BlueZone recorded scripts

BlueZone recorded scripts can be recorded in either BlueZone proprietary format, BlueZone Basic, VBScript, or JavaScript.

BlueZone proprietary scripts are targeted at users with a basic understanding of scripting and logic but without skill sets required to write and edit BlueZone Basic scripts, VBScripts or JavaScripts.

BlueZone text-based scripts are targeted at users who wish to leverage their proficiency with either BlueZone Basic, VBScript or JavaScript and want to take advantage of being able to write and edit scripts in a scripting language that they already know.

The type of script desired is selected at the time when the script is created by selecting the desired file extension.

Table 1: BlueZone recorded script file extensions
File extension	Script type
.BZS	BlueZone Proprietary Script
.VBS	VBScript
.JS	JavaScript
.BBS	BlueZone Basic Script

The pros and cons of BlueZone proprietary formatted compared to BlueZone Basic text formatted scripts are discussed at the end of each topic below.

BlueZone proprietary script format

BlueZone Proprietary Scripts are recorded and played back using a proprietary method. Scripts are typically created by recording keystrokes and can be used as is, or can be edited later to change the desired playback. Scripts are edited using the BlueZone Script Editor (bzse.exe) application which is launched from the BlueZone menu bar by clicking Script → Edit and selecting the desired script. Selecting a script that ends in .bzs will result in the launching of the BlueZone Script Editor application with the requested script displayed in the editing window.

Refer to BlueZone Script Editor for an overview of the BlueZone Script Editor.

BlueZone Script Editor is a GUI tool allowing users to drag Script Events into the Script flow, change the order of events, and delete previously recorded events. BlueZone Scripts support a proprietary mechanism called Wait_Ready that ensures the host is ready to accept input, even when using TN3270 or TN3270E .

Advantages

Easy to record.
Easy to edit with BlueZone Script Editor.
Keyboard lock state aware.
Support for advanced functions like wait for, watch for, text input, and so on.
Can execute other programs using the Run command.
Can run BlueZone Menu commands, ex; Copy, Paste, Print Screen.
Can accept variables passed from a BlueZone Web to Host Object Tag. ex: Login ID and Password generated dynamically by the web application and used to sign the user into the mainframe.

Disadvantages

Do not support file I/O.
No external application integration.

BlueZone text-based scripts

BlueZone Text Based Scripts can be written or recorded in either VBScript or JavaScript. Scripts are typically created by recording keystrokes, but can be edited later to change the desired playback. Scripts are edited using the BlueZone Script Host and Debugger (bsh.exe) application which is launched from the BlueZone menu bar by clicking Script → Edit and selecting the desired script. Selecting a script that ends in either .vbs or .js script will result in the launching of the BlueZone Script Host and Debugger application with the requested script displayed in the editing region.

BlueZone Script Host and Debugger is discussed in more detail in the BlueZone Script Host section below.

Advantages

Easy to record or can be written from scratch.
Can be written in VBScript or JavaScript
Easy to edit with BlueZone Script Host and Debugger.
Support unique BlueZone methods which control the behavior of BlueZone.

Disadvantages

Require a working knowledge of VBScript or JavaScript.

Refer to BlueZone scripts for more information.