Home

 

Use the MQAI to simplify the use of PCFs

 

The MQAI is an administration interface to WebSphere MQ that is available on the AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, and Windows platforms.

It performs administration tasks on a queue manager through the use of data bags. Data bags allow you to handle properties (or parameters) of objects in a way that is easier than using PCFs.

Use the MQAI:

To simplify the use of PCF messages

The MQAI is an easy way to administer WebSphere MQ; you do not have to write your own PCF messages, avoiding the problems associated with complex data structures.

To pass parameters in programs written using MQI calls, the PCF message must contain the command and details of the string or integer data. To do this, we need several statements in your program for every structure, and memory space must be allocated. This task can be long and laborious.

Programs written using the MQAI pass parameters into the appropriate data bag and we need only one statement for each structure. The use of MQAI data bags removes the need for you to handle arrays and allocate storage, and provides some degree of isolation from the details of the PCF.

To implement self-administering applications and administration tools

For example, the Active Directory Services Interfaces provided by WebSphere MQ for Windows use the MQAI.

To handle error conditions more easily

It is difficult to get return codes back from PCF commands, but the MQAI makes it easier for the program to handle error conditions.

After you have created and populated your data bag, we can send an administration command message to the command server of a queue manager, using the mqExecute call, which waits for any response messages. The mqExecute call handles the exchange with the command server and returns responses in a response bag.

For more information about using the MQAI, and PCFs in general, see WebSphere MQ Programmable Command Formats and Administration Interface.

 

Parent topic:

PCF commands

fa11600_

 

Home