The Tuxedo service metadata repository contains BEA Tuxedo service definitions that allow Tuxedo clients to access BEA Tuxedo service parameter information. It provides Tuxedo application developers and administrators the ability to store and retrieve detailed service parameter information on any or all Tuxedo application services.
The Tuxedo service metadata repository is designed to process interactive queries by developers and administrators during application development or modification. It is not designed to process high volumes of automated queries during the application production phase.
Five utilities are used in conjunction with the Tuxedo service metadata repository
TMMETADATA(5): Tuxedo service metadata repository server. It provides one service, .TMMETAREPOS, which uses an FML32 input and output buffer format described in METAREPOS(5)
Note:
The .TMMETAREPOS buffer format is similar to MIB(5).
tmloadrepos(1): creates or updates the binary metadata repository file and loads it with service parameter information.
tmunloadrepos(1): displays service information from the Tuxedo service metadata repository. Output can be optionally specified as plain text format, WSDL format, or C pseudocode
tpgetrepos(3c): programmatically uses FML32 buffers to output service information from the Tuxedo service metadata repository
tpsetrepos(3c): programmatically uses FML32 buffers to add, delete, or update service parameter information to the metadata repository file
JOLT Repository Similarities and Differences
BEA Jolt also provides a service repository that allows applications to manually enter Tuxedo service information, including service names, input and output buffer types, parameter names, parameter data types, the number of times each parameter is expected, and whether each parameter is for input, output, or both. All of which seem very similar to the Tuxedo service metadata repository. However, there are also some distinct difference as noted in the following table:
Table 7-1 JOLT Repository Similarities and Differences
Jolt Repository
Tuxedo Service Metadata Repository
Function
Designed for JAVA client communication with Tuxedo servers
Designed for Web service based communication with Tuxedo servers
GUI interface
Yes
No
Uses plain text repository input file
Yes (via bulkloader)
Yes (via tmloadrepos)
Service and Parameter keywords and values
Yes
Yes (but more than Jolt Repository to provide the user with more detailed service information)
Repository file format
Plain text
Binary (service indexed for quick access)
Access method
Administration utility, direct editing
Administration utility, programming API, system service
Unload output format
Plain text
Plain text and C-pseudocode
Inter operability
Cannot read Tuxedo service metadata repository file
Can read, but not modify, existing Jolt Repository file. Cannot create a Jolt Repository file.
MIB(5) Similarities and Differences
Programmatic access to the Tuxedo System Metadata Repository is accomplished through the use of a FML32 buffer format that is very similar to the Tuxedo MIB format. However, there are also some distinct difference as noted in the following table:
No authentic MIB class entities, but uses similar type
Service entry
.TMIB in BBL
.TMMETAREPOS in TMMETADA server
Creating The Tuxedo Service Metadata Repository
The metadata repository file contains all the service parameter information that is accessed in the Tuxedo service metadata repository. The tmloadrepos command is used to create a metadata repository file. Metadata repository file service parameter information is input directly from the computer console (standard input) if a repository input file is not specified or from a specified plain text repository input file. For example:
The repository_input_file contains service parameter keywords and their associated values. Keywords are divided into two categories: service-level and parameter-level.
No more than one keyword/value combination can be specified per line. The maximum line character length is 1024 bytes. String parameter values do not need to be set off with quotation marks.
The repository_input file uses the following syntax: <keyword><=value> and has the following input conventions:
"(" and ")"
When a parameter must define a sub-parameter, a line consisting of a single left parenthesis '( 'and a line consisting of a single right parenthesis ') ' denotes the beginning and end of the embedded sub-parameter portion of the parameter. The left and right parentheses can be used recursively.
\ and "\"
You can include blank lines in the repository_input file as needed for readability. A new line is preceded by a \ character. To use an actual '\' character it must be written as '\\'.
#
Lines starting with a '#' are interpreted as comment lines. Unlike comments specified via the svcdescription or paramdescription keywords, comments are not stored in the binary repository_file or output by tmunloadrepos.
The repository_input file can consist of zero or more service parameter definitions. Each service definition starts with a line beginning with the <service> keyword followed by zero or more lines beginning with one of the other service-level keywords, followed by parameter-level keywords. A particular service-level keyword may not be repeated for a particular service.
