Message set projects and files

A message set project contains all the resources associated with exactly one message set. A message set is a logical grouping of messages and the objects (elements, types and groups) that comprise them. It contains the following resources, which you create and maintain in the Broker Application Development perspective.

messageSet.mset file
A message set file contains those message model properties that are common across all the content of the message set. It also contains the physical format definitions for the message set. A message set project must contain exactly one message set file.

Default editor: Message set editor

.mxsd files
A message definition file contains, in XML Schema form, the logical model and associated physical model for one or more messages. Each message set requires at least one message definition file to describe its properties, and you can have as many as you want within the same message set. One message definition file can, if required, reference XML Schema objects in another message definition file.

You can create a message definition file in a message set by importing any of the following data structures:

  • XML Schemas
  • XML DTD
  • C header files
  • COBOL copybooks

Importing any of these data structures automatically creates the message definition file and its content for you. Alternatively, you can create a blank message definition file and add the message definitions yourself.

Default editor: Message Definition editor

Previous versions of the message set model
The message definition contains the same application data that, previously, was stored in the following separate files:
  • Message set (MRProject) that contains wire formats and their default properties
  • Messages (MRMessage) that provides a unique name for a message and specifies its element
  • Elements (MRElement) that defines a node in the message tree
  • Types (MRType) that specify the structure of elements
  • Declaration Qualifiers (MRDeclaration Qualifier) that specify constraints applied to elements in the message model
.category files
A message category file provides you with another way of grouping related messages, for example for documentation generation, or for convenience purposes such as specifying the messages that define a complete request/reply transaction. You can also use a message category file to assist in generating a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) document. Message category files are optional, and you can have as many as you want within the same message set.

Default editor: Message Category editor

Once you have created and populated a message set, you can use it to generate your message model in several different representations for use by your applications:

Related concepts
Client environment
Resources
The message model
XML Schema and the message model
Generate message dictionaries
Generate model representations
Related tasks
Working with a message set project
Working with a message set
Working with a message definition file
Working with a message category file
Related reference
Rules for naming workspace objects