Re: Browser enablement

We've been using a few Net.Data macros since V4R1.  They run in a
production environment and support a couple hundred concurrent users.
Overall it works pretty well.

But if you need to replace the 5250 interface, Joe's product seems like
a very good option.  It lets you strip out the 5250 look and replace it
with something more modern looking (whatever that means).

If all you want is 5250-in-a-browser and your client machines are
running IE, http://www.mochasoft.dk/tn5250activex.htm is cheap and works
out of the box.  It also coexists with regular 5250 and anything else.
Just add their (small) code to a web server, configure it, and call it a
day.  Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to set up.

John A. Jones, CISSP
Americas Information Security Officer
Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc.
V: +1-630-455-2787 F: +1-312-601-1782
john.jones@xxxxxxxxxx

-----Original Message-----
From: web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Nathan Andelin
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 11:24 PM
To: Web Enabling the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: Re: [WEB400] Browser enablement

Others are heavily user interface oriented - gather inquiry 
parameters, process the inquiry, present the results and offer a

printing option.



For purely inquiry and reporting applications I'd suggest using IBM's
Net.Data, which is automatically bundled with the HTTP server, and is
probably already installed at your customer's sites.

Some people may question a Net.Data recommendation in light of IBM's
recent promotion of PHP, which is architecturally similar, and has huge
worldwide use and recognition, and is officially supported by Zend.

Some people speculate that IBM will withdraw support of Net.Data, but my
gut feel is that IBM will continue supporting it for perhaps 10 more
years.  Net.Data is supported on OS/400 releases prior to V5R3.  PHP
requires V5R3 or higher, if that's a consideration.

Both Net.Data and PHP files are interpreted at runtime.  There's no
compilation process.  Just type in a URL that references a file on the
IFS that contains Net.Data or PHP script and HTML, and you're rewarded
with an immediate response.  Interpretive runtime environments like
Net.Data and PHP are very seductive from a developer's point of view.

Net.Data runs under the native virtual machine while PHP runs under
PASE.  From an end-user's perspective, Net.Data appears to perform
better than PHP, but that's just a personal observation, not supported
by any real benchmarks.

For software products that support a lot of data entry, maintenance, and
transaction processing, then interpretive runtime environments like
Net.Data and PHP are a poor choice, in my opinion.  A framework that
provides more structure, is critical.

A few people accepted my offer from a different thread a couple days ago
to forward a whitepaper about AJAX design patterns and best practices,
which features a System i centric model for data entry, inquiry, and
maintenance.  If something like that would be helpful, then the offer
still stands.  Just send me a private email.

Nathan.





 
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