Re: PC Front-ends to AS/400 data

We are doing client server with Delphi/400.

One of the things we do to avoid the inevitable version control problem
is to only load the applications onto a shared directory so that
everyone always runs the latest version.  One good thing about delphi is
that you can build an executable that does not use any DLL's or VBX's so
that it is pretty much standalone and won't get wiped out by someone
loading other software on their computer.  

The key to a good client server implementation on the 400 is to do batch
processing on the 400 and use the PC for input, validation and
display/formatting of the information. Our back-end processing is mostly
RPG-LE.  

Most of the remaining problems are directly attributable to microsoft's
incompatabilities between versions.  We have third party software which
already requires us to be on a relatively narrow install base
(win95/98/nt) so it is easy for our in-house applications to fit within
that range.

John Hall
Home Sales Co.

boothm@ibm.net wrote:
> 
> Exactly Nina.  I way, way underestimated the value of a central point of
> control for version levels, software support, security issues, and data
> repositories.  I also underestimated the permutations available to muck up
> an application when you have to deal with several versions of Windows 95,
> a version of Windows 98, and 2 or more versions of Windows NT.
> 
> Add in the problems of applications being physically distant and not being
> easy to manage or update and I quickly came to understand that a
> client/server application with 300 screens would become a nightmare if in
> fact a full installation could ever even be accomplished in a reasonable
> amount of time.
> 
> I am still excited about client/server because it is so effective for the
> user, but it is not an easy solution.
>
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