WebFacing technology provides the ability to convert IBM® i data description specification (DDS) display file source members into a Web-based user interface for existing 5250 programs.
The WebFacing technology is provided by installable HATS features. You can install the IBM WebFacing Tool for IBM i feature as part of the HATS installation process.
The IBM WebFacing Tool for IBM i feature of the HATS Toolkit provides the ability to convert IBM i data description specifications (DDS) and user interface manager (UIM) help panel source members into a Web-based user interface for existing 5250 programs.
For more information about installing the WebFacing features, see the section, Installing HATS Toolkit in HATS Getting Started. For more information about the WebFacing capabilities, see the Developing WebFacing Applications topic in the product help under the Developing HATS Applications topic. WebFacing information is also available in the HATS Knowledge Center at http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSXKAY_9.5.0.
HATS provides two methods for interacting with the WebFacing technology. One method allows a HATS Web application to use a connection to a WebFacing server instead of a Telnet 5250 server. The second method allows a HATS Web application and a WebFacing application to be linked together and interoperate as a single enterprise application that can use a single connection to a WebFacing server. Each method is described below.
HATS provides two connectivity options for connecting to 5250 host screen applications:
There is no difference in the data flow between HATS and a Telnet 5250 server or HATS and a WebFacing server. Both connections provide access to 5250 applications, but the connection to the WebFacing server does not require online transaction processing (OLTP) capacity (interactive CPW). This significantly reduces the overall cost of using HATS with 5250 applications by removing the interactive feature requirement associated with TN5250 session connectivity.
To enable a connection to a WebFacing server, select the 5250W connection type from the Type field in the New Project wizard, the New Connection wizard, or the Connection editor. The default port for the WebFacing server connection is 4004. See Basic for more information.
You can enable existing projects to take advantage of the WebFacing connectivity option by selecting 5250W from the Connection editor. The WebFacing server connection can serve as the default connection or as a background connection in the project.
Connection to the WebFacing server requires the server process to be running on the 5250 host system. To start the WebFacing server, enter the following command from the operating system command line: STRTCPSVR SERVER(*WEBFACING).
To stop the WebFacing server, enter the following command from the operating command line: ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*WEBFACING).
To ensure that the WebFacing server is running, enter the following command from the command line to list all WebFacing jobs: WRKACTJOB JOB(QQF*).
The WebFacing server job, QQFWFSVR, and the WebFacing virtual terminal server job, QQFVTSVR, should both be displayed. It is normal to see more than one QQFVTSVR job in the list of jobs.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is not supported for 5250W connections between HATS and the host application.
Pre-naming of workstation IDs is not supported for 5250W connections. A specific workstation ID cannot be specified before connection.
HATS interoperability with WebFacing applications provides the ability to perform data description specification (DDS) display file source member transformation, as well as 5250 data stream transformation, within the same Web application. This function is particularly useful for those who have built a DDS source-based transformation application, using the WebFacing tool, that need to interact with a host application that has been transformed using the HATS tool. This function is also useful for HATS users who want to take advantage of transformation, based on DDS display file source members, provided by the WebFacing tool.
Interoperability, in this context, means that a single HATS Web application interoperates with, or works along side, a single WebFacing application. The combined Web application has the capabilities of both tools, with some limitations, but the capabilities are cleanly separated within the Web application. To create a combined Web application, a single HATS Web project is linked with a single WebFacing project and packaged into a single enterprise application, or .ear file. This enterprise application contains the runtimes of both products, along with a common runtime component that is used to create and interact with a shared connection to the 5250 backend host.
For details about how to implement interoperating HATS and WebFacing applications, see the Create a Linked WebFacing and HATS Application tutorial at the IBM Host Access Transformation Services Education Assistant Web site at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/ieduasst/rtnv1r0/topic/com.ibm.iea.hats/plugin_coverpage.html. For more information and a demonstration of this function, see the IBM Enterprise Modernization Demos at http://rational.dfw.ibm.com/atdemo/atdemo_hats_wf_recorded.html.