RE: Thats all folks!

["Gary Monnier" <gary.monnier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Joe,

Just one more thing then I'll shut up.  You've hit the issue right in the
face and pointed out why Microsoft is so ubiquitous.  Computer manufactures
have yet to replace direct attach display devices with something other than
the PC.  They are giving it a good try with cell phones, but the pesky
underlying OS wars haven't abated yet.

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-admin@midrange.com
[mailto:midrange-l-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Joe Lee
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 11:02 AM
To: midrange-l@midrange.com
Subject: RE: Thats all folks!


I have often thought that what IBM needs to do is to modify the compiler
for DDS so that when display files are compiled in addition to the 5250
stuff that is created, an x-client is also created. This would allow any
platform that has an x-server to run AS400 applications with no more
effort than recompiling the display files. Now it would be nice if IBM
also made additions to DDS so that fancier x-clients could be created,
or even better IBM could create a GUI version of SDA.

Joe Lee

>>> jross-ml@netshare400.com 12/18/2002 10:51:38 >>>
Scott,

You know the 5250 data stream better then I do, but couldn't someone
besides IBM do this by using hidden fields? Like putting button Exit
as
hidden and then text like F3=Exit as normal text. So for a normal data
stream it shows F3=Exit, but on your graphical data stream it makes a
button that has Exit. But it always takes extra work to code for more
then
one platform, green screen and graphical. And going through this with
Java,
all for graphical interfaces just different OSes, it sure makes me
wonder
if it is all worth it.  And IBM might of tired this if more users would
of
tried the scroll bars (that no one I talked with liked on 5250).

And if you want all graphical interface seams like you could come up
with
something if you really needed it, that included how to draw the
screen,
something like the x server on Linux (I have not seen anything on the
X
server so not sure how it works).

The Linux user group I go to is big into the Linux Terminal Server
Project  http://www.ltsp.org  Which is sort of like what you are
talking
about, the Linux server runs the X server and the clients just displays
the
window. The kernel is loaded off of the server. This project used
TN5250
because they had to also work with an AS/400 (green screen).
http://www.ltsp.org/longstory.php

And it is not all IBM's fault, sometimes it could because the AS400
community it so slow to adopt new technology or learn anything on their
 own.

John Ross


At 03:16 PM 12/17/2002 -0600, you wrote:
>  [snip]
>What would I do, if I could make the decisions for the iSeries
division?
>
>(1) Create a new way of communicating with terminals, instead of the
>      5250 data stream, that allows for graphical terminals.
>
>(2) Make it just as easy to develop graphical applications on the
>      iSeries as it is to develop green-screen.    Incorporate
graphical
>      controls into DDS, so existing software can immediately look
>      graphical without changing the RPG/COBOL code.
>
>(3) Lose the reliance of Windows for Ops Nav, etc.   Instead, use the
>      graphical data stream.   Make a terminal emulator for Windows,
>      of course, but also make it availble for Linux/BSD/MacOS, etc.
>      Keep the PC side as simple as possible, so that a terminal can
>      be used as a complete replacement.
>
>The idea is, you write the software for the iSeries.  You deploy it
>to the iSeries.  The only platform required to use it is the iSeries.
>
>Software is very simple to write, because that's what business people
>want when they're developing software.  They're not computer geeks
like
>Unix people, they're businessmen.  They want something easy that will
>be modern and stable.
>
>Don't use a web browser as a terminal.  They're unstable.  Every
browser
>displays things differently.  They are much more complicated to
develop
>software for than a green-screen.  They're designed for reading hyper
text
>documentation, not running an application in.   It has been proven
time
>and time again that client/server is expensive to maintain... this is
the
>main reason why the TCO of the iSeries is lower.   Web is a
client/server
>software!
>
>Get the idea?  Keep the paradigms that have always made the iSeries
>strong, but UPDATE THEM TO MODERN TIMES.


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