Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
Frank Chu writes: The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. IBM's Debug Tool does that: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24026610 Rather than reinvent something, I have a couple ideas: 1. There's a common IBM Eclipse-based component called the z/OS Explorer which might provide the necessary APIs and framework for your purposes. It comes with a number of IBM software products, including no additional charge ones like the CICS Explorer and IBM Enterprise Suite Explorer. Quoting from the IBM documentation, the z/OS Explorer includes...APIs to list, create, edit, and control z/OS datasets, partitioned datasets, zFS files and paths, submit jobs and view JES spool output. Perhaps that range of services covers what you require. The z/OS Explorer works more efficiently on z/OS 1.13 with the (no additional charge) z/OS Management Facility (via its REST APIs, which you could also use directly), but it'll also work on prior releases of z/OS and/or without the z/OS Management Facility (with some caveats). 2. Another option might be to deploy a specific WebSphere Liberty Profile run-time helper application of your own construction to z/OS. That can do whatever a JEE application can do, has very modest z/OS setup requirements and prereqs, and can use anything in JZOS, for example. It could provide an entirely self-contained, small run-time distribution with a lovely Web 2.0 user interface that only requires a Web browser. (Imagine debugging from your iPad.) More information here: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/wasdev/entry/introducing_the_liberty_profile6 https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/wasdev/entry/liberty_profile_z_os_quick_start_guide11 3. Co:Z -- especially the Co:Z Dataset Pipes portion -- might be relevant, particularly with Eclipse-based user interfaces. More details here: http://www.dovetail.com/products/dspipes.html Timothy Sipples Resident Enterprise Architect (Based in Singapore) E-Mail: timothy.sipp...@us.ibm.com -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
Well, finally an answer that's worth some gold! Thank you Timothy! You've given us some things to follow up on. [:] Dave Cole REPLY TO: dbc...@colesoft.com ColeSoft Marketing WEB PAGE: http://www.colesoft.com 736 Fox Hollow RoadVOICE:540-456-8536 Afton, VA 22920FAX: 540-456-6658 At 8/13/2012 07:20 AM, Timothy Sipples wrote: Frank Chu writes: The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. IBM's Debug Tool does that: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24026610 Rather than reinvent something, I have a couple ideas: 1. There's a common IBM Eclipse-based component called the z/OS Explorer which might provide the necessary APIs and framework for your purposes. It comes with a number of IBM software products, including no additional charge ones like the CICS Explorer and IBM Enterprise Suite Explorer. Quoting from the IBM documentation, the z/OS Explorer includes...APIs to list, create, edit, and control z/OS datasets, partitioned datasets, zFS files and paths, submit jobs and view JES spool output. Perhaps that range of services covers what you require. The z/OS Explorer works more efficiently on z/OS 1.13 with the (no additional charge) z/OS Management Facility (via its REST APIs, which you could also use directly), but it'll also work on prior releases of z/OS and/or without the z/OS Management Facility (with some caveats). 2. Another option might be to deploy a specific WebSphere Liberty Profile run-time helper application of your own construction to z/OS. That can do whatever a JEE application can do, has very modest z/OS setup requirements and prereqs, and can use anything in JZOS, for example. It could provide an entirely self-contained, small run-time distribution with a lovely Web 2.0 user interface that only requires a Web browser. (Imagine debugging from your iPad.) More information here: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/wasdev/entry/introducing_the_liberty_profile6 https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/wasdev/entry/liberty_profile_z_os_quick_start_guide11 3. Co:Z -- especially the Co:Z Dataset Pipes portion -- might be relevant, particularly with Eclipse-based user interfaces. More details here: http://www.dovetail.com/products/dspipes.html Timothy Sipples Resident Enterprise Architect (Based in Singapore) E-Mail: timothy.sipp...@us.ibm.com -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
Wouldn't something need to be programmed on the operating system side to actually do the step tracing and debugging? The 3270 window is just that, a window. It can't do the debugging itself. -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Frank Chu Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 12:37 PM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens John, It's for an application that has already been written by us. The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator. There's not a lot of real estate in a 3270 screen and there are limitations on how we display things. This is becoming more of an issue as we move beyond just debugging HLASM programs. With regards to the multiple tabs/windows. The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. Frank On 8/10/2012 12:31 PM, McKown, John wrote: I'm still in a bit of a quandry as to what you want to accomplish. Is this for an application which