Attention Joe Pluta - Java Question

[Guest.Visitor]

I have a company that wants to automate the way it handles transactions from an auction website. The company would prefer an AS/400 only solution. They were approached w/ solutions that run the gamut of using Domino to a manual VB thing. I was thinking that I could use the new java mail api to read from a pop server on the AS/400 where the mail could be sent/read from. The java app would also have access to DB2/400 so there would be know "uploading" involved. My question is , will this architecture work? I think the java mail api is part of J2EE and I don't know if it is supported on the AS/400...

[J.Pluta]

AFAIK, the JavaMail API is 100% Pure Java, so should run on any JDK at 1.2 or greater. The JavaBean Activation Framework (JAF), which is also required, should run as well. I see no problem there. To see a simple interface to a POP3 provider, go here: http://java.sun.com/products/javamail/POP3-README.txt Once you've got the message, it would be a piece of cake to use the data from the message to update a database, using either native I/O or JDBC. On the other hand, I am not an expert, and I'm just getting V4R4 running. I am going to put testing JavaMail pretty high on my priority list, though. If I find anything else out, I'll let you know. src="//www.zappie.net/java/_derived/index.htm_cmp_zero110_vbtn_p.gif" width="140" height="60" border="0" alt="Java400.net - Java/400 Freeware" align="middle"> Java400.Net - where the AS/400 speaks Java with an RPG accent Home of PBD2.0, the color=red>FREE Java/400 Client/Server color=blue>Revitalization Toolkit

[Guest.Visitor]

Here's a dumb one: AFAIK?

[Guest.Visitor]

You have to download the beta JT400.zip to get to 1.2, correct?

[nycsusan@hotmail.com]

AFAIK? Jeff, Usually it means "As Far As I Know".

[Guest.Visitor]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh Bach! only a M*A*S*H fan will get it.

[J.Pluta]

Okay, now you're getting into some heavy questions here... First, JT400 has nothing to do with the JDK. JT400 is a set of classes that provide utility functions (in this case, AS/400 access). In that aspect, they are the same as the JavaMail classes. Now, the JDK is a different story. The JDK includes the JVM and the core support classes. You can indeed run JDK1.2 on V4R4. You can also run JDK1.1.7. Supposedly you can run BOTH at the same time (although I'm still not sure exactly how). Okay, now that we have differentiated between JDK, JVM, JT400 and JavaMail, on to the fun stuff: JavaMail requires JDK1.2 (and JAF). So, you have to go to JDK1.2. If you go to JDK1.2, you should probably get the open-source version of JT400, because it's designed to work with JDK1.2. Does that help, or is it more confusing? src="//www.zappie.net/java/_derived/index.htm_cmp_zero110_vbtn_p.gif" width="140" height="60" border="0" alt="Java400.net - Java/400 Freeware" align="middle"> Java400.Net - where the AS/400 speaks Java with an RPG accent Home of PBD2.0, the color=red>FREE Java/400 Client/Server color=blue>Revitalization Toolkit

[Guest.Visitor]

That's what I meant - I need the beta Toolkit to conform to JDK 1.2. I might have a problem if I mix and match JDK's. For instance, swing was com.sun... now javax.swing...

[J.Pluta]

Yeah, that's true. But let's try to get a couple things straight. First, the open-source toolkit is NOT a "beta". It's usually ahead of the LP (Licensed Product) toolkit, but stuff that's in the open-source is going to make it into the main product. Second, yes, you have to have javax.swing in order to interface with JDK1.2, but in reality it's not all that important, because you only need the Swing stuff (javax.swing) for the visual access classes, and you won't be using those classes for what you're doing. Time to shove off here - I have a class to teach... I'll check in later. src="//www.zappie.net/java/_derived/index.htm_cmp_zero110_vbtn_p.gif" width="140" height="60" border="0" alt="Java400.net - Java/400 Freeware" align="middle"> Java400.Net - where the AS/400 speaks Java with an RPG accent Home of PBD2.0, the color=red>FREE Java/400 Client/Server color=blue>Revitalization Toolkit

[Guest.Visitor]

Jeff, I have used the Java classes to send and receive mail simple mail. It is pretty strait forward. Before starting I would look at the RFCs for SMTP and POP which you should be able to find by searching the web. They explain the protocols. Next I would use telnet and try accessing the SMTP and POP servers. This will help you to understand the process of sending and receiving mail. I have not had an opportunity to understand how MIME formatted mail works, which allows you to send formatted messages, images, etc. but what I have seen so far it appears to be a lot more complicated. David Morris