BlueZone and have three automation features, Scripts, Macros, and Visual Basic Scripting through the BlueZone Scripting Host.
Macros are recorded and played back using a Windows API function that records key strokes and mouse movements. The recording of keystrokes and mouse movements is system wide and not limited to BlueZone functions.
The advantages of macros are:
Macros can play keystrokes and mouse movements outside of the BlueZone interface allowing it to execute other programs through a mouse click or type in other applications.
They are easy for users to record and play back.
The disadvantages of macros are:
Typing within a host session is timing dependent and not keyboard lock state aware. Slow host response time could result in the macro running during a locked keyboard state.
Macros cannot be edited.
Scripts are recorded and played back using a proprietary method. Scripts only record keystrokes, but may be edited to change the playback. Scripts are edited using the BlueZone Script Editor (bzse.exe) application that is launched from the Script:Script Editor... menu item.
NOTE If the Script Editor... item is grayed on the menu, then it is not installed. Contact your system administrator to obtain Script Editor.
The advantages of Scripts are:
They may be edited.
They are keyboard lock state aware.
They support advanced functions like wait for, watch for, text input, etc.
They can execute other programs using the Run command.
The disadvantages of Scripts are:
They do not support variables.
They do not support file I/O.
The BlueZone® Scripting Host (BSH) is a language-independent host for ActiveX® scripting engines on 32-bit Windows platforms. This tool will allow you to run Visual Basic® Scripting Edition (VBScript) and JScript™ natively within the base operating system, either on Windows 9x or Windows NT®, and will act as a host for other ActiveX-supported scripting languages such as Perl, Rexx, and Python. In addition, BSH allows scripts to communicate with SEAGULL Corporation's BlueZone Display emulation software products. Using the scripting languages you already know, you can now write scripts to execute common tasks on IBM mainframe and midrange systems, automate user input, obtain data from host systems, initiate file transfers, and more.
BlueZone Scripting Host is a Component Object Model (COM) scripting host application that utilizes the capabilities of BlueZone's DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) and HLLAPI (High-Level Language API) interfaces. In addition to the scripting engine's properties and methods, BSH adds methods that enable scripts to interact with the BlueZone session and the IBM host system.
Advantages of BlueZone Scripting Host are:
Very powerful
Can control multiple host sessions simultaneously
Use of a standard scripting language.
Direct access to the read from and write to the host screen.
File I/O
Variables
COM compliance allows any other COM complaint component to be loaded by the script to extend its functionality.
Disadvantages of BlueZone Scripting Host are:
Complex, text based scripting language.
Not easily implemented by non-technical personnel.