MQAI concepts and terminology
The MQAI is a programming interface to WebSphere MQ, using the C language and also Visual Basic for Windows. It is available on platforms other than z/OS. It performs administration tasks on a WebSphere MQ queue manager using data bags. Data bags allow you to handle properties (or parameters) of objects in a way that is easier than using the other administration interface, Programmable Command Formats (PCFs). The MQAI offers easier manipulation of PCFs than using the MQGET and MQPUT calls. For more information about data bags, see Using data bags. For more information about PCFs, see part 1 of this book.
The data bag contains zero or more data items. These are ordered within the bag as they are placed into the bag. This is called the insertion order. Each data item contains a selector that identifies the data item and a value of that data item that can be either an integer, a 64-bit integer, an integer filter, a string, a string filter, a byte string, a byte string filter, or a handle of another bag.
There are two types of selector; user selectors and system selectors. These are described in MQAI Selectors. The selectors are usually unique, but it is possible to have multiple values for the same selector. In this case, an index identifies the particular occurrence of selector that is required. Indexes are described in Indexing.
A hierarchy of the above concepts is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Hierarchy of MQAI concepts
Parent topic:
Introduction to the WebSphere MQ Administration Interface (MQAI)
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