#IBM 3101 Emulation
6 messages in this thread
If I may leap into the discussion …
It has been a bit of a nuisance for me not being able to find a good IBM
3270 emulator for the Amiga. (Not enough of a nuisance that I've attempted to
write one myself, so I can't complain too loud.) I don't know if a 3101 is
similar. I haven't heard of any commercial programs that did 3270 emulation.
I've experimented with a few PD programs that did VT100 emulation, and none of
them have been acceptable for various reasons, usually having to do with not
emulating the keyboard at all well. (It's tough to use a full screen editor
without cursor control keys, for example.)
I have a wide selection of IBM PC programs at my disposal that will do an
excellent job, but alas none of them performs in an even marginal fashion under
Transformer.
Does anyone know of a program that will do satisfactory 3270 emulation? I.e.
support PF keys, PA keys, field keys, cursor movement, etc.? For info, the
system I would be using is an IBM 3090 on VTAM; I would dial into a dumb async
modem, but SIM3278 is available on the system and supports about 50 different
terminals/protocols. My only real need is to be able to edit programs with
XEDIT.
Thanks,
…Mark…
The IBM 3101 is an ascii terminal (similar to the VT100), with it's own set of
escape sequences for screen control and special key handling. I don't know of
any Amiga software that provides 3101 emulation.
I have successfully used HandShake to dial into a number of different protocol
converters, using VT100 emulation. Had full use of the PF-keys and PA-keys and
all 3270-like terminal features. The problem is that each protocol converter
uses different key sequences for emulating the various 3270 keys, and you
really need to know which key sequences you have to send. I don't know
anything about SIM3278, but would assume that it provides a similar type of
function via software as provided by the microcode / roms in the protocol
converters. Check with your systems programmers for what you need to know to
access the network from a VT100 terminal, and use Handshake on your Amiga for
the VT100 emulation. It should work ok.
Hope this helps…Bob
Bob:
Thanks for the reply.
Alas, if there are systems programmers in my company who are more
sophisticated than I am as a knowledgeable user, they have been kept well
hidden. I'm pretty much on my own.
There may well be a number of terminal types that would perform adequately
and are supported by SIM3278. Unfortunately I don't know what they are. I'm at
the point where if it isn't true 3270 it probably isn't worth the hassles I
will go through just to find out it won't work.
But then again … what is handshake?
Regards,
…Mark…
Handshake is a very good VT100 terminal emulation program (shareware). It's
not great as a general purpose term program (IMHO), but for those times when
you need real VT100 capabilities, I have found it quite good. It should be in
the DL 4 area here (but I'm not sure of the file name, since CIS's file name
restrictions cause some strange file-name abbreviations).
As far as getting some information about SIM3278, I would imagine that the
systems programmer who is/was responsible for installing the package should
have some documentation that contains the information you need. Or am I being
overly optimistic again? <grin>
Good Luck….Bob
Bob:
Optimistic, I think <grin>. I'll look for Handshake. Thanks.
…Mark…
Mark,
Probably the easiest way to get fullscreen support while using an Amiga
connected to your host is to pick up a good VT100 emulation package (I use
Diga! myself) and dial into SIM3278. When SIM3278 prompts you for terminal id
enter VT100 (by the way a response of ? will show you all supported terminal
types). After you receive your host's LOGON screen, type #HELP to get a list
of which VT100 keys correspond to which 3270 keys – after that just LOGON and
work as you would on a 3270. Simware supplies user documentation with their
package so you might want to get a copy of it from your computer librarian to
make life easier. If you need anymore help just leave me a msg and I'll get
back to you.
Steve
P.S. If you want to try something interesting on your 3270 try typing DIAL
SIM3278 instead of LOGON – you'll be connected to the multiple session manager
(type #GOTO to see all sessions) which allows up to 12 logons from the same
3270 at the same time (different userids of course).