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To access a mainframe application for an emulation session:

1. Open the Telnet Designer.

   The Telnet Designer window opens, as shown in the following image, with the Project tab active in the left pane.

   

2. At the bottom of the left pane, click the Sessions tab.

   A Sessions folder appears at the top of the left pane.

3. Click Tools from the menu bar and select Emulator.

   The following image shows the Sessions folder in the left pane and the Tools drop-down list.

   

   The Terminal Emulator dialog box opens, as shown in the following image. The Connection tab, where you provide information about connecting to the mainframe, is active.

   

4. From the Host drop-down list, select the mainframe you want to emulate.
5. From the Terminal drop-down list, select the terminal type (tn3270 or tn5250) for the emulation.
6. In the Port field, type the port number to access the host.
7. In the Mode field, click the RPC option button.
8. For more emulation options, click the Advanced tab.

   The Advanced tab of the Terminal Emulator opens, as shown in the following image.

   

   Note: The Extended Attributes option is not operational for the RPC mode.

9. Make a selection from the Language drop-down list, shown in the following image. The Language selection determines the national language character set that will be used in your emulation session.

   

10. If you want to use a specific terminal name (LU) or pool name (LU pool) with your mainframe connection, type this value in the LU Name field.

    

    This option allows the mainframe to dedicate specific connections and privileges to specific telnet ports.

11. To connect to the mainframe application and start the emulation session, click Run.

    A window of the VTAM session opens in the right pane and a folder that represents your session appears in the left pane. The following image shows an example of the VTAM window and a session folder named Server(RPC).

    

Each session folder contains sub-folders that will hold the information related to your emulation session. The following image shows the left pane of Telnet Designer with the Server (RPC) session folder and its sub-folders.

The session sub-folders are:

connection. Contains the mainframe application connection information, such as, host, port, type, and language.

parameters. Contains the input fields and data you designate for the transaction.

metadata. Contains the designated output expected from the transaction.

screens. Contains the information for the designated screens in the transaction.

As you build a transaction session, these subfolders become populated with the transaction information.

You can now begin your emulation session, and capture the necessary screens and input and output data, as explained in the following sections.

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To identify a screen to the transaction module:

1. Determine the field(s) on the 3270/5250 screen that uniquely identify it from the other application screens.

   Note: You do not need to identify a blank screen.

   If there are several fields, choose one to identify the screen. The following image shows an example of a field named RUNNING selected in the lower left of the screen.

   

2. Right-click the identifying field and select Add Screen Identifier.

   The Screen Identifier dialog box opens with prompts for identifying the field, as shown in the following image.

   

   The Screen Name and the Field Number fields are automatically populated based on your selection.

   1. In the Field Text field, type the text that uniquely identifies this screen.
   2. Select an option for Match Operation, which is the relationship of the text you typed in the Field Text field to the complete text of the field in the application. The options are:

      Full. The Field Text entry is the complete text of the screen field.

      EndsWith. The screen field text ends with the Field Text entry.

      StartsWith. The screen field text begins with the Field Text entry.

      Contains. The screen field text contains the Field Text entry.

      For example, if the field value is OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS, and you enter OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS, the field text you entered is the full text of the field on the screen. Therefore, select the Full Match Operation option.

      Alternatively, if you entered Instructions for that field, select the EndsWith or Contains Match Operation option.

      Note: When a match is made, the adapter proceeds with the keystroke pressed, such as Enter or a PF key. At run time, the screen is processed accordingly.

3. Click OK.

You have identified the screen to the transaction module. A folder with the screen name appears in the left pane, under the screens folder. A folder is created for each screen identified for the session.

Now you can define the appropriate input and output fields, if any, on that screen.

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This procedure uses an example transaction, INQY, and an example input parameter, NUMBER, to explain how to define input parameters.

Note: It may not be necessary to define parameters on each screen. Define only those input parameters that are required to navigate the screen, for example userid or password, and is different for each invocation of the RPC request.

To define screen input parameters:

1. From the desired formatted screen, use the cursor to select a required input field.

   For example, to identify the ENTER TRANSACTION field of the IBIVM Operator Instructions window, enter the INQY transaction.

