Functions and components

Each service consists of a set of related functions. For example, the name service contains function for:

It also contains initialization and termination functions.

An installable service is provided by one or more service components. Each component can perform some or all of the functions that are defined for that service. For example, in WebSphere MQ for AIX, the supplied authorization service component, the OAM, performs all the available functions. See Authorization service interface for more information. The component is also responsible for managing any underlying resources or software (for example, an LDAP directory) that it needs to implement the service. Configuration files provide a standard way of loading the component and determining the addresses of the functional routines that it provides.

Figure 33 shows how services and components are related: