Q & A Repository

Subject: Re: Remote execution of a Wang program

Posted By: Thomas Junker
Date: 7/14/02 at 11:16 p.m.

In Response To: MOVING DATA INTO AND OUT OF THE VS (Thomas Junker)

Subject: Re: Remote execution of a Wang program

Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 02:31:22 -0500

On 12 Oct 97 at 7:59, xxxx wrote:

> Hello,

Hello Frank,

> At [...] we manufacture [...] and [...]. We are required
> to produce Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and our
> in-house, Wang COBOL programs work well.
>
> I would like to know if it is possible for an application (C,
> Oracle, or shell script) on the HP 9000 to remotely execute a Wang
> program after passing it parameters like product code and
> destination printer. Our goal is to MSDS-enable new applications
> running on the HP 9000 instead of rewriting the MSDS program on the
> HP 9000.

> For example, a user on the HP 9000 might need to print an MSDS
> for Product ABC at a particular printer destination. We would need
> to pass several pieces of information to the Wang VS then trigger
> execution of the program.

> Is this approach feasible and relatively inexpensive?

Yes. There are at least three approaches you can take:

1. Put a web werver on the VS (I am building one for Wang right now) and access files and/or PACE databases by writing something on the HP to open a socket connection to the VS and request file data. What web servers do, after all, is serve up the contents of files you ask for by path and filename. Queries of indexed files and databases can be accomplished by writing simple CGI programs that the server can call to access specific data in specific ways.

2. Write your own straightforward sockets code on both the VS and the HP to do whatever you like over a TCP/IP connection. The sky is the limit for functionality there.

3. Wait until I address RPC (Remote Procedure Call) on the VS, which will provide for exactly what you asked above.

4. Wait until I address ODBC early next year.

Regards,

Thomas Junker

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