Re: What can be done to enhance the green screen applications?

Jim,

>We are using 6050's.  Work Station Processors.  Are these "special" ?

That is the so-called "Enhanced Work Station Controller", which is
capable of supporting the "Enhanced User Interface" data stream
orders.  This first became available several years ago (1992 ?) and is
part of what makes these things look their best.

I think it would be fairly rare now for someone to get the older
twinax WS controller types (eg 6040 or 6141), but there are still
plenty of them in production use.  You also need to consider users
other than twinax.  The ASCII controller for example doesn't support
the enhanced data stream orders, and neither do the 5294 or 5394
remote controllers although the 5494 does.

Client Access supports it, but most other emulators do not, and I have
not yet seen a TN5250 client which does (but maybe one exists).

The bottom line is that you can't count on the enhanced WS controller
being present.  You can still code most of the enhanced features, but
they look different if you don't have the proper hardware support.
There is a table somewhere (Application Display Programming manual I
think) that lists the various combinations of WS controllers and
terminal types, and how each supports or displays the enhanced
functions.

For example, windows may be implemented with border characters on some
older displays, but shadowed lines on newer ones.  Radio buttons on
old terminals look llike the old DOS Foxpro style, eg <Yes> or <No>
instead of nicely bordered buttons.  Worse, the accelerator key can't
be underlined, so the user can't see what letter was assigned as the
accelerator key. :(

But I still like to use them, especially for stuff like my standard
message box pop-ups.  On PCs using CA or on InfoWindow displays etc,
they look great.  On older terminals they just look like Foxpro but
without the accelerator underlined.

Doug
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