The Common Programming Interface for Communications (CPI-C) is an API that uses the LU 6.2 communications architecture. CPI-C comprises a set of C programming language routines that allow applications on computers to communicate with one another to accomplish a processing task, such as copying a file or accessing a remote database.
CPI-C programming provides a mechanism called client-side information that associates a set of parameters with a specified CPI-C symbolic destination name. The CPI-C program uses the symbolic destination name to initialize a conversation using APPC LUs that are associated with the CPI-C symbolic name.
Figure 6.4 Using CPI-C symbolic names.
SNA Server supports the CPI-C API and provides for configuration of CPI-C parameters. These parameters allow applications on the SNA Server systems to communicate with applications on any platform that supports APPC communications and CPI-C including mainframes, AS/400s, Windows NT systems, and UNIX systems.