C\FLOW

C\FLOW is a CICS web support program that acts as a listener for TCP/IP requests made from a client, using the HTTP protocol, to a mainframe CICS region.

The client can run on any hardware that can make an HTTP request over TCP/IP.

Successful environments for the client include:

• a web browser
• Visual Basic
• VB .net
• Java
• C running on a PC

The client simply makes a standard HTTP POST request, sending data in various formats.

Formats supported:

• standard commarea (raw data)
• name value pairs (application/x-www-form-url-encoded)
• XML
• SOAP/XML

C|FLOW listener can be configured to call a single program passing the data or reading the program name from the input stream.  The latter gives you the ultimate in flexibility since you can run a single program and develop a standard for communications.

Performance

This is always an important factor in assessing any tool. C/FLOW has been shown to outperform competing products by as much as 98%. The actual performance increase is dependent on your current configuration.