Application Server

SNAP-IX provides a rich set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which can be used to build powerful distributed applications across an SNA network. The following APIs are provided:

• APPC and CPI-C interfaces for LU6.2 transaction programs.
• LUA provides access to LU type 0, 1, 2 and 3 sessions.
• LU0 provides a simple method for accessing LU type 0 sessions.
• The Common Service Verbs (CSV) interface provides utility functions such as EBCDIC-ASCII translation.
• HLLAPI interface provides 'screen-scraping' for both 3270 and TN3270 sessions.
• The Node Operator Facility (NOF) interface allows applications to perform administrative tasks.
• The Management Services (MS) interface allows communications with remote MDS-level or NMVT-level network management applications.

In order to make these APIs as easy to use as possible, SNAP-IX also includes

• comprehensive Programmer's Guides
• sample code
• API tracing facilities.

Applications that make use of the SNAP-IX APIs can be broadly divided into the following three groups.

Local applications

These applications that you write run on the local SNAP-IX system and make use of the SNAP-IX APIs to communicate with applications that run on other SNA nodes, typically an IBM mainframe or AS/400. Examples of this include credit authorization systems, front-ends to airline reservation systems, etc.

Web applications

These are a special category of local applications that use a Web front-end to get user input for an SNA application. A common example of this is Web Banking.

ISV applications

Many transaction processing, database, and other middleware products can use SNAP-IX’s SNA connectivity function to enable Solaris systems to access data held in mainframe systems. See ISV Applications for a complete list.