Messages

  • Message Objects in Program Code
    The following categories describe messages and the ways that your program code can interact with them.
  • Field Values and Types
    Messages contain data values in a set of fields. Structurally, a field pairs a name of type string with a value of a specific data type.
  • Storage of Field Values within Messages
    Values stored in a message field are part of the message, that is, they reside in memory associated with the message, and allocated by the library.
  • DateTime
    Application programs can use the TIBCO FTL data type DateTime to represent date and time values with large range and nanosecond precision.
  • Formats: Managed, Built-In, and Dynamic
    A format defines the set of fields that a message can contain: including field names and data types.
  • Format Names
    Format names must be unique within a realm, and ideally, throughout the network.
  • Field Names
    Field names must be unique within each format. (Nonetheless, two separate formats may use the same field name.)
  • Flexibility in Formats and Messages
    An application suite needs a set of message formats that embraces the various purposes for which it sends messages. Nonetheless, the simplicity of a smaller set of formats usually yields optimal results.
  • Field Access: Names and References
    The APIs provide two versions of each message field accessor call: one accepts a field name, while the other accepts a field reference object.
  • Reusing Message Objects
    It is faster to reuse an existing message object than to destroy it and create a new one. Programs can gain efficiency by reusing message objects, whenever possible.
  • Built-In Formats Reference
    Built-in formats are optimized for efficiency, and are always available. Administrators do not need to explicitly define them, nor specify them among an application’s preload formats.
  • String Encoding
    To preserve interoperability throughout your enterprise, all strings must use UTF-8 encoding.