You can connect to IMS™ in a number of ways. This section shows some of the options.
WebSphere® MQ for z/OS® has an MQ-IMS bridge, so you can communicate with IMS through WebSphere MQ. WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus and WebSphere Process Server provide MQ bindings on imports and exports, and you can use MQ bindings to communicate either with WebSphere MQ or with the WebSphere MQ-IMS bridge.
If you want to use the MQ-IMS bridge you need to create data bindings for the MQ body and header: the data bindings must construct MQ messages in the correct format for the bridge.
When you use WebSphere Integration Developer to generate a WebSphere MQ import binding, the tools can help you generate an MQ binding with suitable data bindings for the operation. To construct a WebSphere MQ message body that can be handled by the bridge, you need to select the data binding option: MQ adapter language data binding generator.
You can set, clear, or retrieve some of the header values carried in the MQ message header structures defined by the MQ-IMS Bridge. For example, you can set values in the MQIIH header, then send the MQ message to an IMS application, through the MQ-IMS Bridge. The MQIIH header values can be set statically, or dynamically, using meditation primitives such as the MQ Header Setter primitive.
From your WebSphere ESB or WebSphere Process Server application, you can create a call to an IMS service, through the MQ-IMS bridge. Your application can handle the response from the IMS service. The response could be a fault message. To call an IMS service from your application, use WebSphere Integration Developer to add an MQ Import connecting to the WebSphere MQ queue supported by the MQ-IMS Bridge. You then configure your application to add the required MQIIH header to the message. When your application runs, an MQ request message is sent to the IMS service through the MQ-IMS Bridge. The IMS service returns a response to your application through the MQ-IMS Bridge. The MQ headers in the response will include MQIIH headers. The response could be a fault message, and must be handled.
Your application can mediate a request from an MQ Client, where the request already has an MQIIH header. This request can be forwarded on to an IMS service, through the MQ-IMS Bridge. The WebSphere ESB application can add, modify, or remove the MQIIH header, and return the IMS response to the client. The response could be an IMS fault, and must be handled correctly.
Your application can mediate a request from an MQ Client, where the request already has an MQIIH header, and is received from the MQ-IMS Bridge. The WebSphere ESB application can add, modify, or remove the MQIIH header, and then forward the request to a non-IMS service. The service response is returned to the client.