ClearPath OS 2200 UTS applications can be modernized with ClearPath ePortal Developer if the applications exhibit the following characteristics:
The UTS60 protocol is supported by the application. Internally, ePortal utilizes an emulator that adheres to the UTS60 protocol and requires the OS 2200 application to support that protocol.
The OS 2200 UTS application uses Forms Mode. This is when the application screens are designed using field control characters (FCCs). The FCCs define the format of data on the screen, establish the start and end of each field, and also assign the desired characteristics to each field on the UTS application screens.
The OS 2200 UTS application screens can be uniquely identified. ePortal Developer allows you to establish unique page identification regions that distinguish one screen in the application from another. This provides a way to create a modern view of each screen in your chosen Presentation technology.
Note: Some UTS applications do not use Forms Mode. In this case, the responses from the application do not format the entire screen using Field Control Characters. Interactions with such applications are typically command based, where the data is transmitted from the cursor location to the home position, or to a start of entry (SOE) character. These application types are not ideal candidates for modernization. They are currently restricted to dynamic-mode operation and they incur a response delay based on the transaction time-out setting.
Some UTS applications require function keys, for example, F1 through F22, to operate properly. To handle this situation, the client message and server message contain the special field _KeySequence. You use _KeySequence to send keystrokes, such as function keys, to the application. Refer to the topics Controlling the Look and Feel in a UTS Data Source Project and Programming Keystrokes for T27 and UTS Applications for more information.
If you want to quickly provide a Web presentation for a UTS application without implementing any significant changes to the interface appearance, you do not need to capture the screens of your application. Instead, ePortal can dynamically generate Web pages that look like your existing UTS application. Refer to Creating a Web Presentation for a UTS Application with Minimal Work for more information.
However, if you want the flexibility to modify the interface, provide a Web service presentation, and provide a mobile presentation, then you must capture the screens of your UTS application as follows:
Plan the identification strategy.
Determine if the screens of the UTS application have areas that are changed automatically by the application and cannot be controlled by the user, and determine if this information should appear in the new presentation. Such areas might be an area where the date and time are displayed or areas where responses to a request are displayed, such as inventory information. Such areas are marked as dynamic regions in ClearPath ePortal Developer.
Ensure that the System Interface for Legacy Application Systems (SILAS), using Communications Platform (CPComm), is running on the OS 2200 server that supports terminal sessions.
Gather the connection information as described in the topic UTS Connection Properties Dialog.
Planning the Data Identification Strategy
At run time, the ePortal software must identify the output data that it receives from the OS 2200 application. There are two data identification strategies:
Defining a unique identifier for the server messages
Using orchestration to identify the server message that you expect to receive
Defining a Unique Identifier
To define a unique identifier for a server message, select a region of the screen that contains text that is unique to this server message. If necessary, you can select multiple regions that create a unique identifier for the server message, when combined. These are known as the page identification regions.
Normally, the first few lines of a screen contain the screen title and some unique information about the screen. This is generally a good area to select and establish a page identification region.
Refer to Procedure 3 - Adding Runtime Information to the Server Message in Creating an OS 2200 UTS Data Source Project.
Using Orchestration
If a screen does not include a unique page identification region, then you can elect not to provide one when you capture the screen. If you do not provide a page identification region, you must use orchestration to identify which server message you expect ePortal to receive.
Refer to Using Orchestration to Identify an Output Server Message for more information.