RE: HATS

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: trevor perry
>
> My advice: Decide whether you want GUI or screen scraping. If you
> want GUI,
> learn what GUI really means before you make any decisions on
> software. Then,
> match the product hype with what GUI really means.

Trevor, this is the best advice you can possibly give.  First, you need to
decide what your business requirements are.  If it's quick time to market
and you can afford interactive tax, then screen scrapers are great.
Especially if you have no source!

If you have to cut out the interactive tax, there are few solutions, and
even fewer with a proven track record.  PSC/400 and WebFacing are the two
major players with any history (and WebFacing gets its basically because
it's an IBM product).

If you need a true web-like interface, then there are even fewer options,
and none, as you say, that are 100% out of the box.  Rules-based can get you
part of the way there, which is why we're pursuing that route, but in the
end you're still going to need to be able to play with the code.  But at
least we have a simple JSP that can be modified by industry standard product
like Dreamweaver (or Notepad <grin>).

And if you want to change how the application works (skipping screens,
splitting or combining panels, and so on), then you're looking at some
pretty advanced functionality.  I'm not sure how many tools support that.

Joe