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IBM MQ, Version 9.0
Introduction to message queuing
The IBM MQ products enable programs to communicate with one another across a netw
ork of unlike components (processors, operating systems, subsystems, and communi
cation protocols) using a consistent application programming interface.
Applications designed and written using this interface are known as message queu
ing applications, because they use the messaging and queuing style:
Messaging
Programs communicate by sending each other data in messages rath
er than calling each other directly.
queuing Messages are placed on queues in storage, allowing programs to run indep
endently of each other, at different speeds and times, in different locations, a
nd without having a logical connection between them.
Message queuing has been used in data processing for many years. It is most comm
only used today in electronic mail. Without queuing, sending an electronic messa
ge over long distances requires every node on the route to be available for forw
arding messages, and the addressees to be logged on and conscious of the fact th
at you are trying to send them a message. In a queuing system, messages are stor
ed at intermediate nodes until the system is ready to forward them. At their fin
al destination they are stored in an electronic mailbox until the addressee is r
eady to read them.
Even so, many complex business transactions are processed today without queuing.
In a large network, the system might be maintaining many thousands of connectio
ns in a ready-to-use state. If one part of the system suffers a problem, many pa
rts of the system become unusable.
You can think of message queuing as being electronic mail for programs. In a mes
sage queuing environment, each program that makes up part of an application suit
e performs a well-defined, self-contained function in response to a specific req
uest. To communicate with another program, a program must put a message on a pre
defined queue. The other program retrieves the message from the queue, and proce
sses the requests and information contained in the message. So message queuing i
s a style of program-to-program communication.
Queuing is the mechanism by which messages are held until an application is read
y to process them. Queuing allows you to:
Communicate between programs (which might each be running in different environme
nts) without having to write the communication code.
Select the order in which a program processes messages.
Balance loads on a system by arranging for more than one program to service a qu
eue when the number of messages exceeds a threshold.
Increase the availability of your applications by arranging for an alternative s
ystem to service the queues if your primary system is unavailable.
What is a message queue?
A message queue, known simply as a queue, is a named destination to which messag
es can be sent. Messages accumulate on queues until they are retrieved by progra
ms that service those queues.
Queues reside in, and are managed by, a queue manager, (see Message queuing term
inology ). The physical nature of a queue depends on the operating system on whi
ch the queue manager is running. A queue can either be a volatile buffer area in
the memory of a computer, or a data set on a permanent storage device (such as
a disk). The physical management of queues is the responsibility of the queue ma
nager and is not made apparent to the participating application programs.

Programs access queues only through the external services of the queue manager.
They can open a queue, put messages on it, get messages from it, and close the q
ueue. They can also set, and inquire about, the attributes of queues.
Different styles of message queuing
Point-to-point
One message is placed on the queue and one application receives that message.
In point-to-point messaging, a sending application must know information about t
he receiving application before it can send a message to that application. For e
xample, the sending application might need to know the name of the queue to whic
h to send the information, and might also specify a queue manager name.
Publish/Subscribe
A copy of each message published by a publishing application is delivered to eve
ry interested application. There might be many, one, or no interested applicatio
ns. In publish/subscribe an interested application is known as a subscriber and
the messages are queued on a queue identified by a subscription.
Publish/subscribe messaging allows you to decouple the provider of information f
rom the consumers of that information. The sending application and receiving app
lication do not need to know as much about each other for the information to be
sent and received. For more information, see Publish/subscribe messaging.
Benefits of message queuing to the application designer and developer
IBM MQ allows application programs to use message queuing to participate in mess
age-driven processing. Application programs can communicate across different pla
tforms by using the appropriate message queuing software products. For example,
z/OS applications can communicate through IBM MQ for z/OS. The applications are s
hielded from the mechanics of the underlying communications. Some of the other b
enefits of message queuing are:
You can design applications using small programs that you can share between many
applications.
You can quickly build new applications by reusing these building blocks.
Applications written to use message queuing techniques are not affected by chang
es in the way that queue managers work.
You do not need to use any communication protocols. The queue manager deals with
all aspects of communication for you.
Programs that receive messages need not be running at the time that messages are
sent to them. The messages are retained on queues.
Designers can reduce the cost of their applications because development is faste
r, fewer developers are needed, and demands on programming skill are lower than
those for applications that do not use message queuing.
IBM MQ implements a common application programming interface known as the messag
e queue interface (or MQI) wherever the applications run. This makes it easier f
or you to port application programs from one platform to another.
For details about the MQI, see The Message Queue Interface overview.
Subtopics
Main features and benefits of message queuing
This information highlights some features and benefits of message queuing. It de
scribes features such as security and data integrity of message queuing.
Message queuing terminology
This information gives an insight into some terms used in message queuing.
Messages and queues
Messages and queues are the basic components of a message queuing system.
Parent topic: IBM MQ Technical overview

Concept Concept
Timestamp icon Last updated: Friday, 30 September 2016
http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSFKSJ_9.0.0/com.ibm.mq.pro.doc/q0
02620_.htm
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