🚀 go-pugleaf

>From: d4dmitc@sr.pacbell.com (Dave Mitchell)
>Subject: Vis Basic to MVS DB2
>Date: Tue, 07 May 1996 20:41:34 GMT
>
>We are converting our existing COBOL/DB2/CICS apps to a Visual Basic
>front-end (running on Win/NT or Win 3.11) but the data will remain in
>DB2 on MVS.  Has anyone had experience with doing this - what will I
>need to get thru.  I have had suggestions of using a WIN NT server
>with SNA Server and either STARSQL or Wall Data's RUMBA and I have
>heard to use IBM's DDCS.  Any other suggestions?  We are very new at
>this and right at the beginning, so any suggestions, comments would be
>appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Dave

Dave, it depends a lot on the type of application you are creating.  If it is 
retrieval-intensive -- DSS or whatever -- then a DBMS gateway such as DDCS is 
the right choice.  If it is transaction-oriented, then I highly recommend 
IBM's CICS External Client Interface (ECI).

For transacations, ECI is easy and clean.  Works like a charm.

Your PC can send a message directly to a CICS/ESA COBOL program via SNA.  
(ECI also works with to CICS/AIX.)  The CICS COBOL program gets the message 
in the COMMAREA and replies the same way.  You can access data of any kind, 
and also reuse legacy code.

Only problem with the ECI is that it is C-oriented making it a little hard
to use from PB or VB.  For our Application Generator we wrote a DLL to make 
it easy (not a real big deal).

-- Gary

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary Long                                                glong@magna.com
Vice President, Product Development
Magna Software Corporation                           Phone: 703/222-3500
12450 Fair Lakes Circle                                Fax: 703/222-8433
Fairfax, Virginia 22033

Technical data on "MAGNA X" CS/TP Application Generator:  info@magna.com