Using Service-Level Keywords and Values
A service definition must begin with the keyword service<=NAME> or the abbreviation sv<=NAME>. Services using CARRAY, STRING, or XML buffer types can have only one parameter per service. The Tuxedo service metadata repository service-level keywords are as follows:
Table 7-3 Service-Level Keyword, Abbreviations, and Values
Service-Level Keyword
Keyword Abbreviation
Value
service
sv
Any Tuxedo service name
Note: This key valued can only be once per Metadata Repository instance. It cannot be duplicated within the same Metadata Repository.
tuxservice
tsv
Actual Tuxedo service name
Note: The difference between the service and tuxservice keywords is:
service represents the service entry stored in the Metadata Repository.
tuxservice represents the actual Tuxedo service name. Two or more service definitions can have the same value as tuxservice.
When used together, these two keywords make it possible to have multiple service definitions for one Tuxedo service. By default, tuxservice has the same value as service
servicetype
st
Service invocation type. Legal values are:
service - the service is a synchronous oneway - the service will not send response to the client queue - the service is a /Q related application
servicemode
sm
Type of service origination(Optional). Legal values are:
tuxedo - the service is a Tuxedo originated service
webservice - the service is a SALT proxy service converted from external Web Service Interface
If not specified, tuxedo is the default value.
Note:
Do not specify webservice for any Tuxedo service, webservice is reserved for SALT proxy service only.
export
ex
Y (default) or N. In the Jolt repository, this keyword is used to determine service availability to the Jolt client.
In the Tuxedo repository, this keyword does not have any meaning, but is nevertheless accepted to maintain compatibility with existing Jolt bulk loader files.
inbuf
bt
Tuxedo service request (input) buffer type. Select one of the following type values (case sensitive):
FML, FML32, VIEW, VIEW32, STRING, CARRAY, XML, X_OCTET, X_COMMON, X_C_TYPE, MBSTRING or other arbitrary string representing an application defined custom buffer type.
Note:
The "inbuf" value of each service definition cannot be NULL.
outbuf
BT
Tuxedo service response (output) buffer type with TPSUCCESS. Select one of the following type values (case sensitive):
FML, FML32, VIEW, VIEW32, STRING, CARRAY, XML, X_OCTET, X_COMMON, X_C_TYPE, MBSTRING or other arbitrary string representing an application defined custom buffer type.
Note:
The "outbuf" value of each service definition cannot be NULL for a "service" typed service or a "queue" typed service.
errbuf
ebt
Tuxedo service response (error) buffer type with TPFAIL. Select one of the following type values (case sensitive):
FML, FML32, VIEW, VIEW32, STRING, CARRAY, XML, X_OCTET, X_COMMON, X_C_TYPE, MBSTRING or other arbitrary string representing an application defined custom buffer type.
inview
vn
View name for input buffer(Optional)
Note:
This keyword is mandatory only if one of the following buffer types is used: VIEW, VIEW32, X_COMMON, X_C_TYPE.
outview
VN
View name for output buffer (Optional)
Note:
This keyword is mandatory only if one of the following buffer types is used: VIEW, VIEW32, X_COMMON, X_C_TYPE.
errview
evn
View name for error buffer (Optional)
Note:
This keyword is mandatory only if one of the following buffer types is used: VIEW, VIEW32, X_COMMON, X_C_TYPE.
inbufschema
isc
Customized message schema association for input buffer (Optional). Value format is:
XSD_E:<element_local_name>@namespaceURI
For example, XSD_E:Book@http://example.org represents the input buffer is associated with a XML element <Book> defined in the XML namespace "http://example.org".
