP or Siebel within the enterprise

What is next?

Now that  we have reviewed the basics of Web Services, in our next blog SOAPam Overview, we will show you how you can turn a Pathway Server into a Web Service in 5 minutes!

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Phil Ly is the president of TIC Software, a leading provider of software and services for the NonStop community focused on NonStop application modernization. Under Phil's guidance, TIC Software has a proven track record of helping clients seamlessly integrate NonStop with next-generation technologies. A recognized technical leader, Phil is passionate about empowering organizations to unlock the full potential and longevity of their NonStop platform through innovative solutions.