RE: Help Systems' email about AFP support discontinued at 7.3- not true ! - or is it ?

So Brad, just so I'm clear on this....

You've been confused about why people would convert spool files since 1995/1996 when we didn't even use email or have internet access yet ?

I don't believe SPLTOOL or anything like our WinSpool/400 windows based spool file download software existed back then.

I was using VB3 and C/C++ to develop APPC applications to download reports via PC support back in those days before the box was opened up.

I was also probably still using CompuServe and AOL for online services back then.

Just sayin. I think your timeline is off a little.

Ahh, it hurts to turn on the way-back machine.

Regards,


Richard Schoen
Director of Document Management
e. richard.schoen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
p. 952.486.6802
w. helpsystems.com

------------------------------

message: 5
date: Fri, 9 Dec 2016 16:08:26 -0600
from: Bradley Stone <bvstone@xxxxxxxxx>
subject: Re: Help Systems' email about AFP support discontinued at 7.3
- not true ! - or is it ?

I don't think you're missing anything, Nathan. I've said the same thing
for over 20 years.

Customers want spooled files converted to excel, csv or some other data
format. That's like taking a photograph of your daughter and asking it
what she had for supper. There's no "data", just a picture of the data.
Spooled files I feel are the same... a snapshot of your data, not actual
data.

But, trust me, using spooled files as "data" is used a VERY often in our
world, even though creating a PF from a query or program to get real data
isn't too difficult.

Yes, my SPLTOOL product will create a column delimited file that can be
imported to excel (stripping out headers as long as they're on the same
lines on each page). But most of the time I also suggest that they try
creating a PF instead and copying that to an ISV file.

Brad
www.bvstools.com