Auto-Refreshing Web App

[J.Pluta]

If you really want to write a web application using RPG as a back end, I highly suggest my new book WDSC: Step by Step. It walks you through literally every step required to create a simple application with a JSP front end and an RPG back end. Once that's done, it's pretty simple to put an HTML tag in the header of your JSP that will force the browser to reload the page every "N" seconds. Joe Eclipse: Step by Step and WDSC: Step by Step are both available at the MC Store: http://www.mc-store.com/joepluta.html.

[Guest.Visitor]

Joe, Thanks for the book reference. I believe that I may have a problem using your reference book (& correct me I'm wrong), my machine is currently on V4R2 ! I have plans to migrate to V5rx in the next 6 months or so but as of this moment, I am stuck with 4.2. is there something that I could use for v4R2 ? Also, it's not necessarily mandatory that there be an RPG back-end to this application...I'm not averse to writing the whole thing in Java or whatever, if that's the only way around the WDSC component. Thanks, Martin

[J.Pluta]

I really don't know how far back-release WDSC will work. The problem is that at V4R2, not much of anything works, and what does work doesn't work very well. I was under the impression that you were going to use WebSphere (that's the only way you would be able to use Java). If you're not going to use WebSphere, then your two options are Net.Data and RPG-CGI. Again, I have no idea how well either option works on V4R2. A V4R2 machine is unlikely to be a good candidate for any sort of web application, so if web applications are a priority, maybe you can use that as a bit of leverage to get the upgrade moving as quickly as possible. Joe

[Guest.Visitor]

Joe, Thanks for the info. The upgrade will be several months at best & I'd like to get started on something in the meantime. Would RPG-CGI or net.data work on V5Rx ? Also, do you know of any books on RPG-CGI/Net.Data ? Thanks a bunch. Martin

[bugoff]

You might want to try out PHP to front-end that application of yours. I won't go into the Java vs. PHP debate, but when you're looking at options to write your app in...well, PHP should be on the list in my humble opinion.

[Guest.Visitor]

Thanks, bugoff !! What is PHP, exactly ?

[R.Daugherty]

Is PHP available on the AS/400 now? Also, the poster was running 4.2. rd

[R.Daugherty]

PHP is a major web development scripting language that runs as a plugin to Apache for example. Who knows what IBM allows to happen on the AS/400 in competition with their proprietary Websphere, however. rd

[Guest.Visitor]

Assuming PHP works on v4.2, where can I get it & how much do it cost ?

[R.Daugherty]

It's free, open source. Apache was available on AS/400 but PHP plugin for it was not. Don't know if that has changed recently. rd

[Guest.Visitor]

PHP currently cannot run directly on the iSeries. It has to run in the PASE or a Linux partition. Using the PASE might work for V4R5 but has not been tested in the redbook describing this. They recommend V5R1 or newer. See Appendix A of this redbook: http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/RedbookAbstracts/SG246716.html

[Guest.Visitor]

Here's hoping somebody can point me in the right direction. I am hoping to right a browser (IE 5.x+) application that will display some data from our iSeries & autorefresh at some predefined interval. I am hoping to use existing RPG programs to perform the business logic to select the data & then hand that off to the "web app". If it'd be better to write something from scratch in Java or .NET or whatever, I'm open to learning something new, certainly. TIA, Martin