Chapter 1. Before You Begin

This chapter contains preliminary information for the application programmer who writes transaction programs that use the IRIS SNA LU 0-3 Programmable Interface (PI) verbs.

After describing how to set the run-time variables, the chapter identifies the IRIS SNA SERVER verbs used with the LU 0-3 Programmable Interface verbs. When used together, the IRIS SNA SERVER verbs and the LU 0-3 PI verbs make up the Application Program Interface, or API. Information about these verbs is presented in Appendix H, “Man Pages,” of this guide. The programmer needs access to the verb man pages in order to write transaction programs. Appendix G, “API Verb Catalog,”contains a catalog of all verbs and the location of their man pages in the IRIS SNA SERVER manual set.

This chapter introduces the PI verbs, outlines the programmer's responsibilities and describes verb execution and completion, the naustat variable, session management, PU and LU structures, verb-boundary integration, and data types.

Setting Run-Time Variables

If your programs are to be executed on a system that does not have the IRIS SNA SERVER installed, you must set the run-time variable SNAHOST to the system ID of the IRIS SNA SERVER system before your start your SNA API programs.

IRIS SNA SERVER Verbs

This section describes functions provided by the IRIS SNA SERVER

that are of interest to the programmer using LU 0-3 Programmable Interface (PI) verbs or programmers using the LU 6.2 API verbs. Outlined below are three categories of IRIS SNA SERVER verbs.

  • Implementation-specific verbs

  • Configuration verbs

  • Node Operator verbs

Implementation-specific Verbs

Implementation-specific verbs, while not a part of the IBM SNA, are required for the IRIS SNA SERVER. These verbs perform specific functions, such as opening and closing the connection between the transaction program and the IRIS SNA Scheduler.

Transaction Program Connection Verbs

Before a program can issue any conversation, control operator, or node operator function, it must establish a connection with the IRIS SNA Scheduler. Establishing this connection is called “attaching.” For the conversation verbs and the control operator verbs, this is done by specifying the name of the configuration and the local LU that the transaction program wants to use. The names specified in the attach request are called the “context” of the attach. Since a program can issue verbs to more than one configuration or LU, the program can issue multiple attach requests. Each of these “attaches” creates a new logical instance of the program. The setctx verb is used to switch from one instance to the other before issuing verbs to the different LUs.

Transaction Program Connection verbs establish or break the connection between the transaction program and the IRIS SNA Scheduler. Consequently, they are the first and last verbs issued by the program. All applications must use the attach and detach verbs. The setctx verb is optional.

The man pages for these Transaction Program Connection verbs are included in Appendix H. Table 1-1 summarizes these verbs.

Table 1-1. Transaction Program Connection Verbs

Verb

Full Name

Function

attach

Attach

Initiates communication

 

 

between the local program

 

 

and the IRIS SNA

 

Scheduler.

 

 

 

detach

Detach

Detaches the current

 

 

context from the IRIS SNA

 

 

Scheduler.

 

 

 

setctx

Set Context

Establishes the current

 

 

context under which

 

 

subsequent verbs are

 

 

issued.


Configuration Verbs

IRIS SNA SERVER Configuration verbs, used to define and display the resources of the node and logical unit, are divided into two groups: define verbs and display verbs. The Define and Display verbs listed in the Table 1-2 are of interest to the programmer using the LU 0-3 Programmable Interface (PI) verbs.

Table 1-2. Configuration Verbs

Verb

Full Name

dfncp

Define Control Point

dfnline

Define Line

dfnllu

Define Local LU

dfnnode

Define Node

dfnrlu

Define Remote LU

dfnslu

Define Secondary Logical Unit

dfnsta

Define Station

dfntp

Define Transaction Program

dspcp

Display Control Point

dspcph

Display Host Status

dspline

Display Line

dspllu

Display Local LU

dspnode

Display Node

dsprlu

Display Remote LU

dspslu

Display Secondary Logical Unit

dspsta

Display Station

dsptp

Display Transaction Program


Node Operator Verbs

The Node Operator verbs in Table 1-3 activate, deactivate, and supervise the configured local resources of the IRIS SNA SERVER. These verbs control the links.

Table 1-3. Node Operator Verbs

Verb

Full Name

 

actline

Activate Line

 

actlu

Activate Logical Unit

 

actpu

Activate Physical Unit

 

actsta

Activate Station

 

chgmsgq

Change Message Queue

 

dctline

Deactivate Line

 

dctlu

Deactivate Logical Unit

 

dctpu

Deactivate Physical Unit

 

dctsta

Deactivate Station

 

dspmsgq

Display Message Queue

 

rtvnmsg

Retrieve Node Message

 


PI Verb Catalog

The PI verbs provide a function-call interface to the services available in a Logical Unit Type 0, 1, 2, or 3, or the Configuration Management Services component of the Physical Unit (PU). This interface is not used for Logical Unit Type 6.2.

Table 1-4 identifies the LU 0-3 PI verbs, provides the full name of the verb, and briefly describes the verbs function. See the man pages in Appendix H for detailed information on the verbs.

Table 1-4. LU 0-3 PI Verbs

Verb

Full Name

Function

initpi

Initialize Verb Data

Initializes the data

Structures

structures used

 

by the other PI verbs.

rcvru

Receive Request Unit

Receives data from the

 

IRIS SNA SERVER

 

Scheduler. Data can be

 

SNA RUs from the session

 

or notifications

 

from the scheduler.

 

 

rejru

Reject Request Unit

Rejects an RU chain or part

 

of an RU chain received by

 

the program.

 

 

sndru

Send Request Unit

Sends an RU chain

 

according to the

 

specifications supplied by

 

the program.

 

 

ssync

Set Sync Point

Sets the sync-point

 

sequence numbers in the

 

IRIS SNA Scheduler.

LU

 

These verb functions must be loaded with the LU 0-3 verb library liblu03.a.