SEE For
a more detailed description of BlueZone Scripting, see Chapter
10 - BlueZone Scripting in the BlueZone
Administrator's Guide.In addition to the native BlueZone Scripting and BlueZone Macros capabilities that are covered in the Using the Display Interface section of this Help system, BlueZone has several even more powerful scripting tools.
These tools can be used with both BlueZone and BlueZone Web to Host, and can be used for automating repetitive tasks, streamlining the user interface, and communicating with external applications. Each tool has its strengths and weaknesses and should be used appropriately. The following describes each tool and how to determine its appropriate use.
SEE For
a more detailed description of BlueZone Scripting, see Chapter
10 - BlueZone Scripting in the BlueZone
Administrator's Guide.
BlueZone Script Host 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 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP, and will act as a host for other ActiveX-supported scripting languages such as Perl, Rexx, and Python. In addition, BlueZone Script Host allows scripts to communicate with BlueZone Display emulation software products. Using the scripting languages you already know, you can write scripts to execute common tasks on a variety of host systems, automate user input, obtain data from host systems, initiate file transfers, and more.
Using BlueZone Script Host & Debugger, BlueZone can record and playback scripts using VBScript or Java Script. Once recorded, these scripts may be played back as-is, or edited using the Script Host & Debugger. The record and playback feature makes using VBScript and JavaScript available to the non-technical user.
BlueZone Script Host & Debugger is also a general purpose VBScript and JScript debugger that supports break points, stepping, and color-coding of scripts providing a powerful interface for script development.
Very powerful.
Can control multiple host sessions simultaneously.
Use of industry standard scripting languages.
Direct access to read from and write to the host screen.
File I/O.
Variable Support.
COM compliance allows any other COM complaint component to be loaded by the script to extend its functionality.
Powerful editing and debugging features.
Ability to view the value of script variables while executing/debugging the script.
Dialog support to create Windows dialogs for user interaction.
Complex, text based scripting language.
SEE Help
for BlueZone Scripting Host is
located in BlueZone Script Host &
Debugger Help.
Click here to Launch BlueZone Script Host & Debugger Help from the Seagull Software Web Site.
The BlueZone Host Automation Object is a Component Object Model (COM) software component for 32-bit Windows platforms. BlueZone Host Automation Object can be utilized by any COM container application like Visual Basic, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Word to enable communications between PCs running BlueZone Display emulation software products and IBM mainframe and iSeries systems. With BlueZone Host Automation Object, applications can execute common tasks on various host systems, automate user input, obtain data from host systems, initiate file transfers, and more.
The BlueZone Host Automation Object is a language-independent software component. Programs written in Visual Basic®, Pascal, C, C++, etc. can invoke the BlueZone Host Automation Object to communicate with the host system. In addition, the BlueZone Host Automation Object can be incorporated into many popular word processing, database and spreadsheet macros, and run by any ActiveX scripting engine, including the BlueZone Scripting Host.
The BlueZone Host Automation Object utilizes capabilities of BlueZone's File Mapping (Shared Memory), DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) and HLLAPI (High-Level Language API) interfaces. In addition to the container’s properties and methods, the BlueZone Host Automation Object adds objects, properties and methods that enable interaction with the BlueZone session and the host system.
Easier to implement than HLLAPI or DDE and provides greater functionality.
Allows easy integration with any COM compliant application.
Language Independent.
BlueZone Host Automation Object is a development tool that requires familiarity with programming to implement.
SEE Help
for the BlueZone Host Automation Object
is located in BlueZone Script Host &
Debugger Help.
Click here to Launch BlueZone Script Host & Debugger Help from the Seagull Software Web Site.
BlueZone is fully 32-bit WHLLAPI and EHLLAPI 1.1 compatible allowing easy migration to BlueZone of many custom or third-party applications used with other emulators. BlueZone HLLAPI is compatible with third party HLLAPI applications including (but not limited to) those from Shared Medical (Siemens), Neasi-Webber, Real Vision, and Decision Technology.
To support older HLLAPI applications on 32-bit systems, BlueZone also supports DOS HLLAPI and 16-bit HLLAPI conversations with 32-bit BlueZone.
HLLAPI is a standard API supported by many software vendors.
The disadvantages of using HLLAPI are:
The specification may be interpreted differently from vendor to vendor causing some incompatibilities.
HLLAPI requires a programmer to write the application.
The interface must be constantly polled by the HLLAPI application to get the status of the host screen.
For new development, the BlueZone Host Automation Object is much easier to implement in a wider range of development tools.
SEE Please
refer to API Configuration
(HLLAPI) located in the Using
the Display Interface section for help with HLLAPI set up and configuration.
NOTE If
you intend on writing a program to interface with BlueZone via the HLLAPI
interface, the following documents are provided on the BlueZone
CD-ROM or the BlueZone Image.
BZWHLL.H
BZWHLL_I.C
WOSA HLLAPI 1.1.DOC
These documents are located in the DOCS\WHLLAPI folder on the BlueZone CD-ROM or BlueZone Image file.
BlueZone is a DDE server and uses DDE to communicate with the HLLAPI interface. BlueZone also uses Network DDE to allow communication across a network between a DDE application running on one system and BlueZone running on another. DDE calls supported in BlueZone are detailed in the BZDDE.H file supplied on the BlueZone CD-ROM or BlueZone Image file.
NOTE The
BZDDE.H file is located in the DOCS
folder on the BlueZone CD-ROM
or BlueZone Image file.
Using OLE/DDE to Link BlueZone to other Applications