you are writing, or one which is already written by someone else. If you are writing it, why use 3270? Why not just use HTTP or some other IP protocol? Or why not just open multiple 3270 emulators? For your GUIfied 3270 with multiple tabs, do you mean that you logon to some application once, and it can somehow direct a 3270 data stream to a different 3270 tab. The closest 3270 equivalent that I can think of is something that I know nothing about: 3270 hardware partitioning, which the 3290 had. I am not aware of any 3270 emulator which does 3290 partition emulation. What I am envisioning that you want is something like ISPF, which can have multiple windows each doing some application. But you would want each ISPF window in a separate 3270 tab; and each to be running their application concurrently (true multitasking), updating their individual 3270 window. I am also assuming that the application on the mainframe is yours, so that you could handle this. I'm having real problems thinging about the application. If I were writing it (and *had* to use 3270 protocol for some reason - why?), I would set it up to accept multiple 3270 connections and just run multiple 3270 emulators on the desktop. If it is a case of requiring a logon, then allow multiple logons. If necessary, the application could be written to have a user controller so that a single task could coordinate all the subtasks (one per 3270 connection) for a given user. I think more information is necessary because 3270 applications are not really designed to be multi window at the 3270 hardware level. -- John McKown Systems Engineer IV IT Administrative Services Group HealthMarkets(r) 9151 Boulevard 26 * N. Richland Hills * TX 76010 (817) 255-3225 phone * john.mck...@healthmarkets.com * www.HealthMarkets.com Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. HealthMarkets(r) is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company(r), Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Frank Chu Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 10:53 AM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: GUIfication of tn3270 screens Hello All, I'm researching options in extending 3270 screens into a GUI on the PC. I'm know that 3270 screen scrapers are available but that's not exactly what we want. We would like to be able to have say 1 PC session with multiple windows/tabs opened, each showing something different and each being able to accept commands. The GUI screens can be in a browser or a stand alone application (for exampled, Eclipse). Any help would be appreciated, Frank -- Development Programmer Cole Software LLC www.colesoft.com Phone : 540.456.6164 Fax : 540.456.6658 Email : fr...@colesoft.com - - For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
If I understand the scenario, the OP has a 3270-based debugger product and wants to redeploy it as an Eclipse-based UI. You may want to consider implementing a command-line or packet based command interface to the product. Then, it would be simple from your Eclipse plugin to start and converse with the program over an SSH connection. Eclipse already has the SSH framework in place, and your only prereq on z/OS would be IBM Ported Tools OpenSSH (a no-charge product). Consider the extant z/OS dbx debugger - it is a z/OS Unix command with a line mode interface. I haven't tried it, but I think that there are already plugins for the Eclipse CDT (C/C++ IDE) that allow you to remotely debug your code over a ssh/dbx connection. Not sure if they work with z/OS dbx though. Kirk Wolf Dovetailed Technologies http://dovetail.com +1 636.300.0901 PS Tim kindly mentioned our Dataset Pipes component of the Co:Z Toolkit. This similarly uses ssh to securely connect data or processes to z/OS. There might be advantages to using this, but you may want to roll your ssh connection. -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
I looked at Host OnDemand and looked scalable also, with macros and Apis. I used it at a customer site and liked it Scott ford www.identityforge.com On Aug 13, 2012, at 9:37 AM, Kirk Wolf k...@dovetail.com wrote: If I understand the scenario, the OP has a 3270-based debugger product and wants to redeploy it as an Eclipse-based UI. You may want to consider implementing a command-line or packet based command interface to the product. Then, it would be simple from your Eclipse plugin to start and converse with the program over an SSH connection. Eclipse already has the SSH framework in place, and your only prereq on z/OS would be IBM Ported Tools OpenSSH (a no-charge product). Consider the extant z/OS dbx debugger - it is a z/OS Unix command with a line mode interface. I haven't tried it, but I think that there are already plugins for the Eclipse CDT (C/C++ IDE) that allow you to remotely debug your code over a ssh/dbx connection. Not sure if they work with z/OS dbx though. Kirk Wolf Dovetailed Technologies http://dovetail.com +1 636.300.0901 PS Tim kindly mentioned our Dataset Pipes component of the Co:Z Toolkit. This similarly uses ssh to securely connect data or processes to z/OS. There might be advantages to using this, but you may want to roll your ssh connection. -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
At 8/13/2012 09:33 AM, Ward, Mike S wrote:
Wouldn't something need to be programmed on the operating system
side to actually do the step tracing and debugging? The 3270 window
is just that, a window. It can't do the debugging itself.
