Create portal to access large amounts of data

Summary

Learn how to expose data from a Db2® database and a CICS® application through z/OS® Connect and create APIs to access that data with IBM API Connect®.

Description

This work was done as part of the Example Health set of code patterns that demonstrate how cloud technology can access data stored on z/OS Systems. We needed a way to access the large amounts of data stored on a Db2 database and a CICS application. We used z/OS Connect and API Connect to expose the data through REST APIs. z/OS Connect provides a way to unleash your existing market-differentiating IBM assets with RESTful APIs. API Connect allows automated API creation, simple discovery of assets, self-service access for developers, and built-in security and governance. z/OS Connect exposes the data from Db2 and CICS as REST APIs, then API Connect is used to create a way to easily access the APIs through an intuitive portal.

This developer code pattern is for those with an intermediate-level understanding and experience working with IBM Z®, z/OS, and Eclipse tools like IBM Explorer for z/OS.

When you have completed this code pattern, you will understand how to:

• Use z/OS Connect to expose CICS application(s) and Db2 data with REST APIs
• Use API Connect to manage your APIs and create a portal for developers to access them

Flow

1. z/OS Connect exposes Db2 data through REST APIs.
2. z/OS Connect exposes CICS programs/data through REST APIs.
3. API Connect serves as a gateway to z/OS Connect, manages the z/OS Connect APIs, and establishes a portal to gain access to the APIs.

Instructions

Check out the README for details on how to:

• Create CICS application
• Create the Db2 database and tables
• Populate Db2 database with Synthea data
• Install z/OS Connect
• Expose Db2 data through z/OS Connect
• Expose CICS application through z/OS Connect
• Create API Connect instance
• Import and manage z/OS Connect API in API Connect