RE: Web to AS/400 Database connectivity -- MIDRANGE-L

Comments in line

Art Tostaine, Jr.
CCA, Inc.
Jackson, NJ 08527


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
[mailto:owner-midrange-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of MacWheel99@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 3:53 PM
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject: Re: Web to AS/400 Database connectivity


>From Al Macintyre

>  From:    Art@link400.com (Art Tostaine, Jr.)
>
>  I have a new customer who we are developing an AS/400 application for.
> He has grand plans for a web site that will interact with the data on the
400.
> He is not automatically considering serving the web pages from the 400.
> He has considered buying another AS/400 to serve the pages using
> WebSphere Commerce Suite, but that is not definite.

Something to consider here is that different models of AS/400 are optimized
for different types of operations.  If your customer has an extensive ERP or
other business operations package, then how that package is designed will
dictate the model of AS/400 that is best for the performance & security &
user friendliness & so forth for that package.  Many packages have not kept
up with security needs, so they in esssence force the AS/400 security to be
at such a low level that it would be criminally negligent to connect it
directly to the internet.

Planned for.  If the customer chooses to run his web serving from an AS/400, 
that's the way we
recommended he do it.

>This sounds like you are not an experienced developer for this area.  Are you
>planning on writing custom code or connecting a bunch of established
>packages?  Have you discussed with the customer the trade-offs between custom
>code & standard packages?

I am not an experienced web developer.  I have not been asked to be one.  I am 
writing the business
apps for this customer that they will use in house.  Some of these functions 
will need to be
web-enabled.  That's why they are looking at other consulting firms.

>There are plenty of developers who are experienced in both the 400 & web
>applications.  Why are you & your customer hiring those that are not
>specialists in the work to be done?

I'm not involved in the web end.  He may be trying to hire those people.

>Is your customer not already in business with a system to process orders?

Yes, but they are scrapping the existing system and moving to my package.

>You need to analyse what software system your customer is now using to
>process orders & see what hooks it has that make web connections practical,

I am ready to develop those hooks.  I've told web guys I want them to give me a 
flat file that I
would trigger and return back to them data.  Some couldn't understand what I 
was talking about.  I
told one about data queues.  Again quiet on the phone.  I could even accept EDI 
transactions.


>A big problem for you is that there is no such thing as a "standard" since
>the computer scene changes so rapidly.  What you should be looking at is
>stuff that IBM  is committed to support for some time to come & stuff that
>works well with Lansa.  Have you taken your customer to the Lansa web site

Our company is a Lansa Solutions provider.  I am very familiar with Lansa.  
Lansa has a bid into
this company as well.  I could do the simple web stuff for them in Lansa, but 
they are considering
developing a large portal site for a specific industry, much like Yahoo! is for 
the masses.  I do
not have the desire nor the experience to develop such a large web site.

Thanks for your input.

Art Tostaine, Jr.
CCA, Inc.

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