Uh yeah... There already is. It's called z/XDC. You can read about
it at www.xdc.com. It (or its predecessors) has been in the market since 1980.
It's been using traditional 3270 interfaces all that time. We're now
looking at deciding how to extend that interface into the GUI world.
('Sabout time, doncha think?) But we want to do more than just
emulate 3270. Hence our query.
Dave Cole REPLY TO: dbc...@colesoft.com
ColeSoft Marketing WEB PAGE: http://www.colesoft.com
736 Fox Hollow RoadVOICE:540-456-8536
Afton, VA 22920FAX: 540-456-6658
--
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Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
Any pc/mainframe client/server model would work for this. If it were me, I'd just use TCP/IP and have the mainframe side startup first and listen on a port. The PC debugger gui then connects to that IP/port and send the info back and forth with socket programming. In article 502546aa.50...@colesoft.com you wrote: John, It's for an application that has already been written by us. The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator. There's not a lot of real estate in a 3270 screen and there are limitations on how we display things. This is becoming more of an issue as we move beyond just debugging HLASM programs. With regards to the multiple tabs/windows. The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. Frank On 8/10/2012 12:31 PM, McKown, John wrote: I'm still in a bit of a quandry as to what you want to accomplish. Is this for an application which you are writing, or one which is already written by someone else. If you are writing it, why use 3270? Why not just use HTTP or some other IP protocol? Or why not just open multiple 3270 emulators? For your GUIfied 3270 with multiple tabs, do you mean that you logon to some application once, and it can somehow direct a 3270 data stream to a different 3270 tab. The closest 3270 equivalent that I can think of is something that I know nothing about: 3270 hardware partitioning, which the 3290 had. I am not aware of any 3270 emulator which does 3290 partition emulation. What I am envisioning that you want is something like ISPF, which can have multiple windows each doing some application. But you would want each ISPF window in a separate 3270 tab; and each to be running their application concurrently (true multitasking), updating their individual 3270 window. I am also assuming that the application on the mainframe is yours, so that you could handle this. I'm having real problems thinging about the application. If I were writing it (and *had* to use 3270 protocol for some reason - why?), I would set it up to accept multiple 3270 connections and just run multiple 3270 emulators on the desktop. If it is a case of requiring a logon, then allow multiple logons. If necessary, the application could be written to have a user controller so that a single task could coordinate all the subtasks (one per 3270 connection) for a given user. I think more information is necessary because 3270 applications are not really designed to be multi window at the 3270 hardware level. -- John McKown Systems Engineer IV IT Administrative Services Group HealthMarkets(r) 9151 Boulevard 26 * N. Richland Hills * TX 76010 (817) 255-3225 phone * john.mck...@healthmarkets.com * www.HealthMarkets.com Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. HealthMarkets(r) is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company(r), Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Frank Chu Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 10:53 AM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: GUIfication of tn3270 screens Hello All, I'm researching options in extending 3270 screens into a GUI on the PC. I'm know that 3270 screen scrapers are available but that's not exactly what we want. We would like to be able to have say 1 PC session with multiple windows/tabs opened, each showing something different and each being able to accept commands. The GUI screens can be in a browser or a stand alone application (for exampled, Eclipse). Any help would be appreciated, Frank -- Development Programmer Cole Software LLC www.colesoft.com Phone : 540.456.6164 Fax : 540.456.6658 Email : fr...@colesoft.com -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
I'm still in a bit of a quandry as to what you want to accomplish. Is this for an application which you are writing, or one which is already written by someone else. If you are writing it, why use 3270? Why not just use HTTP or some other IP protocol? Or why not just open multiple 3270 emulators? For your GUIfied 3270 with multiple tabs, do you mean that you logon to some application once, and it can somehow direct a 3270 data stream to a different 3270 tab. The closest 3270 equivalent that I can think of is something that I know nothing about: 3270 hardware partitioning, which the 3290 had. I am not aware of any 3270 emulator which does 3290 partition emulation. What I am envisioning that you want is something like ISPF, which can have multiple windows each doing some application. But you would want each ISPF window in a separate 3270 tab; and each to be running their application concurrently (true multitasking), updating their individual 3270 window. I am also assuming that the application on the mainframe is yours, so that you could handle this. I'm having real problems thinging about the application. If I were writing it (and *had* to use 3270 protocol for some reason - why?), I would set it up to accept multiple 3270 connections and just run multiple 3270 emulators on the desktop. If it is a case of requiring a logon, then allow multiple logons. If necessary, the application could be written to have a user controller so that a single task could coordinate all the subtasks (one per 3270 connection) for a given user. I think more information is necessary because 3270 applications are not really designed to be multi window at the 3270 hardware level. -- John McKown Systems Engineer IV IT Administrative Services Group HealthMarkets(r) 9151 Boulevard 26 * N. Richland Hills * TX 76010 (817) 255-3225 phone * john.mck...