Introducing Z and I Emulator for Web J2EE Connector

Z and I Emulator for Web J2EE Connector is based on version 1.0 of the Sun J2EE Connector Architecture Specification. Before the J2EE Connector architecture was introduced, there was no standard architecture for integrating heterogeneous Enterprise Information Systems (EIS). Z and I Emulator for Web users had to use Host Access Class Library (HACL) to access hosts; other vendors provide specific architectures for this purpose. J2EE Connector architecture provides a standard set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) allowing developers to quickly connect and integrate their applications with virtually any backend EIS, and to any application servers conforming to the J2EE Connector architecture.

The Z and I Emulator for Web J2EE Connector provides access to 3270, 5250, Customer Information and Control System (CICS), and Virtual Terminal (VT) hosts from the Internet. The Z and I Emulator for Web J2EE Connector is a Java programming interface which conforms to the J2EE Connector Specification version 1.0 from Sun Microsystems, and the Common Client Interface (CCI) infrastructure. This interface is intended for use with these products to develop applications in a consistent manner with other connectors.

An application or servlet uses the Z and I Emulator for Web J2EE Connector classes for host access over TCP/IP using standard telnet protocols: TN3270, TN5250, CICS or VT emulation. For 3270 and 5250 hosts, a telnet server gateway (such as IBM's Communications Server family of products) is used to translate the incoming telnet stream into an SNA datastream. Z and I Emulator for Web supports encryption of the datastream for telnet servers which support Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

The Z and I Emulator for Web J2EE Connector provides a set of Resource Adapters which communicate to 3270, 5250, CICS, and VT hosts. These Resource Adapters (.RAR files) are deployed to a conforming application server; users then write applications or servlets using the application programming interfaces (APIs) provided by Z and I Emulator for Web J2EE Connector in WebSphere Integration Developer. WebSphere Integration Developer and its tools are used to write and test user applications and servlets. These applications and servlets are then deployed to an application server that supports the J2EE Connector architecture, such as WebSphere Application Server.

J2EE Connector is just one of the programming environments that ZIE Host Access Toolkit users can use to develop customized applications, applets, and servlets. In other environments, where the customer needs the complete functionality of Z and I Emulator for Web, the HACL and JavaBeans interface should be used.

For more information on the J2EE Connector architecture, see the Sun J2EE Connector Architecture Web site at http://java.sun.com/j2ee/connector/.