Chapter 38: Modern COBOL Integrations -- Further Reading

Books

"Enterprise Integration Patterns" by Gregor Hohpe and Bobby Woolf This foundational text on messaging and integration patterns covers message channels, message routing, transformation, and endpoints that apply directly to COBOL-to-modern integration scenarios. The patterns for request-reply, publish-subscribe, message filtering, and content-based routing are implemented in practice using IBM MQ and other middleware that connects COBOL systems to distributed architectures. Available through major online booksellers.

"RESTful Web APIs" by Leonard Richardson and Mike Amundsen Understanding REST API design principles is essential for COBOL programmers whose programs are being exposed as RESTful services through z/OS Connect. This book covers resource design, HTTP methods, status codes, hypermedia, and versioning -- all of which influence how COBOL COMMAREAs and business operations are mapped to API endpoints. Available through major online booksellers.

"IBM MQ: Messaging for the Enterprise" by IBM Redbooks This comprehensive guide covers IBM MQ architecture, administration, and programming from both the mainframe and distributed platform perspectives. The COBOL-specific sections cover the MQI API calls, message descriptor (MQMD) structure, and best practices for reliable message processing in CICS and batch COBOL programs. Search for this title on the IBM Redbooks website.

Online Resources

IBM Enterprise COBOL Language Reference -- JSON and XML Statements The definitive reference for JSON PARSE, JSON GENERATE, XML PARSE, and XML GENERATE syntax in Enterprise COBOL. This section covers all clauses (NAME, SUPPRESS, COUNT, WITH DETAIL), special registers (JSON-STATUS, XML-STATUS, XML-EVENT, XML-TEXT), and exception handling. Search for "Enterprise COBOL Language Reference" on the IBM Documentation website.

IBM z/OS Connect Enterprise Edition Documentation The official documentation for z/OS Connect covers how to expose COBOL programs (CICS transactions, IMS transactions, and batch programs) as RESTful APIs. It includes tutorials for creating service archives, defining API mappings, handling JSON-to-COMMAREA transformation, and managing API lifecycle. Available on the IBM Documentation portal.

IBM Developer: "Building APIs with z/OS Connect" IBM's developer resources include step-by-step tutorials for creating RESTful APIs from existing COBOL CICS programs using z/OS Connect Enterprise Edition. The tutorials cover the end-to-end process from identifying the COBOL COMMAREA through API deployment and testing. Available on the IBM Developer website.

IBM Documentation

IBM Redbook: "Integrating z/OS with the Cloud" This Redbook covers the architectural patterns and technologies for connecting mainframe COBOL systems to cloud platforms, including API management, event streaming with Kafka, and hybrid cloud deployment. It addresses the practical challenges of latency, security, data format conversion, and transactional integrity when COBOL programs participate in cloud-native architectures. Available on the IBM Redbooks website.

IBM Redbook: "CICS and Web Services" This publication covers how CICS applications (including COBOL programs) can provide and consume SOAP and REST web services. It includes guidance on WSDL-first and code-first development approaches, SOAP message handling, and the CICS web service pipeline for XML/JSON transformation. Search for this title on the IBM Redbooks website.

IBM Knowledge Center: "IBM MQ for z/OS -- Programming in COBOL" This section of the IBM MQ documentation provides COBOL-specific programming guidance, including copybook definitions for MQ data structures (CMQV, CMQODV, CMQMDV, CMQPMOV, CMQGMOV), sample COBOL programs for putting and getting messages, and best practices for MQ programming in CICS and batch environments. Available on the IBM Documentation portal.

Standards and Specifications

ECMA-404 / RFC 8259 -- The JSON Data Interchange Format The official JSON specification defines the syntax and data types (string, number, boolean, null, object, array) that COBOL's JSON PARSE and JSON GENERATE must handle. Understanding the JSON specification helps COBOL programmers anticipate edge cases in JSON processing, such as Unicode escapes, large numbers, and deeply nested structures. Available through the ECMA International website and IETF RFC archive.

W3C XML 1.0 Specification The XML specification defines the document format that COBOL's XML PARSE processes. Understanding XML concepts -- elements, attributes, namespaces, character encoding, well-formedness -- helps COBOL programmers write correct XML processing procedures and debug XML parsing errors. Available on the W3C website.

OpenAPI Specification (formerly Swagger) When COBOL programs are exposed as REST APIs through z/OS Connect, the API is typically documented using the OpenAPI Specification. Understanding OpenAPI helps COBOL programmers communicate with API consumers (web and mobile developers) about the expected request and response formats, data types, and error codes. Available on the OpenAPI Initiative website.