@healthmarkets.com * www.HealthMarkets.com Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. HealthMarkets(r) is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company(r), Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Frank Chu Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 10:53 AM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: GUIfication of tn3270 screens Hello All, I'm researching options in extending 3270 screens into a GUI on the PC. I'm know that 3270 screen scrapers are available but that's not exactly what we want. We would like to be able to have say 1 PC session with multiple windows/tabs opened, each showing something different and each being able to accept commands. The GUI screens can be in a browser or a stand alone application (for exampled, Eclipse). Any help would be appreciated, Frank -- Development Programmer Cole Software LLC www.colesoft.com Phone : 540.456.6164 Fax : 540.456.6658 Email : fr...@colesoft.com -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
Hello All, I'm researching options in extending 3270 screens into a GUI on the PC. I'm know that 3270 screen scrapers are available but that's not exactly what we want. We would like to be able to have say 1 PC session with multiple windows/tabs opened, each showing something different and each being able to accept commands. The GUI screens can be in a browser or a stand alone application (for exampled, Eclipse). Any help would be appreciated, Frank Frank, Check out IBM's Host-On-Demand (HOD) terminal emulator. It's a 3270 terminal emulator (similar to IBM's PCOMM) that is written in Java, so is very portable. It supports exactly the tab-based emulator sessions that you are looking for. Like PCOMM, it has an API that can be used to access the screen contents. To install HOD, you access a URL in a browser, and it downloads the various JAR files and related packages from the z/OS web server. Thereafter HOD is invoked as standalone application. Spending time money to generate something similar would seem to me to be a waste of resources. Having host sessions on a tab is cute, and I do use that feature at work at times. More often, I tend to use only one or two tabs, and within each access multiple sessions via IBM's CL/SUPERSESSION. Al -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
John, It's for an application that has already been written by us. The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator. There's not a lot of real estate in a 3270 screen and there are limitations on how we display things. This is becoming more of an issue as we move beyond just debugging HLASM programs. With regards to the multiple tabs/windows. The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. Frank On 8/10/2012 12:31 PM, McKown, John wrote: I'm still in a bit of a quandry as to what you want to accomplish. Is this for an application which you are writing, or one which is already written by someone else. If you are writing it, why use 3270? Why not just use HTTP or some other IP protocol? Or why not just open multiple 3270 emulators? For your GUIfied 3270 with multiple tabs, do you mean that you logon to some application once, and it can somehow direct a 3270 data stream to a different 3270 tab. The closest 3270 equivalent that I can think of is something that I know nothing about: 3270 hardware partitioning, which the 3290 had. I am not aware of any 3270 emulator which does 3290 partition emulation. What I am envisioning that you want is something like ISPF, which can have multiple windows each doing some application. But you would want each ISPF window in a separate 3270 tab; and each to be running their application concurrently (true multitasking), updating their individual 3270 window. I am also assuming that the application on the mainframe is yours, so that you could handle this. I'm having real problems thinging about the application. If I were writing it (and *had* to use 3270 protocol for some reason - why?), I would set it up to accept multiple 3270 connections and just run multiple 3270 emulators on the desktop. If it is a case of requiring a logon, then allow multiple logons. If necessary, the application could be written to have a user controller so that a single task could coordinate all the subtasks (one per 3270 connection) for a given user. I think more information is necessary because 3270 applications are not really designed to be multi window at the 3270 hardware level. -- John McKown Systems Engineer IV IT Administrative Services Group HealthMarkets(r) 9151 Boulevard 26 * N. Richland Hills * TX 76010 (817) 255-3225 phone * john.mck...