File protocol
The File protocol driver reads messages from one file and writes them to another. The driver supports both newline-terminated and 10-byte length-encoded messages.
File is usually used in the testing phase as a sample data file that simulates messages sent across a connection. To test an inbound connection, populate the file with test data before testing. This is data that was captured from the network or individual test messages. To test an outbound connection, save the test data to a file.
Best practices:
- Guarantee a minimum delay between message reads.
- Overwrite the outbound file, if it already exists, or append new data to it.
Input pane
This tables shows input configuration options:
Option | Description |
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Filename | This names the input file to use and can contain multiple messages.
Click Use the name of the simulated data file from which input data is read. If testing an outbound thread, then leave the text field blank, or specify the null device (nul: on Windows; /dev/null on UNIX).
You must specify a file name in the Input Filename or Output Filename field. Both fields cannot be blank. |
to open a file browser.
This creates any files on a Windows server as
Windows-type files and not as UNIX-type files. CRNL is for Windows and NL is
for UNIX. This option is performed on each message (record) in a file.
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The driver identifies message boundaries according to
the selected file format:
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Input Delay | This specifies the minimum number of seconds between reading messages
from the input file. As long as the file contains data to read, the driver reads the next message into the engine. To read messages rapidly, leave the value at 0. Use a larger number to delay each subsequent read to simulate occasional delivery or to give other threads more opportunity to run. When the driver reaches the end-of-file (EOF), it enters the ineof protocol state. Until the thread restarts, it does not read any more messages. This does not affect outbound data flow. |
Output pane
This tables shows output configuration options:
Option | Description |
---|---|
Filename | This names the outbound message file. Specify the name of the file
where output data is stored. Click If testing an inbound thread, then leave the text field blank. Similar to the input Filename, it is relative to the process binary directory unless it is an absolute pathname. The process binary directory is the current working directory for the process when it runs. Specify a file name in the Input Filename or Output Filename field. Both fields cannot be blank. |
to open a file browser.
This creates any files on a Windows server as
Windows-type files and not as UNIX-type files. CRNL is for Windows and NL is
for UNIX. This option is performed on each message (record) in a file.
|
|
The driver identifies message boundaries according to
the selected file format:
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This determines what action the driver takes on start-up when an
outbound file exists. When this is cleared, the outbound message does not append to the output file but instead overwrites the output file. |
NL to CRNL conversion
The File protocol does not convert NL to CRNL if the data has 0A and 0D 0A. Before the conversion, the engine checks if CRNL already exists to determine if the data has already been processed.
Any CRNL that exists in the data causes the engine to stop the conversion. This is by design. Otherwise, CRNL is converted to CRNLNL.
File Start-Up Procedures pane
Click TPS Editor.Then, select the procedures to run when the thread starts. This is a Tcl Procedure Stream (TPS). Use it to trade messages with the remote end.
to open the