-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at
classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces at
classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Jules Richardson
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 8:11 AM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Text-based UI...
Bryan Pope wrote:
heh heh - I like the way almost every single reply advocates
the use of a different development app/language. I bet the
poor original poster is totally confused (which serves them
right for not realising that text-based interfaces have their
place too :-)
I remember doing work to put Java / Web-based front ends onto
AS/400 stuff back in the mid-90s (at the customer's request,
I hasten to add - they wanted to "embrace the web", along
with any other number of nauseating marketing-driven things).
It was, by and large, utter hell. Interfacing between an OO
language in a graphical, web-oriented client environment and
the AS/400 way of doing things was "interesting" to say the
least. (not that I'm knocking either - but the two just
didn't mix well!)
From what I've read, the need for AS/400 systems to be visible via the web
hasn't gone unnoticed by IBM. OS/400 (as of at least V5R1) has a built in
web server (HTTP Server, but it's really just Apache) The great part of that
system is that you can use it alongside the text-based UI, and give the
customer side whichever interface they want.
Too bad it sounds like they just want to abandon their AS/400 setup, it
might be easier just to stick with it.