Re: Can you tell if you are running 5250 from a CL program? -- MIDRANGE-L

Joe

I've written a handler for DISK device - if a developer who uses our product were to use the handler, as well, he/she will know they are using OA. That would probably apply to someone who writes their own handler, too.

Now for the GUI handlers from ASNA, lookSoftware, and Profound Logic, they have ways to take an existing program/display file and convert it. I don't know the details in any of these cases. But there will be an RPG program with source code that will now have the handler keyword - developers will know.

That is different from knowing this at run-time. I guess I'm not sure why I would want to know, so I will need someone like Tom to tell me that. I'm happy to learn, especially as I'm very interested in this technology and think it has much possible benefit for the community - once IBM fully gets its ducks in a row as to licensing and all - fortunately there now is a 70-day try/buy which will let some company give it a go without having to purchase it first.

As to having slightly different programming - again, the point is NOT to have to have different programming. I ask you to actually write a handler, to see just what is really involved. Reading the docs isn't enough - seriously - especially with a WORKSTN handler - I know I don't want to play in that world - you might do better, since you worked with this kind of thing already with your own stuff.

Also, the developer of a handler should provide what the limitations are. My handler does not do SETGT, mostly because our product is a forward-only SQL kind of thing. This won't stop anyone from doing the same thing that SETGT/READPE do now - there are workarounds. Again, I am not sure you have done enough with OA to know how it is architected. It really does take a while - at least, it has for my feeble brain to dig past what is in the documentation - or NOT to go beyond it, since it is not necessary or desirable.

Some work is going on to allow for modifications and extensions of the behavior of the 5250 data stream, in an open source manner - and this would be used by a handler - one vendor does something like this in a proprietary way, adding HTML to existing resources. This is transparent to the developer, now - again, this is GUI stuff - it's different from the DB stuff I've written.

Ah, but it gets late - will be hearing a presentation from an IBMer on the subject tomorrow - should be interesting!

Regards
Vern

On 9/19/2011 6:26 PM, Joe Pluta wrote:

No, your logic doesn't follow. Just because OA is intended to allow you
to use an external handler doesn't mean you're not supposed to KNOW
there's an external handler. Quite the opposite, I'd say, in that if
the replacement vehicle (spreadsheet, web service, whatever) wasn't 100%
compatible with the original, and it only affected a small percentage of
programs you'd want a way to know how to do some slightly different
programming.

That way, the OA would do the yeoman's portion of the work for those
programs where the fit was perfect, without making it impossible to
handle the few cases where it wasn't. Best of both worlds.

I opt for more knowledge rather than less. I can always ignore it if I
choose to. :)

Joe

Joe

I don't know that I can quite go along with your assertion, that it is
necessary to know whether your native IO is being "handled". It kind of
goes against the whole idea of Open Access: RPG - to have a transparent
means to work with non-tradtitional data sources and hardware. The
handlers are called by the normal RPG runtime, and one major point is,
you don't have to change anything, other than a keyword, in order for
your code to work with something like a browser or an Excel workbook.

I do agree, Tom should go to ASNA to resolve this. I know that an issue
of not having a device associated with a lookSoftware browser rendering
of an app on i was resolved quickly by them when a mutual customer
needed the change. These are all companies that will work with
customers, so far as I can tell.

This list is maybe the last place to ask vendor-specific questions,
especially at the beginning of the use of this new technology. Not
enough of us are using these things yet, for there to be a community
base of knowledge.

Vern

On 9/17/2011 9:09 AM, Joe Pluta wrote:

Sorry to hear that, Tom. Every company that provides an OA handler
should provide an API to identify whether or not you're running under
OA. It's just common sense (and common courtesy). An API like the one
I outlined in the earlier post is very easy to implement. Maybe you
could ask ASNA nicely to implement it? :)

Joe

I do not have control over the OA hander.

It appears there is no easy way to do this from the posts and research done.

Tom Deskevich