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  • AS400 as web client

    I have a need to allow an AS400 green screen application communicate with a web server (intranet) using XML. A number of transaction formats will be passed between the systems. Current solution is to use sockets (HTTP maybe HTTP/S). Is this the best solution? At +100 transactions/minute will this perform (we are a large V4R3 configuration with a mix of interactive/batch)? I am concerned at the opening/closing nature of sockets.

  • #2
    AS400 as web client

    Hi David, I would say there are many better solutions than this, dependent, as usual, on a number of factors. To comment on sockets: Sockets don't have to open/close per transaction, either using a custom protocol, HTTP keep-alive or HTTP 1.1 persistent connections. Of course, since most servers are multi-threaded, this is probably a moot point as your question is posed. But why go through the grief of writing a custom HTTP client with XML parsing on top of everything else? I notice you say "current solution," does that mean you have this in production? It seems to me that there is probably too much involved here to be amenable to a forum type discussion. What I really wonder about is the person running the green screen who can keep up with 100+ transactions a minute. ;-) Best, Joe Sam Joe Sam Shirah Autumn Software Consulting/Development/Outsourcing Please Note New Email: jshirah@attglobal.net Visit our User Group at: http://www.jax400.com

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    • #3
      AS400 as web client

      The easiest way to go is either to conigure the HTTP server to use the Workstation Gateway server, (This is free with every AS/400), or to get IBM's Host on Demand product, which is essentially a Telnet session through the browser. There are many other alternatives. Dave

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      • #4
        AS400 as web client

        I'm a newbie to forums - so probably have not supplied the right detail for my query. The AS400 program will call to a unix webserver passing and receiving parameters, (we use XML to as the chosen parameter script). eg a credit application form is completed in green screen and sent to a credit management web to verify customer suitability which is returned to AS400 green screen. The AS400 user will know nothing of this connection. You will notice that this solution has been designed from the Unix end and I am simply left with making the AS400 fit (naturally the solution must be cheap, fast and dirty!) David

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        • #5
          AS400 as web client

          Hi David, > >naturally the solution must be cheap, fast and dirty! > Well, my experience with this sort of statement is that your company will simply pay more later instead of paying now ( after enduring grief. ) That doesn't mean you have to have a cadillac, but I assume this impacts your company's business and they need better criteria than this. I don't see that the additional information changes my original response much, except that you would apparently be dealing with only one type of request/response. Again, I doubt that you'll get the amount of detail and info in a forum like this to succeed. But the good news is that I can guarantee that my advice is worth every penney you paid! Personally, I would go for an intermediate java solution. There are all kinds of prewritten XML parsers that will run on the 400. Also, java handles multiple threads easily, so the HTTP stuff could also go through that portion. Handling a single request/response is not that big a deal; I and many others have written java code to handle the basics of that sort of thing. I'm sure you're thinking, what has this to do with green screens? Well, I'd have the green screen ( assuming you're stuck with that ) do the data entry and pass the info asynscronously to the java intermediary, which would request and receive the server data, then send it back, via any number of means, to the green screen program, which would be watching for data. You may hope that "The AS400 user will know nothing of this connection," but given the vagaries of network programming, the odds are that they will definitely be aware. Good luck! I'd be interested in how the chosen "cheap, fast and dirty" solution turns out. Best, Joe Sam Joe Sam Shirah Autumn Software Consulting/Development/Outsourcing Please Note New Email: jshirah@attglobal.net Visit our User Group at: http://www.jax400.com

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          • #6
            AS400 as web client

            Anything designed on the UNIX end will contain at least 12 processing steps which are unnecessary on an AS/400. Some questions arise: You say that this is a 5250 application (I consider the term "green" screen to be pejorative). Are you using DB2/400 within the application, or is this screen just for input, with no data access or syntax checking? In either event, The AS/400 has to know what is going on. Is the AS/400 connected to the same TCP/IP LAN as the UNIX box? If so, you would use the RUNRMTCMD command to set off the UNIX procedure, and send the parameters. The manner in which this is done depends on your answer to the above. Dave

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