But an affordable alternative...






              Not a 908...  It's FASTRAN/PC


No, it's not a 908.  If you've followed the discussion on HP3000-L, you
know that the 908 is the designation for the hypothetical very small HP3000 
earnestly desired by developers.  However, Fastran/PC is certainly the 
Next Best Thing for Transact application developers.


Fastran/PC is actually a whole development environment for your PC.
All you need is a 386 or better PC with 4 Mb of memory, a hard disc, 
MS-DOS 5.0 or better, Windows 3.1 or better, and WRQ Reflections.
To compile and test code, you need MPE, so MPE emulation of some basic
CI commands is included (stuff like FILE, LISTEQ, FCOPY, ABORT, etc.).
Click on the icon and there's the colon prompt!


Fastran/PC is not a complete standalone HP3000 clone.  The Dictionary,
data bases, and VPlus forms files must be created on a real HP3000.
Then they are compressed, downloaded to the PC, and uncompressed.
The source code can be copied from the HP3000, if it is existing code
you are modifying, or written from scratch on the PC.  The source code
is compiled on the PC, using the downloaded Dictionary.  The compiled
code is executed on the PC, using downloaded data bases and forms files,
and any MPE files either downloaded or created on the PC.  Thus software
can be tested without impacting anything on the HP3000.  In fact, any
standalone software, such as data collection, can be run in a production
mode on the PC.


Inexplicably, Fastran/PC has not been a market success, so there are no
funds available for further development.  KSAM has not been added yet, or
the ability to call subroutines written in other languages.  The Transact
version is current up to about 1993, so those neat string-handling 
functions aren't there.  Life is not perfect.


Do you have a Year 2000 project?  Code which is not Year 2000 compliant 
may well have been written before some of the most recent Transact 
enhancements were made, so their absence in Fastran/PC may not be an issue.
The most important one, the DATE/C option on the LIST command, is there.
Download and modify your code on the PC, and test there without impacting 
the HP3000.  Changing the system date on the PC is MUCH less traumatic
than changing it on the HP3000 (unless, of course, you have a dedicated
crash-and-burn HP3000 available!).


I've been using Fastran/PC for several years, and find it quite useful.
I've had clients on both sides of the country for whom I write or modify
Transact programs.  The two methods of source code transfer are via 
dial-in connections and floppy discs sent through the mail.  Dial-in 
connections can become quite expensive in telephone charges.  Telephone
lines in some areas ar subject to noise problems.


My solution has been to create a compressed Dictionary and test-size 
Image data base(s) as well as any needed VPlus forms files, and download
them to a floppy disc.  The floppy is carried back from a site visit or 
sent through the mail, then loaded on to my PC and the files uncompressed.
Then I can download source code to be modified or write new code as needed.
I use Microsoft Edit; it's simple and does what I need.  Then I compile 
the code using the client's Dictionary and test the programs using the
client's data bases, forms files, and MPE files, all on my own PC, with no
worry about any adverse impact on my client's computer.  When finished,
the new source code is uploaded or sent on a floppy, then compiled on the
HP3000.


Fastran/PC is a product of Performance Software Group.
Contact is Nick Demos  [log in to unmask]
Tel. (410) 788-6777 Fax (410) 788-4476


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