When discovery is activated for a service, the server that provides the service collects service contract information and sends the information to an internal service implemented by TMMETADATA(5). The same service contract is only sent once to reduce communication overhead.

The TMMETADATA server summarizes the collected data and generates a service contract. The contract information can either can be stored in the metadata repository, or output to a text file (which is then loaded to the metadata repository using tmloadrepos). SALT uses the tmscd command to control the service contract runtime collection. For more information, see tmscd in the SALT Command Reference Guide

Generated service contract information contains the service name, request buffer information, response buffer information, and error buffer information if there is a failure. The collected service contract information is discarded if it fails to send information to the TMMETADATA server. The buffer information includes buffer type and subtype, and field information for FML/FML32 (name,type,subtype).

Discovery is supported for any embedded buffer in FML32 buffer. For FML/FML32 field occurrences, the discovery automatically updates the pattern for the count/requiredcount in metadata repository. Field occurrence does not impact the pattern, but the minimum occurrence is the "requiredcount".The maximum occurrence is the "count" of the entire contract discovery period.

Only application ATMI services (local, or imported via /TDOMAIN gateway) are supported. Service contract discovery does not support the following services:

• system services (name starts with '.' or '..')
• conversational services
• CORBA services
• /Q and SALT proxy services

• tpforward Support
  
• Service Contract Text File Output