You're absolutely correct, and that's the basic idea of what I originally
thought I was getting into (i.e., building a Web app to correspond to the
equivalent 5250 app). The fundamental problem is, we can't do it that way.
The app itself is some 12-13 years old, has thousands of users worldwide,
has hundreds of pages ("screens") and was developed and has been updated and
maintained using a modeling (CASE) tool that generates RPG from the model.
If we were to try to build a separate Web app which exactly duplicates the
functionality of the 5250 app, with all the country-specific customizations,
all the F-keys, line options keys, etc. which vary from screen to screen,
(so as to allow our users to continue using their training and experience
with the system) it would be, first of all, quite a great deal larger an
undertaking than using the WebOptions tool (developed by the manufacturer of
the CASE tool) to convert the existing app, despite WebOptions' current
limitations.Secondly, and even more importantly, like any global application of its kind, in use around the world in scores of languages and commercial environments, it is a living application undergoing modification and adaptation over time as customers' needs and local requirements change. Try to imagine developing a Web app localized for literally scores of languages and character sets (something the 400 and the CASE tool handle quite well at the moment), and then consider the issues of change management involved in trying to keep both apps in sync over time. It boggles the mind. Despite the current limitations of the WebOptions tool, it is gradually getting better (a lot of that is because of our feedback to the developers; we're probably the heaviest user of the tool among their customers). In fact, a new version goes GA sometime this month (unless they bump the schedule again--we just reported three more issues this afternoon ;-), and we've been using the beta of the current upgrade for the last four months, working around issues until they address them. The great advantage of using the tool, of course, is that change management with two parallel apps is not an issue. Once we get the Markup Language Skeletons built and gen all the corresponding HTML pages, the CASE tool can be used to change the model at will and our app still works. Oh, there may be an occasional instance where a field's screen offset (which is its identifier in the 400 app--e.g f_0345 is the field beginning at character 25 on the fifth row) changes and we have to go in and tweak a template or two, but nothing like the monumental issues involved in keeping two independent apps in sync. Cheers, Scott ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Caudill" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 1:59 PM Subject: [wdvltalk] RE: Abbreviation for "javascript" (??) > Scott, > > So... you're trying to automagically regurgitate an app coded in > <insert cryptic language here> as html? Ermm... Don't AS/400's use > the DB2 database format? Why not build a web app? I understand that > that is what "Web Options" is supposed to be doing for you, but it > seems you'd be better off if you just used the data and built a front > end to it... This doesn't stop people from using the green screen, or > the green screen from accessing data that is also updated by a web > application... > > just a thought, > Stephen > > On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 13:13:30 -0400, Scott Glasgow <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Again, we are dealing with an AS/400 app with approximately > > 1500 screens. > > ____ . The WDVL Discussion List from WDVL.COM . ____ > To Join wdvltalk, Send An Email To: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Send Your Posts To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To set a personal password send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the words: "set WDVLTALK pw=yourpassword" in the body of the email. > To change subscription settings to the wdvltalk digest version: > http://wdvl.internet.com/WDVL/Forum/#sub > > ________________ http://www.wdvl.com _______________________ > > You are currently subscribed to wdvltalk as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to %%email.unsub%% > > To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at: > Jupitermedia Corp. > Attn: Discussion List Management > 475 Park Avenue South > New York, NY 10016 > > Please include the email address which you have been contacted with. > ____ • The WDVL Discussion List from WDVL.COM • ____ To Join wdvltalk, Send An Email To: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Send Your Posts To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To set a personal password send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the words: "set WDVLTALK pw=yourpassword" in the body of the email. To change subscription settings to the wdvltalk digest version: http://wdvl.internet.com/WDVL/Forum/#sub ________________ http://www.wdvl.com _______________________ You are currently subscribed to wdvltalk as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at: Jupitermedia Corp. Attn: Discussion List Management 475 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016 Please include the email address which you have been contacted with.
