HTTP client requests from a CICS application

XCICS can act as an HTTP client, and communicate with an HTTP server on the Internet. A user-written application program sends requests through XCICS to the HTTP server, and receives the responses from it.

Note that the HTTP client facility of XCICS Web support is not designed for use as a browser. User application programs can make requests for individual, known resources that are available from a server, but they would not be expected to browse the Internet generally. The range of responses that you might receive from a server, and the actions that you need to take to handle them, should relate only to your preselected resources, plus the error responses that might be associated with those resources and with the type of requests you are making.

"HTTP request and response processing for XCICS as an HTTP client" explains the processing structure for XCICS as an HTTP client. Before writing an application program that makes an HTTP client request, make sure you understand the processing stages for these requests, because most of the stages are initiated by the application program itself.

Several XCICS Web support facilities are used when XCICS is an HTTP client:

•	You can use EXEC CICS WEB API commands in XCICS application programs to open an HTTP connection to a server, make requests, and receive responses for processing by the application program.

•	URIMAP definitions may be used to avoid specifying information such as a URL or a certificate label in your application program.

TCPIPSERVICE resource definitions, which are used for XCICS as an HTTP server, do not apply to XCICS as an HTTP client, and you do not need to create these to make HTTP client requests.