Note:
This keyword is introduced for supporting BEA SALT extensible message mapping and conversion feature. For more information about SALT message conversion, see Data Type Mapping and Message Conversion in BEA SALT Programming Web Services.
outbufschema
osc
Customized message schema association for output buffer (Optional). Value format is:
XSD_E:<element_local_name>@namespaceURI
errbufschema
esc
Customized message schema association for error buffer (Optional). Value format is:
XSD_E:<element_local_name>@namespaceURI
svcdescription
sd
Any string value. A new-line break can be used to improve readability if the string is too long.
sendqspace
sqs
Send queue space name. Optional for a "queue" typed service.
sendqueue
sqn
Send queue name. Optional for a "queue" typed service.
rplyqueue
rqn
Reply queue name. Optional for a "queue" typed service.
errqueue
eqn
Error queue name. Optional for a "queue" typed service.
rcvqspace
RQS
Receive queue space name. Optional for a "queue" typed service.
rcvqueue
RQN
Receive queue name. Optional for a "queue" typed service.
version
vs
This parameter is exclusive to the Tuxedo service metadata repository and accommodates any string value used by the application.
BEA Tuxedo does not interpret this parameter.
attributes
att
This parameter is exclusive to the Tuxedo service metadata repository and accommodates any string value used by the application.
BEA Tuxedo does not interpret this parameter.
fieldtbls
ftb
This parameter is optional and specifies a comma-separated list of field tables where the FML or FML32 fields used by this service can be found. The fieldtbls parameter is intended for reference use by application developers.
Using Parameter-Level Keywords and Values
A parameter begins with the keyword <param><=NAME> or the abbreviation <pn><=NAME> followed by a listing of parameter keywords. It ends with another <param> or <service> keyword, or when end-of-file is encountered. The parameters can be listed in any order after <param><=NAME>.
Note:
A particular service can specify multiple occurrences of the <param> keyword. That is to say, more than one parameter can exist for a particular service. For example, a parameter with an FML or VIEW buffer.
The Tuxedo service metadata repository parameter-level keywords are as follows:
Table 7-4 Parameter-Level Keyword, Abbreviations, and Values
The parameter type must be consistent with its service buffer type. For example, an FML16 buffer only allow parameters with the following type: byte (char), short, integer, long, float, double, string, carray. All other type parameters are not permitted. See following buffer type/parameter type matching table.
subtype
pst
A view name for a view32 typed parameter
access
pa
in, out, err, inout, inerr, outerr, inouterr, noaccess.
in - indicates a parameter that is used for input only. out - indicates a parameter that is used for output only. err - indicates a parameter that is used for error output only. inout - indicates a parameter that is used for both input and output. inerr - indicates a parameter that is used for both input and error output. outerr - indicates a parameter that is used for both output and error output. inouterr - indicates a parameter that is used for input, output and error output. noacesss - indicates a parameter that must be provided on input but which is not referenced in the server, such as an obsolete parameter or a parameter that must be provided as a filler field in a view.
The set of parameters expected on input is those specified with in,inout, inerr, inouterr, or noaccess access
The set of parameters returned on output is those specified with out, inout, outerr, or inouterr access.
The set of parameters returned on error output is those specified with err, inerr, outerr, or inouterr access.
count
po
Maximum number of occurrences (default is 1). The value for unlimited occurrences is 0. The value range is [0, 32767].
In the Jolt repository, this parameter is used only by the Repository Editor to format test screens. In the Tuxedo repository, this parameter is stored for display and is also used by tmunloadrepos(1)pseudocode generation options.
paramdescription
pd
Any string value. A new-line break can be used to improve readability if the string is too long.
size
pl
This optional parameter indicates the number of bytes allocated for the parameter. It is used in pseudo code generation for non-numeric parameters and can be used for programmer reference purposes.
The following parameter types expect this value: carray, string, xml, mbstring.
requiredcount
ro
Minimum number of times that the parameter must be specified.The value range is [0, 32767].
fldnum
fno
This optional parameter indicates the field number of the parameter if it is a FML/FML32field.
Note:
Users are not encouraged to provide this information if they have already defined fieldtbl files by indicating field table directories using environment FLDTBLDIR(32) and indicating field table files using environment FIELDTBLS(32)or fieldtbl service-level keyword.
vfbname
vfb
This parameter is optional for view structure members. It is used to indicate the field name in the fielded buffer. Please reference viewfile(5)
vflag
vfl
This parameter is optional for view structure members. Legal values are combination of the following options: 'C', 'F', 'L', 'N', 'P', 'S'. Please reference viewfile(5).
vnull
vnu
This parameter is optional for view structure members. It indicates the view member default null value.
paramschema
psc
This parameter is optional to save the XML Schema information for the decomposed FML32 field.
