Craig asks:

> What is everyone doing for the VIEW screens.
>
>  I like the Kobol, Eloquence idea, but the VIEW screens remain an issue.

One solution is (or one that shortly will be) available from Frank Smith of
Alden Research, Inc. He's using the forms mode that's available in the newest
version of QCTerm (Version 2.0).

Although I've talked about the forms mode in some detail several years ago,
prior to the death of the HP3000, I haven't mentioned it much publicly since,
although we have continued to work on it. I believe that it is now quite
complete.

The newest version of QCTerm is Version 2.0, but it's not available yet for
public downloading. We've given this version out so far only to a few HP3000
developers, Frank Smith being one of them. This is the version that contains
what we now call QCForms, and it's this version that Frank has built his VIEW
converter process around.

Frank and I have spoken about whether he will release his code as a product
or as a service. It is my impression that Frank has chosen to convert existing
VIEW screens as a service. That actually makes good sense. For a process that
will only have a transient existence, it's easier to perform these kinds of
tasks as a service rather than go to the effort to build a product that is
"commercially hardened."

Frank has a web page up showing the results of at least one screen that he's
converted, but I unfortunately cannot remember the address of the site where
Frank showed it to me. However, it's only a screenshot. It will be possible to
convert it quite easily into a live form that you can play with.

QCForms will be included in every version of QCTerm from this point forward,
but the forms will only interact with the host if you have a licensed version.

With the help of several people on this list, most notably Frank Smith, John
Burke, and Tom Brandt, QCForms has been redesigned -- almost from scratch --
several times now. The newest version is very easy for a developer to code
(nothing like the complexity associated with web-based forms), extremely quick to
react (interactions with forms even on the other side of the world seem as if
they're local to your PC), and the design has been made completely platform
and language agnostic so that your input screen designs will be very easy to
migrate, no matter what operating system you choose or what your favorite
programming language is.

If you're interested in looking at QCForms, we would be pleased to send you a
copy. There is no charge to developers. Moreover, support is infinite. You
can't bother us too much and you're welcome to call every ten minutes. Rather
than ask you for money, our revenue stream will begin once you deploy your
applications to your customers. Although the use of QCTerm is free (and always will
be), we will charge prices ranging from $30 to $50 per PC on which QCForms is
licensed, depending on the quantity ordered. Licensing is accomplished using
a "meal ticket" plan. Your customer purchases a certain number of licenses in
advance using a credit card, PO or check. These licenses are then consumed,
one PC at a time, at the customer's location. Licensing is performed
automatically by email, with each newly licensed PC subracting one license from an IMAGE
database in which customer's licenses are registered, until the count is
exhausted.

Wirt Atmar

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