@healthmarkets.com * www.HealthMarkets.com Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. HealthMarkets(r) is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company(r), Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Frank Chu Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 10:53 AM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: GUIfication of tn3270 screens Hello All, I'm researching options in extending 3270 screens into a GUI on the PC. I'm know that 3270 screen scrapers are available but that's not exactly what we want. We would like to be able to have say 1 PC session with multiple windows/tabs opened, each showing something different and each being able to accept commands. The GUI screens can be in a browser or a stand alone application (for exampled, Eclipse). Any help would be appreciated, Frank -- Development Programmer Cole Software LLC www.colesoft.com Phone : 540.456.6164 Fax : 540.456.6658 Email : fr...@colesoft.com -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- Development Programmer Cole Software LLC www.colesoft.com Phone : 540.456.6164 Fax : 540.456.6658 Email : fr...@colesoft.com -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
On 8/10/2012 11:36 AM, Frank Chu wrote: John, It's for an application that has already been written by us. The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator. There's not a lot of real estate in a 3270 screen and there are limitations on how we display things. This is becoming more of an issue as we move beyond just debugging HLASM programs. With regards to the multiple tabs/windows. The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. Hmmm. Well, there's the ISPF Workstation Agent (WSA). Each new screen you start opens in a separate window. But the GUI is really ugly. Maybe you could work with IBM on fixing that (it is currently 'functionally stablizied' is my understanding, which is code for 'dead'; but maybe a real application would get IBM's attention; maybe not). Frank On 8/10/2012 12:31 PM, McKown, John wrote: I'm still in a bit of a quandry as to what you want to accomplish. Is this for an application which you are writing, or one which is already written by someone else. If you are writing it, why use 3270? Why not just use HTTP or some other IP protocol? Or why not just open multiple 3270 emulators? For your GUIfied 3270 with multiple tabs, do you mean that you logon to some application once, and it can somehow direct a 3270 data stream to a different 3270 tab. The closest 3270 equivalent that I can think of is something that I know nothing about: 3270 hardware partitioning, which the 3290 had. I am not aware of any 3270 emulator which does 3290 partition emulation. What I am envisioning that you want is something like ISPF, which can have multiple windows each doing some application. But you would want each ISPF window in a separate 3270 tab; and each to be running their application concurrently (true multitasking), updating their individual 3270 window. I am also assuming that the application on the mainframe is yours, so that you could handle this. I'm having real problems thinging about the application. If I were writing it (and *had* to use 3270 protocol for some reason - why?), I would set it up to accept multiple 3270 connections and just run multiple 3270 emulators on the desktop. If it is a case of requiring a logon, then allow multiple logons. If necessary, the application could be written to have a user controller so that a single task could coordinate all the subtasks (one per 3270 connection) for a given user. I think more information is necessary because 3270 applications are not really designed to be multi window at the 3270 hardware level. -- John McKown Systems Engineer IV IT Administrative Services Group HealthMarkets(r) 9151 Boulevard 26 * N. Richland Hills * TX 76010 (817) 255-3225 phone * john.mck...@healthmarkets.com * www.HealthMarkets.com Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. HealthMarkets(r) is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company(r), Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Frank Chu Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 10:53 AM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: GUIfication of tn3270 screens Hello All, I'm researching options in extending 3270 screens into a GUI on the PC. I'm know that 3270 screen scrapers are available but that's not exactly what we want. We would like to be able to have say 1 PC session with multiple windows/tabs opened, each showing something different and each being able to accept commands. The GUI screens can be in a browser or a stand alone application (for exampled, Eclipse). Any help would be appreciated, Frank -- Development Programmer Cole Software LLC www.colesoft.com Phone : 540.456.6164 Fax : 540.456.6658 Email : fr...@colesoft.com -- Kind regards, -Steve Comstock The Trainer's Friend, Inc. 303-355-2752 http://www.trainersfriend.com * To get a good Return on your Investment, first make an investment! + Training your people is an excellent investment * Try our tool for calculating your Return On Investment for training dollars at http://www.trainersfriend.com/ROI/roi.html -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
