HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Filing Information
A stock control system runs every evening and produces an MPE file
showing current stock levels in each of four warehouses. The company has
its own filing product which stores these files. The stock control clerk
runs the filing product, which is interactive and prompts for the name of
an MPE file and then files it for future reference.
Sometimes the stock control clerk receives HP Desk messages from the
warehouse managers asking for special deliveries of goods over and above
those which the stock levels suggest need to be delivered.
Can these HP Desk messages be filed with the other stock level
information?
Solution A
The filing product can be modified to receive HP Desk messages through an
FSC gateway and store the text part of each message in its filing system.
The stock control clerk, or even the warehouse managers, can mail the
stock updates to a special HP Desk user, configured on a mailnode which
is routed through the gateway.
Some points to consider are:
* Messages from any HP Desk user on the network can be filed by
mailing them in this way. The filing product would have to
implement its own verification method to ensure the messages are
authorized. The process is fully automatic once the user has
mailed the message.
One application process can serve the whole system, no matter how
many users send messages to it.
Solution B
The accounts clerk can copy the HP Desk item to be filed into an MPE file
and then run the filing application. The application prompts the user
for the name of the MPE file as before.
This solution can be improved if the filing product is capable of taking
the name of the MPE file from an INFO string in the RUN command. A
script can be written to automate the system further.
For example:
&SAVE ITEM <PROMPT "WHICH ITEM?">
:PURGE FILEIT
COPY <VAR ITEM> TO (FILEIT)
:RUN FILEPROD.PUB.FILING;INFO="FILEIT"
&EXIT
Some points to consider are:
* The solution is only available to users on this one machine. The
stock control clerk receives a message containing the update,
opens the message and executes the script.
* Using an INFO string, it is only possible to file one MPE file per
run of the filing product.
Solution C
Modify the filing product so that it integrates directly with HP Desk.
The stock control clerk gathers all the items to be filed into a single
package in the Work Area, opens the package (so it becomes the "current
area") and then starts up the filing product.
The filing product can take each item in the package in turn (using
Interrupt Mode 12) and then file it.
Some points to consider are:
* As an alternative, the application could ask the user to attach
the item to the Clipboard (Interrupt Mode 3), or take the item
from the user's Work Area (Interrupt Mode 5).
* As for solution B, this can only be used on a single HP 3000
machine, not the whole network. The stock control clerk has to
act as a go between.
Recommendations
Solution A needs many program code changes to be made to the filing
product in order to implement FSC. It also needs a verification procedure
to be produced to prevent unauthorized updating of the stock levels and
to keep the stock control clerk informed.
Solution B is the simplest to implement. However, it can only file one
item at a time which may lead to heavy use of the system due to
continually recreating the filing process.
Solution C, like solution A, needs changes to the filing product's
program code. Its advantage over the FSC method is that the stock
control clerk keeps control of all updates and the updates are made
immediately, not in background mode.
The recommendation for this example depends on whether the source code
for the filing application is available. If it is, solution C provides
the most flexible and controllable solution.
If the source code is not available, then solution B provides an
acceptable alternative.