RE: OpenSource version of WebFacing (was: alternative to WebFacing)

Buck,

I'm usually right there with you, but on this one I have to disagree with
you where you said: "There is actually an OS level switch that does this.  I
don't think we can emulate this readily. :-("

Well...  I might agree this OS level switch might be difficult to emulate, I
think there are actually multiple ways to skin this cat:

e-RPG
Joe Pluta's revitalization approach
Write a 5294 emulator to run on PC and/or browser
Redirect WORKSTN I/O through sockets to Telnet

Take this last approach, for instance.  I'd never really thought about it
until this thread.  Because I've always had a bias that, whatever approach
was taken, the end-user should see screens that looked like typical PC
screens (if C/S) or fancy web pages (if HTML).

But I know a little about the 5250 data stream to know that it could be sent
out to a Telnet client, via sockets using SPECIAL files.  Maybe I should say
I'm just ignorant enough (of 5250 data stream and Telnet) so that I don't
yet know that it _can't_ be done...;-)  So if you didn't really need the
screens to be revitalized in any way, this solution might do the trick, and
there are plenty of folks on this list who could do this, I think, pretty
easily (although I'm not one of them).


I'm really afraid the harder problem to doing something like this as OSS
development, is picking a solution (or solutions) to concentrate the efforts
on.

JMHO,

jt


BTW:  No clever saying at end?  I always look forward to your posts, just
for those...:-)



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
[mailto:owner-midrange-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Buck Calabro
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 4:26 PM
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject: OpenSource version of WebFacing (was: alternative to WebFacing)


>If this community were to entertain the idea of an open
>source project, several questions come to mind.
>It seems to me that Webfacing provides two
>(2) primary functions.  First, it converts DDS into
>HTML and various Java components.  It is in
>essence a code generator.  Second, it provides a
>runtime environment for mapping stream data
>between the old and the new formats.

There is actually an OS level switch that does this.  I don't think we can
emulate this readily. :-(

>Do you want a tool that converts DDS to HTML
>files and possibly RPG code?  Is minimal change to
>the existing 5250 program the other goal?

The whole point of IBM's WebFacing is that there is Zero Change to the 5250
DDS or RPG whatsoever.  OS400 sees that the request is coming in from a
JSPthingy and bypasses the workstation controller logic when it maps the
data management input buffer to the RPG input buffer.  The same switch is
set for output, so when RPG maps its output buffer to the data management
buffer, data management sends the datastream to the Java server instead of
the workstation controller.

At least that's what I got out of it.

Buck
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