File Formats

There are three file formats used for a configuration of Procman/HOS.

XML

Standard XML format is used for user forms and dictionaries. The files must be syntactically correct in order the parser is able to open them. It is very important to have all user forms in a valid format, as all user forms are in some cases included in HOSXIN XML member that is sent to the host for JCL analysis. In case of an invalid form the whole HOSXIN XML become invalid and the analysis fail. Therefore make sure that you don't have old or temporary and unchecked XML user forms in etc/forms dictionary.

INI

INI files are used for configuration of z/OS connector (HORILST). These files are referenced from hos_config2.php by rot_ini_file option.

PHP

The vast majority of configuration is in PHP format. PHP config files are included in other PHP scripts and are interpreted when the web application starts. Therefore it is strictly required that the PHP syntax in your config files is correct, otherwise the web application can't start. The advantage of this approach is that you can use any constructs that are supported by PHP in your config files. This for example allows you to include your own file with PHP variables that you can use in all PHP config files. You can build complex strings by concatenations, split big arrays to smaller blocks and much more. This makes the whole configuration more readable and maintainable.