Sequential Data Facility

The Sequential Data Facility (SDF) can be used to:
  • Import FIN messages from an input file to a target queue.
    Each of the FIN messages in the input file is converted to an FTM SWIFT message and put into the target queue. The SDF enriches each FTM SWIFT message with the following information, which is not contained in the original FIN message but is supplied by the SDF:
    • FTM SWIFT instance
    • OU
    • Application name
    • Application user
    • Reply-to queue and queue manager
    • Message history data (see Message history)
  • Export FIN messages from a source queue to an output file.

    Each of the FTM SWIFT messages in the source queue must contain one FIN message. The SDF extracts the FIN message contained in the body of each FTM SWIFT message and stores it in the output file. Message control information in the FTM SWIFT message, for example the ComIbmDni folder in the MQRFH2 header, is not exported and is not available in the output file.

    The output data is encoded in EBCDIC (coded character set IBM-1047).

The SDF import and export functions are illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. SDF import and export functions
Figure showing SDF import and export functions
The input and output files can be any of the following types of files:
  • Physical sequential (PS) data set encoded in EBCDIC
  • Partitioned data set (PDS) member encoded in EBCDIC
  • Hierarchical file system (HFS) file encoded in ASCII and in SWIFT RJE format
    Note: If an input or output file is an HFS file, the iconv function, which is provided by the operating system, can be used to convert the data from EBCDIC to ASCII before it is stored in the input file, or from ASCII to EBCDIC after it was stored in the output file, if necessary.

The SDF stores control messages in a control queue. It uses these control messages to record its interactions with the source and target queues. This provides a way for the SDF to resume an interrupted operation without losing or duplicating FIN messages.

The SDF can connect to the queue manager of the control queue directly or by means of an MQ client. This queue manager must also be the queue manager of the source queue used for an export operation. The queue managers of the target queue and reply-to queue used for an import operation do not have to be the same as the queue manager of the control queue.

For more information about the sequential data facility, see Exporting/Importing messages to and from files or data sets.