RE: Green screen to GUI

First, let me just remind everyone that I work for Microsoft.  

I think this has been a really great discussion about moving 5250 to GUI
and the different approaches that people have tried.

As you may be aware of, Microsoft, in conjunction with a number of
solutions from iSeries ISVs, launched the Midrange Alliance Program
(www.microsoft.com\midrange) to show organizations how to use .NET
technology in conjunction with an iSeries server.  If you go to this
home page, you will see we now offer free hands on labs for over 2 dozen
products, including Visual Basic (the current version as well as the new
VB 2005 which is being launched in November), XML for Microsoft Office,
SQL Server 2005 BI, and more.  You run the classes through browser.  It
is a great way to explore different technologies from Microsoft without
having to license or download any software.

I think the VB one would be of most interest based on this discussion. I
have worked with quite a few companies who built new front-ends for
iSeries back-ends using Visual Basic.  You will also find a number of
GUI builders which are supported by both Microsoft (via MAP) and IBM
(via the iSeries Innovation program), such as look software, LANSA and
ASNA. 

I hope this helps.

  
David deLisi 
Microsoft Corporation
 

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kyle S. Goodwin
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 7:53 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: RE: Green screen to GUI

Why not write Java client applications that run in GUI on whatever your
client platform is for presentation layer only?  These apps can then
talk
to WebSphere running on the iSeries where the actual processing would be
done, on the iSeries, just like it always has been.  I suppose if you
want
to only write RPG and no Java on the iSeries then this isn't viable.  Is
it possible to use WebSphere to invoke RPG things and thus provide a
glue
between the Java GUI and the backend RPG?

Kyle S. Goodwin
Extensicom LLC

michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx said:
> Find people that can code in it?
>
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> Subject: RE: Green screen to GUI
>> From: "Booth Martin" <booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Date: Thu, September 22, 2005 10:42 am
>> To: "Midrange Systems Technical Discussion" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>
>> I agree with your main thrust, but am unsure what you can do with
other
>> Windows languages that you can not do with VARPG?
>>
>> ---------------------------------
>> Booth Martin
>> http://www.martinvt.com
>> ---------------------------------
>> -------Original Message-------
>>
>> From: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
>> Date: 09/22/05 01:45:29
>> To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
>> Subject: RE: Green screen to GUI
>>
>> > > It runs on the workstation.  You are correct of course, as
>> > always.  But with
>> > > rare exceptions, what iSeries workstation today is not Windows?
>> >
>> we are are running some desktops with linux here (debian) and are
using
>> tn5250. worked out very good.
>>
>> > For the vast majority of Windows programmers, it doesn't make
>> > sense to
>> > learn RPG. They're already familiar with languages like C++,
>> > or VB. Or if
>> > they're more modern, they're working in languages like C# and
>> > Java.  Why
>> > would they want to convert to RPG?
>>
>> i fully agree with this. it simply doesn't make sense to switch to a
>> tool/language which can't do half the stuff you allready can do with
the
>> tools/languages you have or know.
>>
>> i'm mostly programming java and for me VARPG is no option. too
limited.
>> the
>> user knows what he can expect from a gui application because the see
>> things
>> in other products. and with VARPG you just can't do it. so why would
i
>> want
>> to switch to VARPG. and i don't think that authorization and
deployment
>> is
>> so easy. at our site we have hundreds of clients/users local and
remote
>> and
>> i don't see a simple strategy for deployment. web applications are so
>> more
>> simpler to deploy.
>>
>> --
>> This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L)
mailing
>> list
>> To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
>> visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
>> or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
>> at http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.
>
> --
> This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing
> list
> To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
> visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
> or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
> at http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.
>
>