2. Right-click and select Add Parameter from the drop-down list, as shown in the following image.

   

   The Add Parameter dialog box opens and prompts you for a parameter name, as shown in the following image.

   

3. Type a name that appropriately identifies the input parameter, for example, Account.
4. Click Ok.
5. Repeat these steps for the remaining fields that you want to define as input parameters.

A folder with the parameter name appears in the left pane, under the parameters folder. A folder is created for each parameter identified for the session

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To define the output fields that you want returned by the transaction module as part of the answer set:

1. From the desired formatted screen, use the cursor to select a desired output field.
2. Right-click and select Add Metadata from the drop-down list

   The Add Metadata dialog box opens and prompts you to enter a name, as shown in the following image.

   

3. Type a name that appropriately identifies the output metadata.
4. Click OK.
5. Repeat these steps for the remaining fields that you want returned as output.

A folder with the output field name appears in the left pane, under the metadata folder. A folder is created for each output field identified for the session

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There are times when the mainframe application consists of a screen that displays multiple rows of data, such as an inquiry or broBSE program. The iWay Emulation Adapter (3270/5250) allows you to capture the screen once for any number of records that make up that table. For example, a MENU CICS transaction broBSE function that displays a number of records.

To retrieve all of the records if a table:

1. Click the cursor to the immediate left of the first column of the first record (left corner of the table) and drag it to the immediate right of the last column of the table.

   The Table Metadata window opens, displaying the contents of the table in a row and column format. An example of this window is shown in the following image.

   

2. If you want to modify the name of a column, double-click it and make the appropriate change.
3. Click OK to save the table. The table metadata and output information are automatically saved.

When you run RPC program, the output of the program will contain a record-like answer set with all of the information displayed as columns.

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When you are finished identifying screens, input, and output field, save the transactions session, as follows:

1. Log off the mainframe application.

   Note: The transaction module signs off the application in the same manner.

2. Right-click the server (RPC) icon under the Sessions folder and select Save As from the drop-down list.

   The following image shows the session drop-down list.

   

   The Save As dialog box opens and prompts you to type a name for the save document, as shown in the following image.

   

3. Type a name for the session, for example, TelnetHostA.
4. If needed, enter comments in the Remarks field.
5. Click Save.

   The requested XML document is saved to

   TelnetInstalDir\projects\system\rpcs

   where:

   TelnetInstalDir

   Is the directory into which the emulator product is installed.

   system

   Is the name of your project. System is the default project name.

The XML request document can be used to generate web services as explained in Creating XML Schemas and iWay Business Services.

The new document appears in the left pane under the Sessions folder, as shown in the following image.

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To test an RPC:

1. In the left pane, expand the rpcs node and right-click the RPC you want to test.

   Note: Be sure you are working in the desired project.

2. From the drop-down list, select Run.

   The following image shows the left pane of Telnet Designer with an example of an RPC program node and its drop-down list.

   

   The RPC Tool window opens in the right pane, as shown in the following image:

   

3. Click Parameters to enter the parameter data expected by the RPC application.

   The following is an example of the parameters table in which you can enter the test values.

   

4. Click Execute. The program runs the CICS MENU transaction to return Account, Address, and Amount information.

   The following image shows an example of test results where the program returns the information for the record with account number 000022.

   

The RPC has been tested successfully. You can now generate a Java program from the RPC.

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To generate an RPC program:

1. In the left pane of Telnet Designer, click the Project system tab.
2. Expand the system folder and then, expand the rpcs subfolder.
3. Right-click the RPC design project, for example, MenuInqy, and select Generation.

   The following image shows the expanded rpcs subfolder and the drop-down list of the project.

   

   To generate a Java program that can be included in your client application or run as a stand-alone component, select Java Class and enter the fully qualified name of the Java class you want to generate.

   

   The iWay Telnet Designer generates the class under the work subfolder of your current project.

   

   The iWay Telnet Designer also generates artifacts that can be used to compile and run the Java program using Apache Ant.