How does HostBridge compare to the XML support in new versions of COBOL?
Deciding on which tool to use for XML-enabling CICS applications depends on whether you want to use an adapter to allow your existing applications to read/write XML or if you want to re-engineer your applications and hand-code a new interface to support XML. HostBridge XML-enables existing BMS based applications without reengineering. With Enterprise COBOL, you have to alter the application to process XML and generate it. CICS applications compiled using the new version of COBOL will be able to accept inbound XML messages and transform the information from XML to COBOL data structures. However, compiled applications do not generate outbound XML documents without reengineering them to generate the XML on their own. This means that as you make changes to your applications you must also make changes to the XML interface to correctly present the data to remote applications. You will also need to develop your own XML schemas to provide a blueprint that allows middle-tier web developers to i
