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Windows GUI for AS/400 ?

R

Red

Diamond Member
AT work we use an AS/400 for order entry and other functions. How difficult would it be to make a GUI program to enter info into the AS/400? A program with drop down boxes / check boxes, etc, and then that infomation is pasted into the AS/400 fields.
 
Originally posted by: Red
AT work we use an AS/400 for order entry and other functions. How difficult would it be to make a GUI program to enter info into the AS/400? A program with drop down boxes / check boxes, etc, and then that infomation is pasted into the AS/400 fields.
Click to expand...

This is just a theory, but you can link to the tables via ODBC through MS Access, and create forms. If the As/400 is accessed through a WAN, that would possibly be quite slow though compared to opening a session to the AS/400.
 
Klin, I'm not really a programmer, but I am familiar with MS Access and I can kind of see your idea. We actually call the program "Session A", B, C, etc. What information would I need to know to start making forms in Access that submit the data via ODBC? AS/400 table names?
 
Originally posted by: Red
Klin, I'm not really a programmer, but I am familiar with MS Access and I can kind of see your idea. We actually call the program "Session A", B, C, etc. What information would I need to know to start making forms in Access that submit the data via ODBC? AS/400 table names?
Click to expand...

Library name, table names, which fields in each table are the unique ID (could be more than one field). Of course you'd have to have IBM Client Access, which has an odbc driver built in, installed on the PC first.
 
You will need the table names and the ODBC connection that you are using. From taht point, Access should allow you to determine the field types and you can create a form to do what Klin suggested.

There used to be emulators that run on Windows that will interface with AS400.

Or, if you have problems doing it with Access, get a programmer to slap something together in VB or VC using the ODBC connections. As long as the format of the data tables does no change, you should have no problem. with either of the 3 methods suggested.
 
Yeah, all the PCs in the office have Client Access. At least, when I go into Control Panel on my workstation computer here, there is a Client Access icon. =) So as a person with limited-to-no computer programming skills (besides HTML), if I have MS Access, and all the library name/table names/etc, would I be able to build a basic GUI for AS/400? (BTW, I really appreciate your insight on this. I'm just a call center agent here in our small company, but they would be really impressed if I was able to cough something up like this!)
 
Try to slap something together using the MS Access wizards. Just see if you can get to the DB first.
Then try to build a simple query.

Regretfully, I do not have an AS400 available to support you.
 
Well that's ok. Thanks for your help too, Eagle. I'll play around with the wizard once I get table names and all of that.

Basic questions that will probably answer themselves once I play with MS Access:

1. How will know if MS Access gets to the DB?

2. What's an example of a simple query?
 
The connection wizard should allow you to select the ODBC type connection.

From there, the connection driver should display to you what options are available.

Selection of the proper option should then step you through the actual setting up of the linkage.

Once you have the linkage, Access should be albe to display the tables form you to look at.

Depending on which version of Access you are using, you can then tell it to create a new query.
Most versions will then allow you to determine the tools you wish to use in making the query.

A simple query would be to just retrieve all records from a table. You can choose which fields you want.

The output to the screen should look similar to what you see when you attempt to view the table itself.
Only difference would be the fields tht you selected to view and the order of selection.
 
Awesome, Eagle, that really layed it out for me, I appreciate that. My IT guy here at work said that the company is actually in the process of converting from Client Access to a web based solution because Client Access is designed for 95/NT and they are upgrading the PCs to Win2k. Would this still work without IBM Client Access?
 
W2K is just a newer version of NT. (NT5.0)

Best thing that you can do is to run the testing on an existing PC and then transfer the application to a W2K that is connected.

If it works, great.

If not, then the Web system will have to be implimented. Your solution may allow a relaxation of the transition time frame.
 
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