Yeah, that's another way of doing this.Basically what I'm looking for is some sort of framework on the Mainframe side that will accept input of data and how we want it displayed and then handles the transmission to some PC component (either to a browser or to a standalone app) and responding to requests from the PC. I'm just looking for options and what's available besides writing it ourselves. (I probably should not have mentioned 3270 screens, that kinda muddled things a bit here. My bad. ) Frank On 8/10/2012 1:46 PM, McKown, John wrote: Well, I have a fair idea what you want. But I cannot conceive of a way to do it using the 3270 data stream. Personally, I'd go with having some way to invoke the debugger via HTTP, using a web browser. Then use AJAX to implement the windowing within the browser itself with a Java app or Javascript. -- John McKown Systems Engineer IV IT Administrative Services Group HealthMarkets(r) 9151 Boulevard 26 * N. Richland Hills * TX 76010 (817) 255-3225 phone * john.mck...@healthmarkets.com * www.HealthMarkets.com Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. HealthMarkets(r) is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company(r), Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Frank Chu Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 12:37 PM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens John, It's for an application that has already been written by us. The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator. There's not a lot of real estate in a 3270 screen and there are limitations on how we display things. This is becoming more of an issue as we move beyond just debugging HLASM programs. With regards to the multiple tabs/windows. The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. Frank -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- Development Programmer Cole Software LLC www.colesoft.com Phone : 540.456.6164 Fax : 540.456.6658 Email : fr...@colesoft.com -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
You can do at least part of this with 3270. The Nomad2 product does part of it, but it drives the 3270 itself basically using alternate screen stuff. Only one piece of the screen is allowed to input and the rest can have scrolling data in multiple pieces that are driven by the Nomad2 application. However, that will not solve Frank's problem. I do not think that he wants to write the debugger product in Nomad. :-) Lloyd - Original Message From: McKown, John john.mck...@healthmarkets.com To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Sent: Fri, August 10, 2012 1:46:40 PM Subject: Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens Well, I have a fair idea what you want. But I cannot conceive of a way to do it using the 3270 data stream. Personally, I'd go with having some way to invoke the debugger via HTTP, using a web browser. Then use AJAX to implement the windowing within the browser itself with a Java app or Javascript. -- John McKown Systems Engineer IV IT Administrative Services Group HealthMarkets(r) 9151 Boulevard 26 * N. Richland Hills * TX 76010 (817) 255-3225 phone * john.mck...@healthmarkets.com * www.HealthMarkets.com Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. HealthMarkets(r) is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company(r), Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM -Original Message- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Frank Chu Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 12:37 PM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens John, It's for an application that has already been written by us. The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator. There's not a lot of real estate in a 3270 screen and there are limitations on how we display things. This is becoming more of an issue as we move beyond just debugging HLASM programs. With regards to the multiple tabs/windows. The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. Frank -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
Re: GUIfication of tn3270 screens
On Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:36:42 -0400, Frank Chu wrote: It's for an application that has already been written by us. The app is an assembler debugger and we want to add the ability/option of displaying it's contents on the PC with something other than in a 3270 emulator. There's not a lot of real estate in a 3270 screen and there are limitations on how we display things. This is becoming more of an issue as we move beyond just debugging HLASM programs. It sounds as if you need something beyond the capabilities of 3270 data streams. With regards to the multiple tabs/windows. The general idea behind the GUI on the PC would be that in a single debugging session, you can have a window open for displaying the code as you are stepping through it. Another window to display register contents, another one for variables, another one for displaying storage that your program will modify, another window for HELP, etc. If you have used Eclipse or Visual Studio, it's similar to something like that. How about X11, then? Servers available at attractive prices for almost any platform you care to name. HOD? On what platforms are people running HOD? If it's a Java applet, it should be quite portable. Is it a priced product? Is anyone out there attaching multiple 327xs to a TSO session? -- gil -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
