Web Enablement


Web Enablement - Pure HTML Emulation

ApplinX HTML emulation is an out-of-the-box thin client HTML emulation, available in the .NET and J2EE environments. ApplinX is able to turn an existing terminal emulation instantly into a web browser terminal emulation, providing host key and print support and maintaining existing color schemes.

List of Subjects Relevant to Pure HTML Emulation

Note:
If not indicated otherwise, the sections that are referred to below can be found in the Web Application Development documentation.

Introducing Pure HTML Emulation Development

ApplinX HTML emulation is an out-of-the box thin-client HTML emulation, available in the .NET and J2EE environments. The screenshot below displays a host screen in ApplinX HTML emulation in the browser.

ApplinX is able to turn an existing terminal emulation instantly into a web browser terminal emulation, providing host key and print support and maintaining existing color schemes. This does not require any training for end users and can easily replace locally installed terminal emulation software with the thin-client web browser.

Refer to Installing ApplinX Demo Applications in the Getting Started documentation. Also refer to the self-training material included in ApplinX installation.

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The HTML Emulation Toolbar

The toolbar contains the following drop-down boxes and icons:

Box/Icon Function Description

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Set font size Enables users to increase/decrease the on-screen font size to their convenience.

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Choose color set Enables users to toggle between the defined style sheets.

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Change screen direction Changes the screen direction: right-to-left or left-to-right. Only displayed in RTL applications.

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Refresh screen Reloads the screen.

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Display macro dialog box Records/plays macros.

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Copy to clipboard enables users to copy text from the host screen by highlighting a rectangle on the screen and copying its content.

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Open FTP dialog box Used for transferring files to and from the host.

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Display printlet The printlet acts as the host printer and allows the host to send print jobs directly to the user's printer.

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Print snapshot Displays the host screen in a pop-up browser window, for printing purposes.

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Logoff Logs off from the host application and closes the host session.

Web Enablement - Instant Web Application

The instant web application allows modernization of core system applications into modern looking web applications with (little or) no coding. Simple web configurations can improve the general "Look & Feel" of the application: designing a template with top and side images and a "company logo" (Inventory System), modifying the style sheet using different fonts, colors, etc. End users get the information quicker and with improved visibility.

List of Subjects Relevant to the Instant Web Application

Note:
If not indicated otherwise, the sections that are referred to below can be found in the Web Application Development documentation.

Introducing Instant Web Application Development

The instant web application allows modernization of core system applications into modern looking web applications with (little or) no coding. Simple web configurations can improve the general "Look & Feel" of the application: designing a template with top and side images and a "company logo" (Inventory System), modifying the style sheet using different fonts, colors, etc. End users get the information quicker and with improved visibility. Also new users can be trained more easily (web-like usage).

Using Screen Groups, the same design can be globally applied to multiple screens. Using Transformations, host patterns can be converted to web components. Such transformations include: formatting the screen's header area, formatting the message line, formatting titles and borders, converting input fields into GUI elements (combo boxes, radio buttons, check boxes), adding a calendar component to date input fields, formatting the host function keys into hyperlinks, buttons or images and removing unnecessary characters.

Refer to Installing ApplinX Demo Applications in the Getting Started documentation. Also refer to the self-training material included in ApplinX installation.

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Instant Driven Development

In this development mode, most host screens remain as Instant HTML pages, meaning they are generated on the fly by ApplinX Framework, without generating specific web pages (JSP or ASPX) for individual screens. Thus, the development process is quicker and simpler, and maintenance efforts are significantly reduced.

Customization of the instant pages is done using Instant Transformations and using Screen Groups. Often, there is not even a need to identify individual screens. Server transformations defined using the Transformation wizard in ApplinX Designer will be displayed in the instant pages. The page used in the kind of development is GXInstantLogicContext (JSP) /GXInstantLogicWebForm (.NET), which contains Instant Transformations registration.

Instant Web Application Development Methodology

Following are some theoretical guidelines regarding development of ApplinX instant web applications, using Instant Transformations and Screen Groups.

  • A Transformation (or Transform) is a code class (written in Java for the ApplinX Framework for JSP, and in C# or VB.NET for the ApplinX Framework for .NET), that is executed on all host screens or on a specific group of screens (i.e. an ApplinX Screen Group) and modifies the rendered instant HTML page for the current host screen it is executed on.

