Legacy Integration - ActiveX /.NET 3270 and 5250 Middleware for Enterprise Integration

PASSPORT Host Integration Objects Data Sheet

Host Integration Solution for 3270 and 5250 ActiveX and .NET Application Integration

PASSPORT Host Integration Objects (HIO) offers a programmatic method of integrating 3270 and 5250 host applications with other ActiveX or .NET applications. The product includes the host integration object components, programming documentation, sample test programs and sample source code that can be used from a Microsoft Windows server or client platform.

Product Highlights

• Non-intrusive host integration with existing 3270 and 5250 applications
• Direct access to host screen buffers (screen scraping)
• Object-oriented API based on Internet Engineering Task Force OHIO draft
• Does not require terminal emulation software
• Proven TN3270 and TN5250 communications module
• SSL Security
• Designed for a Microsoft Windows environment
• Offset addressing for host screen presentation space
• Simplified model for presentation space
• Automatic generation of presentation space field list and attributes
• Keyword-based function text strings
• Event notification for host communication status and screen updates
• International Support
• Diagnostic tracing capabilities

System Requirements

• Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 Server
• Minimum 128 MB memory
• TCP/IP connection to TN3270 or TN5250 server

Supported Programming Languages

Any Microsoft programming language that supports the ActiveX COM or .NET interface, including:

• Microsoft's Visual Studio (VB, VC++, C# .NET, ASP .NET, etc.)

Terminals Emulated

• IBM® 3278/79 Model 2 (24 x 80 full screen display)
• IBM® 3278/79 Model 3 (32 x 80 full screen display)
• IBM® 3278/79 Model 4 (43 x 80 full screen display)
• IBM® 3278/79 Model 5 (27 x 132 full screen display)
• Dynamic 3270 Model 2-5 Screen Display
• IBM® 5250 Model 2 (24 x 80 full screen display)
• IBM® 5250 Model 5 (27 x 132 full screen display)

Performs the Following Host Functions

• Open a host session
• Hide host screens from the user
• Read and write information to the host presentation space
• Retrieve text strings from host input fields
• Retrieve text strings from screen
• Determine new string values
• Get associated attributes of text strings and fields
• Copy information into host input fields
• Simulate use of function keys with host application
• Read the operator information area (OIA) for status updates
• Receive notification of events (receipt of new screen, etc.)
• Close the host session

What is OHIO?

The Open Host Interface Objects (OHIO) addresses the need for a standardized advanced programming interface to the host data. OHIO does not modify the TN3270/TN5250 protocol or data stream, but instead provides a common access method to that data once it arrives at the client (or server). OHIO uses an object oriented approach to divide the data into logical objects, and provides methods on those objects to allow standard access to the data. You do not have to be concerned with details of structure packing and parameter command codes, but can focus on the application functions.

The OHIO API was designed as a replacement for the older IBM HLLAPI (High Level Language Application Programming Interface). The reasons include:

• OHIO was designed as an object oriented API, and thus has all the well known benefits of the object oriented programming paradigm.
• Interacting with the host generally requires less code using the OHIO API than doing the same function through the HLLAPI interface.
• OHIO objects concentrate related functions into specific classes, an easier to understand model than the one HLLAPI entry point.
• No need to have a terminal emulation session running in order to run an OHIO application.

OHIO Features

• No architectural limit to the number of sessions
• Event notification for host communications status and screen updates
• Comprehensive error trapping
• Generation of error message text
• Offset addressing for host presentation space
• Simplified model for presentation space
• Automatic generation of presentation space field list and attributes
• Keyword-based function key strings

Sessions: Contains a collection of Session objects.

Session: A host session containing one Screen.

Screen: Screen encapsulates the host presentation space containing both OIA and Fields.

OIA: The operator information area of a host session.

Fields: Contains a collection of Field objects.

Field: A field in the presentation space. A field is the fundamental element of a virtual screen.

Terminal Control: Runs in conjunction with a session object. Provides a user interface for that session object.

Note: "1" based counting is used for indexing (the first item in a collection is item 1, not item 0) and "0" based counting is used for positioning (the first position on the screen is position 0, not position 1).

Sessions Object

A collection object consisting of sessions.

Session Object

A host session. The session object contains a single screen object. The session object contains methods to connect and disconnect the host session, as well as to enable and disable diagnostic tracing. The session object is the only object that contains events.

Screen Object

Provides access to the contents of the host screen's presentation space.

OIA Object

The operator information area of a host session. This area is used to provide status information regarding the state of the host session and location of the cursor. An OIA object can be obtained using the OIA property on an instance of the Screen object.

Fields Object

Contains a collection of the fields in the virtual screen.

Field Object

A Field is the fundamental element of a virtual screen. A field includes both data and attributes describing the field. The Field class encapsulates a virtual screen field and provides methods for accessing and manipulating field attributes and data. Field objects can be accessed only through the Fields object.

Terminal Control

The PASSPORT terminal control provides terminal emulation screen and keyboard support. This object runs in conjunction with a session object. The session object maintains the host screen buffer and performs all communication with the host system. The terminal control object provides a user interface for that session object. The PASSPORT terminal control is used for developing client based host integration applications where a terminal emulator needs to be imbedded into another application.

Print Screen

• Print Screen
• Host screens can be printed to local or LAN attached printers
• Host screens can be printed to a disk file
• Page margins can be set
• Optional header line can be configured to print at top of each page
• Page printed after a specific number of print screens

Clipboard

• Cut, Copy, Copy Append, Copy Graph, Paste, Paste Continue
• Paragraph format copy mode for word processing
• Tabular format copy mode for spreadsheets
• Block, stream, field and spreadsheet modes for pasting text
• Text selection viewed as dotted rectangle or reverse video
• Cut text can be replaced with either nulls or spaces

Cursor

• Underline or block cursor
• Cursor blinking on or off
• Cursor ruler guide can be a full cross hair, vertical only or horizontal only
• Cursor toggle during Insert mode

Fonts and Screen Sizes

• PASSPORT terminal and thin bit-map raster fonts and PASSPORT true type fonts provided
• Any Windows fixed pitch raster or true type font can be selected
• Font size automatically adjusts to Window size
• Fixed font size can be selected with horizontal and vertical scrolling
• APL character set for display
• European Currency symbol support
• Screen sizes for TN3270 (24x80, 32x80, 43x80, 27x132)
• Screen sizes for TN5250 (24x80, 27x132)

Hotspots

• Ability to double-click specific text on the screen to perform a function
• Hotspot customization
• Assignment of any emulator function to any hotspot text
• Multiple hotspot schemes can be created and saved
• Default hotspots provided for PF keys and other common host keys
• Hotspots can be viewed as reverse video button or invisible

Keyboard Features

• Interactive keyboard customization
• Multiple keyboard maps can be created and saved
• Assignment of any emulator function
• Type ahead
• Select areas of text using keyboard shifted arrow keys
• Ability to view list of all host keys with current key mapping

Mouse

• Mouse button customization
• Left, right, single and double click mouse actions can be configured
• Any host key or special mouse function can be assigned
• Pop-up floating menu to access common menu commands

International Support (Available in International Version)

• International host code pages
• European currency symbol support
• Multi-national keyboard support
• International Dead Key