5250 to GUI ?
Pedro
transform the green screens of some AS/400 applications to
a GUI, to windows or java clients.
Thank you
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Pedro
JWalk, SEAGULL's GUI/400, and LANSA's Newlook
Darryl Johns
I'm familiar with all of thee products with the exception of LANSA's
NewLook. So my only comment about LANSA is that I really like this
company and the web application development products they have.
My review of the others is as follows:
Jacada - This and J Walk are the high-end products; both generate Java
bytecode. They will convert you 5250 screens to a GUI and have an SDK
to allow you to add function to that interface. Aspect I like is their
product to intercept 5250 data stream so that your existing
applications may behave as if they are interfaced to displays but are
interacting with your code instead.
Seagull GUI/400 - This is a static screen scrapper application. We
used the product to crete the Graphical Access emulator that was
packaged in Client Access for Windows 95/NT. The product can take your
existing DDS and convert to GUI. The conversion can be done one at a
time or in batch. You can then annotate using their SDK. The output is
an executable that is run on a Windows 3.x/9x/NT machine. Two issues I
encountered: 1) if you have many screens and they are volatile, ie.
you change them frequently, then you'll need to regenerate the
executable or create anew one and 2) distribution of this code, as
with all windows code is a hassle.
Seagull J Walk - the other high end, high quality product like Jacada.
This also generates Java bytecode and has an excellent SDK. This
product also supports SSL, and the SSL conversion can be done totally
on the AS/400 or on an intermediate NT box. Supposedly they use a
proprietary protocol. This product directly competes with Jacada.
IBM Host on Demand - This is a Java emulator product with additional
functions beyond GUI/400. The product contains emulators for 5250,
3270, and VT100. It also has print emulation AND file transfer based
upon JDBC. You can load the product on each desktop (that supports a
JVM) or have it loaded "on demand" from your web server (i.e AS/400 or
other we server). The product also supports SSL on the AS/400 or
encrypted via another machine. There is an SDK for development and a
new GUI builder component similar in focus to GUI/400. I've personally
found this one of the easiest products to install and get going. But I
haven't played with the SDK as of yet. This is also the least
expensive product on the list. Downside of Host on Demand: it sits is
a very crowded field with products like Jadvantage from BOS.
Your choice of products depends upon what you are trying to
accomplish. If you are looking for a java emulator than Host on Demand
is my choice. If you are seeking strong development product to
modernize your applications then J Walk or Jacada are good selections.
The only product I have reservations about is GUI/400 and that's
mainly due to the distribution issues.
That's my $ .02 on the subject.
Regards,
Darryl Johns
IBM MidRange Specialist and Practice Leader
djo...@us.ibm.com
(opinions expressed are mine, not necessarily those of IBM)