Record Format Markup Language

The Record Format Markup Language (RFML) is an XML extension for specifying record formats.

The IBM® Toolbox for Java™ RFML component enables your Java applications to use RFML documents to specify and manipulate fields within certain kinds of records.

RFML documents, called RFML source files, represent a useful subset of the data description specification (DDS) data types defined for physical and logical files on iSeries™ servers. You can use RFML documents to manage the information in the following:

Note: For more information about using DDS to describe data attributes, see the DDS Reference.

RFML closely resembles Program Call Markup Language (PCML), another XML extension that is supported by IBM Toolbox for Java. RFML is neither a subset nor a superset of PCML, but rather a kind of sibling language that adds a few new elements and attributes and omits others.

PCML provides an XML-oriented alternative to using the ProgramCall and ProgramParameter classes. Similarly, RFML provides a user-friendly, easily maintainable alternative to the Record, RecordFormat, and FieldDescription classes.

For more information about RFML, see the following topics:

Parent topic: Extensible Markup Language components
Requirements
Read about the requirements for using RFML.
RFML example
See how using RFML in your application reduces the amount and sometimes the complexity of code that you must write. The example includes a sample RFML source file.
RecordFormatDocument class
Read about how to use the RecordFormatDocument class with other Toolbox for Java classes to read and write data.
RFML documents and RFML syntax
Learn about RFML documents, called RFML source files, and RFML syntax as defined in the RFML data type definition.

RFML is only one way to use XML with your server. For more information about using XML with iSeries servers, see IBM Toolbox for Java XML extensions and Extensible Markup Language (XML).