    Transformations can be used to:

    • Manipulate individual host fields (for example, display a title field in an underlined, blue font or display an image instead of a description field).

    • Manipulate entire screens (for example, convert menu screens to a list of hyperlinks).

    • Manipulate host characters (for example, remove all unnecessary dots (.) or dashes (-) from the screen).

  • Using transformations: Transformations should be used to manipulate all screens in the host application or groups of screens (using Screen Groups). To manipulate the contents of specific, individual screens, the recommended methodology is to identify the screen(s), generate a web page for it (JSP or ASPX) and modify the generated page contents as necessary. Using a transformation for an individual screen is more complicated and unnatural, and therefore not recommended.

  • Identifying screens: As a result, in order to use transformations it is not necessary to identify individual screens, but only screen groups (if needed), or not identify anything. This way, development effort is reduced and future maintenance becomes simpler.

  • Mapping Fields to Screen Groups: The recommended methodology is to map all host fields that are common to several screens to a screen group that will be associated (implicitly or explicitly) with these screens. For example, an error message and title can be mapped to a screen group that will apply to all screens (or to specific screens), and should not be mapped repeatedly to individual screens. (Note that it is possible to override the mapping definition of the Screen Group in individual screens in which the field appears in a different position). If such mapping is not possible, refer to the fields according to their position or a unique identifier (such as preceding text).

  • Manipulating fields: Once fields are mapped to a screen group, it is possible to write Transformations manipulating them.

  • Manipulating entire screens: Once screen groups have been defined for the relevant screens, it is possible to write a transformation that is executed for these screen groups. For example, in order to convert a menu screen into a list of hyperlinks, create a Screen Group that will implicitly apply to all menu screens in the host application, and then create a transformation that will be executed for the Menu screen group and will do the required conversion. Note that it is not recommended to create transformations for individual screens, but rather generate web pages for them.

  • Manipulate host characters: Manipulation of host characters usually applies to all screens in the host application, so the recommended methodology is to write a transformation that will manipulate the characters as desired and will be registered for all host screens. When not using the methodology above, it is also possible to create a screen group for the relevant screens and register the transformation only for the screen group.

  • Absolute HTML rendering: The instant methodology renders the HTML tags in absolute terms. Rendering the HTML tags in absolute terms prevents indentation problems when trying to add or change elements or style sheets such as GUI elements, host windows and different fonts. In this version, each tag is rendered with corresponding top/left attributes which places the tag in the browser, in an exact position. The main advantage of this approach is that changing/adding tags/style sheets does not affect the neighboring tags of the modified tag. In addition, rendering in absolute terms saves the need to render empty spaces and only the relevant fields with content are rendered and not the entire screen. This significantly improves bandwidth performance since the HTML is much smaller.

  • Instant rendering API: The instant component opens the instant solution as an API. It provides you the abilities to register as many transformations (which are standard code classes) as you require. These transformations can manipulate the HTML output by adding, removing, replacing and changing the screen tag model using a rich library of tags and an easy-to-use API.

Web Enablement - Composite Web Application

As the composite web application is based on the instant web application, before reading this section, read the previous chapter: Web Enablement - Instant Web Application.

List of Subjects Relevant to the Composite Web Application

Note:
If not indicated otherwise, the sections that are referred to below can be found in the Web Application Development documentation.

Introducing Composite Web Application Development

Using the composite web application it is possible to fully customize and extend your web applications using your Java or .NET development environment. The composite web application enables aggregating information from many core systems into one web page. It is possible to integrate legacy assets on various levels (screen, transaction, data), support various web environments making use of the ApplinX Base Objects (API) and customizing web frameworks.

The composite web application consists of generated web pages that are fully customizable. Upon sending an ApplinX server request such as a PF key, navigation path execution or application map navigation request, the web application attempts to load the page that has the same file name as the ApplinX session's current host screen. If none is found, the web application checks whether the current host screen belongs to a specific screen group and attempts to load a page that matches that screen group name. Finally, if no match is found, an instant page will be loaded with a representation of the current host screen, allowing users to continue working.

It is recommended to carefully read the previous section (Web Enablement - Instant Web Application) as the composite web application is based on the instant web application.

Refer to Installing ApplinX Demo Applications in the Getting Started documentation. Also refer to the self-training material included in ApplinX installation.

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