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Last updated 06/28/04
Multi-layered design
The MPE Class Library for Java consists of three layers:
The Generic Call Layer
The Intrinsic Access layer
The Object Abstraction layer
Generic call layer
This layer provides the capability to call any code which resides in a
Native Mode Executable Library (NMXL). A number of APIs are provided
to allow you to describe each parameter passed to the target procedure,
as well as the return type of the procedure. Each parameter and return
type is described in terms of an MPE native type and as a Java class type;
the call mechanism provides translation between the native types and the
Java types.
STATUS: Basic mechanism is complete. 64-bit data types are not yet
supported (although passing data types by 64-bit pointers is supported).
Floating-point data types are not yet supported.
Intrinsic access layer
Classes are provided to read all of the parameter and return type information
from an intrinsic file (by default, SYSINTR.PUB.SYS) at run time. Because
of the overhead required to do this on-the-fly, a utility program is also
provided which will convert an entire intrinsic file into a group of
serialized java objects. These objects can then be zipped together into
a single file using the Java jar utility.
STATUS: Complete.
Object abstraction layer
A group of high-level classes to provide abstractions of MPE concepts such
as File, Job, Session, Process, Account, etc.
STATUS: A very preliminary MPEFile object has been created. Design work has
not been started for any other objects.
Contributing to the MPE class library
The MPE Class Library is an open source, shared development effort. You
are encouraged to participate in whatever way you can (development,
building test cases, writing documentation, contributing ideas).
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