MCP ClearPath Data Source T27 applications can be modernized with ClearPath ePortal Developer only if the application has the following characteristics:
Uses forms mode.
Works with an input function that uses the transmit option "Transmit page in forms."
Note: Some T27 applications require special keys, such as the Specify key, 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 terminal control sequences or the Specify key, to the application. Refer to the topic Programming Keystrokes for T27 and UTS Applications for more information.
If you want to quickly provide a Web presentation for a T27 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 T27 application. Refer to Creating a Web Presentation for a T27 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 T27 application as follows:
Plan the identification strategy.
Determine if the screens of the MCP application have areas that are changed automatically by the MCP 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.
Determine if the MCP application uses the status line of the terminal for display of application data and if this information should be preserved in the new presentation.
Determine if T27 highlighting capabilities are used on the screens that are going to be captured, and determine which highlights are used.
Determine if the MCP application uses more than one page of the T27 terminal. If other pages are used, each page must be captured.
Ensure that the Custom Connect Facility is running on the MCP server.
Gather the connection information described in T27 Connection Properties Dialog.
Proceed to one of the following topics:
If you have an SDF Formlibrary, go to Using an SDF Formlibrary with ePortal.
Otherwise, go to Creating a T27 Data Source Project.
Planning the Data Identification Strategy
At run time, the ePortal software must identify the output data that it receives from the MCP 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 a T27 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.