Handling Chunked Data in IBM App Connect

Here in this blog, we will learn how to handle chunked data in IBM App Connect.

Chunked data transfer is a method used in HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) for transmitting data in a series of “chunks” instead of as a single, continuous stream. This approach is particularly useful when the size of the data being transmitted is not known in advance or when the data is being generated dynamically and needs to be sent in real-time.

Chunks are small pieces of binary data used to transfer information from the source to the destination. This is accomplished through a mechanism called chunks, which encapsulate the smaller binary data and utilize streams for the transfer process. Chunks encompass all the necessary information about the binary data, including which ones require processing and which ones do not.

It enables the streaming of data and allows clients to start processing data as soon as the first chunk is received, rather than waiting for the entire response.

Generally, in this kind of response, we won’t get content length since it is dynamic streaming data, so we can’t handle it directly as it gives only data but ends unfortunately. Alternately, we can handle this by using a Java API call, which is supported in IBM App Connect.

Advantages: 

• It allows for the transmission of data that is being generated dynamically without needing to buffer the entire content before sending.
• Chunked encoding can be more efficient for transmitting large amounts of data, as it reduces the need for buffering on both the sender and receiver sides.
• It provides flexibility in handling data transmission, especially in scenarios where the size of the data is unpredictable or varies over time.

Disadvantages:

• Not all clients or servers may support chunked transfer encoding, especially in older or less commonly used HTTP implementations.
• Compatibility issues can arise when communicating with systems that do not properly handle chunked encoding or when intermediaries (such as proxies or firewalls) modify or block chunked-encoded traffic.