Note:
This parameter keyword is introduced especially for "servicemode=webservice" typed service definition, i.e. SALT proxy service for outbound call. The parameter value is generated by BEA SALT wsdlcvt utility from converting an external WSDL file. Do not manually specify or modify this keyword value.
primetype
pxt
This parameter is optional to save the original XML primitive data type for the decomposed FML32 field.
Note:
This parameter keyword is introduced especially for "servicemode=webservice" typed service definition, i.e. SALT proxy service for outbound call. The parameter value is generated by BEA SALT wsdlcvt utility from converting an external WSDL file. Do not manually specify or modify this keyword value.
(
Indicates the beginning of the description of the parameters contained in an embedded FML32 or VIEW32 buffer field.
It contains no associated value and is specified separately on a line by itself. It is valid only if a previous type keyword has been specified for this parameter with a FML32 or VIEW32 value.
A closing right parenthesis ')' ends the embedded parameter description.
)
Ends an embedded FML32 or VIEW32 parameter definition of that began with an opening matching left parenthesis '('.
It contains no associated value and is specified separately on a line by itself. It is valid only if a previous only if there is a previous matching '(' keyword.
In addition, the maximum embedded level depends on the upper limit of embedded FML32 nesting level (18 at present).
Parameter Occurrences
As a generally applied Tuxedo rule, only FML/FML32, VIEW/VIEW32, X_COMMON, and X_C_TYPE typed buffers can specify multiple parameters (due to their information structure). All other typed buffers have only one parameter with the corresponding parameter type. For example, a CARRAY type buffer has only one CARRAY typed parameter to describe the necessary information that it contains. You must follow this rule to define application services.
Table 7-5 Service Buffer Type (SMALL CAPS)/Service Parameter Type (lower case) Matching Table I
byte (char)
short
integer
long
float
double
string
CARRAY
FML
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
FML32
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
STRING
X
VIEW
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
VIEW32
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X_COMMON
X
X
X
X_C_TYPE
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
XML
X
X_OCTET
MBSTRING
Table 7-6 Service Buffer Type (SMALL CAPS)/Service Parameter Type (lower case) Matching Table II
carray
dec_t
xml
ptr
fml32
view32
mbstring
CARRAY
X
FML
X
FML32
X
X
X
X
X
X
STRING
VIEW
X
X
VIEW32
X
X
X
X_COMMON
X_C_TYPE
XML
X
X_OCTET
X
MBSTRING
X
X
Configuring The Tuxedo Service Metadata Repository Server
To configure the Tuxedo service metadata repository you must:
add TMMETADATA to the *SERVERS section of the UBBCONFIG(5).
use tmloadrepos(1) to create and enter service parameter information into the metadata repository file.
boot the server.
Once the Tuxedo metadata server is running, the.TMMETAREPOS service is automatically activated. .TMMETAREPOS is a Tuxedo system service and cannot be modified.
All requests made to the server are responded to on a first-come-first-served basis.
Configuring Multiple Tuxedo Service Metadata Repository Servers
Setting up multiple TMMETADATA servers on a particular Tuxedo node requires adherence to two crucial configuration rules:
Each TMMETADATA server must be configured to access the same metadata repository file or an exact copy of the file to provide consistent request results. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that a stable version of the metadata repository is made available for multiple TMMETADATA server access.
Permission settings must be consistently applied (either read only or read/write) for multiple TMMETADATA servers on a particular node.
Accessing The Tuxedo Service Metadata Repository File
The Tuxedo service metadata repository facilitates native and remote client access in order to view, update, add, or delete service metadata repository parameter information.
For native clients exclusively, tpgetrepos(3c), and tpsetrepos(3c)are used for Tuxedo service metadata repository access.
tpgetrepos(3c) and tpsetrepos(3c) can access the Tuxedo service metadata repository whether the server is booted or not.
For remote and native clients, TMMETADATA(5) can be used.