Preface

Purpose of This Manual

This document describes the BEA Connect TPS product and gives instructions for using the tools for building Connect TPS applications.

BEA Connect TPS is a gateway connectivity feature that enables application programs on BEA TUXEDO systems to perform various non-transactional tasks with application programs that reside on different kinds of computers.

This guide explains how to configure and administer Connect TPS and how Connect TPS fits into the BEA TUXEDO environment. In addition, this guide:

Lists required software products and features
Explains how Connect TPS processes service requests those that originate locally and those that originate on remote systems
Explains how Connect TPS affects BEA TUXEDO application programs
Provides conceptual and procedural information that will help you configure and administer Connect TPS

Who Should Read This Manual

This guide is primarily for system administrators who will configure and administer Connect TPS. In addition, programmers will find useful pointers for developing client programs and service routines that send data through Connect TPS.

Prerequisites

Programmers and system administrators who work with Connect TPS should be familiar with the concept of distributed multi-tier client/server processing.

In addition, all readers should be familiar with the following:

The operating system
BEA TUXEDO software

Finally, system administrators should be familiar with TCP/IP networking.

How This Manual Is Organized

The BEA Connect TPS User Guide is organized as follows:

Chapter 1, "Introducing BEA Connect TPS," introduces Connect TPS, explains how Connect TPS fits into the BEA TUXEDO environment, and lists hardware and software requirements.
Chapter 2, "Understanding How BEA Connect TPS Works," explains how to start Connect TPS, how it processes services requests, and how it is terminated. It also provides information that helps programmers develop clients' programs and service routines that send data through Connect TPS.
Chapter 3, "Installing and Getting Ready to Configure BEA Connect TPS," provides information that will prepare you to configure Connect TPS. It also explains how to create VIEW definitions (descriptions of data structures Connect TPS uses to convert input and output data into formats that are acceptable to target systems).
Chapter 4, "Configuring BEA Connect TPS," provides detailed information about the Connect TPS configuration file (TPSINIT) and associated configuration parameters. In addition, this chapter explains how to update the BEA TUXEDO configuration file (UBBCONFIG) so that Connect TPS can interact with BEA TUXEDO software.
Chapter 5, "Starting BEA Connect TPS," explains how to set environmental variables, test connectivity with remote regions, and invoke Connect TPS.
Chapter 6, "Administering BEA Connect TPS," describes various commands you can use to administer Connect TPS.
Appendix A, "Operational Considerations and Compatibility," lists temporary and permanent operating limitations, as well as compatibility issues with other products.
Appendix B, "Customizing Character Set Mapping Tables," provides detailed instructions for customizing character set mapping tables that Connect TPS provides. Connect TPS uses character set mapping tables to determine how to translate data that is sent to or received from remote systems.
Appendix C, "BEA Connect TPS Error Messages," lists the error messages associated with BEA Connect TPS.

How to Use This Manual

Online Document Considerations

This document, BEA Connect TPS User Guide, is designed primarily as an online, hypertext guide. If you are reading this as a paper publication, note that to get full use from this guide you should install and access it as an online document via a Web browser that supports HTML 3.0. Netscape Navigator 2.02 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or later are recommended. (Information on how to install the online documentation is available in the Connect TCP Release Notes.)

Opening the Manual in a Web Browser

To access the online version of this document, open the following HTML file in a Web browser:

http://(directory path to Connect TCP HTML files)/tpsbegin.htm

Note: The online documentation requires a Web browser that supports HTML 3.0. Netscape Navigator 2.02 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or later are recommended.

Figure 1 shows the online guide with the clickable navigation bar and table of contents.

Figure 1 BEA Connect TPS User Guide Displayed in Netscape Web Browser

Printing from a Web Browser

You can print a hardcopy version of this document, one file at a time, from the Web browser. Before you print, make sure that the chapter or appendix you want is displayed and selected in your browser. (To select a file, click anywhere inside the frame you want to print. If your browser offers a Print Preview feature, you can use it to verify which file you are about to print.)

Document Conventions

The following documentation conventions are used throughout this manual:


Item	Examples
Variable names	Variable names represent information you must supply or output information that can change; they are intended to be replaced by actual names. Variable names are displayed in italics and can include hyphens but not underscores. The following are examples of variable names in text: error-file-name The when-return value...
Function names in text	C function names are displayed in lower case type and can include parentheses and possibly underscores, as follows: routine_name() COBOL function or subprogram names are displayed in uppercase type without underscores or hyphens, as follows: ROUTINENAME()
Symbolic constants for languages (keywords, error codes, and flags)	C symbolic constants are displayed in uppercase type and can include underscores, as follows: CONSTANT_NAME COBOL symbolic constants are displayed in uppercase type and can include hyphens, as follows: CONSTANT-NAME
User input and screen output	For screen displays and other examples of input and output, user input appears as in the first of the following lines; system output appears as in the second through fourth lines: `dir c:\accounting\data` Volume in drive C is WIN_NT_1 Volume Serial Number is 1234-5678 Directory of C:\ACCOUNTING\DATA
Syntax	Code samples can include the following elements: Variable names can include hyphens but not underscores (e.g., error-file-name) Optional items are enclosed in square brackets: [ ]. If you include an optional item, do not code the square brackets. A required element for which alternatives exist is enclosed in braces {}. The alternatives are separated by the pipe (vertical bar) character: \|. You must include only one of the alternatives for that element. Do not code the braces or pipe character. An ellipsis ( ... ) indicates that the preceding element can be repeated as necessary. C synopsis: int tpacall(char svc, char data, long len, long flags) COBOL statement: CALL "TPACALL" USING TPSVCDEF-REC TPTYPE-REC DATA-REC TPSTATUS-REC.
Omitted code	An ellipsis ( ... ) is used in examples to indicate that code that is not pertinent to the discussion is omitted. The ellipsis can be horizontal or vertical.