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Status Submitted
Workspace IBM Event Automation
Categories Event Streams
Created by Guest
Created on Aug 6, 2026

RELATED IDEAS

Enhancement to IBM MQ Connector to support fixed-length RecordBuilder

Opening this Idea request for the IBM MQ Kafka Connector to support a new RecordBuilder capable of converting fixed-length MQ messages into Kafka Connect ConnectRecord objects.

I believe this will a great enhancement to the product, particularly valuable for organizations modernizing z/OS applications and exposing COBOL-based business data to Kafka ecosystems. As traditionally COBOL programs produce MQ messages as fixed-length format.

By converting fixed-length COBOL records into schema-aware ConnectRecord objects, the connector can leverage existing Kafka Connect converters such as Avro, JSON Schema, and JSON converters.

Some proposed requirements:

  1. Support configuration using COBOL copybooks to define record layouts and field mappings.
  2. Generate Kafka Connect schemas (ConnectSchema) and populate ConnectRecord fields accordingly. (Useful for using AVRO converters)
  3. Allow generated records to be serialized by existing Kafka Connect converters (Avro, JSON Schema, JSON, Protobuf).
  4. Support RecordBuilder in both Source and Sink connector. 
    1. Source Connector - MQ fixed length message to ConnectRecord
    2. Sink Connector - ConnectRecord back to MQ fixed length message
  5. Support converting common COBOL datatypes
    1. PIC X
    2. PIC 9
    3. COMP
    4. COMP-3 (packed decimal)
    5. Signed numeric fields
  6. Support unpack COMP fields.
  7. Support nested structures defined through COBOL groups.
  8. Provide validation and error handling when incoming message lengths do not match the configured copybook definition.

 

Idea priority High

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