Protocol Clients

This directory contains reusable protocol implementations used by IBM.D modules. Protocols abstract network or API details and return typed data structures so collectors can focus on orchestration.

Highlights:

Path	Purpose
`openmetrics/`	Generic HTTP client + parser for Prometheus/MicroProfile metrics.
`websphere/pmi/`	PerfServlet XML snapshot loader and typed PMI tables.
`websphere/jmx/`	Adapter layer on top of the JMX bridge helper.
`jmxbridge/`	Process manager for the JSON-over-stdin Java helper (used by WebSphere JMX).
`mq/`	IBM MQ PCF/command interfaces.
`db2/`	DB2 ODBC helpers (shared with as400 module).

When creating a new collector: if the target exposes an API that may be reused later, add a protocol here instead of embedding HTTP/ODBC logic directly into the module.

Protocols should:

Accept a context.Context for cancellation.
Return rich Go structs (not map[string]interface{}) so collectors get compile-time safety.
Handle feature detection gracefully and emit informative errors.

Shared CGO shims live in ../pkg.