HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
An Interactive Monitoring Program
A canning factory has an interactive program running on its HP 3000
continually monitoring and controlling the production lines. The person
supervising the system would sometimes like to be able to send HP Desk
messages. How could they do this?
Solution A
The monitoring application can be modified to allow the user to type a
message, perhaps on the bottom two lines of the screen. Then, in the
background, the application formats the message and Distribution List as
an ARPA file and submits it to HP Desk via FSC.
Some points to consider are:
* If the message is a standard message to a standard Distribution
List, the application can generate it automatically. The user can
continue using the interactive program once the request to send
the message has been made. If the message is not urgent, it could
be formatted as a background task, possibly overnight.
* The solution involves a lot of program coding, especially as the
user is to be able to create text interactively.
Solution B
Run the application from within HP Desk.
Set up a function key or new command in the application which allows a
user to suspend back into HP Desk. Once they have created and mailed
their message, they press the Resume function key to return to the
interactive application.
Some points to consider are:
* The solution involves some changes to the application code.
* The user has full access to HP Desk, including for example,
Distribution List creation, and acknowledgments.
* The user has to leave the interactive program temporarily to
create and mail a message.
* The application is not available to users when HP Desk is down,
for example, during MAILMAINT.
Solution C
Run the application from within HP Desk.
Modify the application to produce the text of the message and put it in
the user's Work Area (using Interrupt Modes 4 or 6).
A script could be used to mail the message as follows:
$START
:RUN PROG.PUB.APPLIC
SEND "REPORT" OF WORKAREA
&COMMENT At this point, HP Desk will prompt the user
&COMMENT for the distribution list.
MAIL
&SAVE REPLY <PROMPT "CONTINUE?">
&BACK START <YESNO <VAR REPLY>>
&EXIT
Some points to consider are:
* Some changes to the application program code are necessary.
* The Distribution List can be fixed, or the user can be prompted
for it (as in the above example).
* The script has to know which item in the Work Area is to be
mailed.
* The text of the message has to be copied twice, once into the Work
Area and once from the Work Area into the message. The user has
to wait while this is done.
* The interactive application has to terminate in order to return
control to the script to mail the message. This means that the
son process (the interactive application) has to be recreated
every time and this could lead to system resources being over
used.
Solution D
Run the application from within HP Desk.
Modify the application to produce the text of the message and put it in
the user's Work Area (using Interrupt Modes 4 or 6). Instead of
terminating the application for a script to mail the message, execute a
script in an MPE file (using Interrupt Mode 15). This prevents you
having to terminate and restart the application.
Some points to consider are:
* Some changes to the application program code are necessary.
* The Distribution List can be fixed, or the user can be prompted
for it (as in the above example).
* The script has to know which item in the Work Area is to be
mailed.
* The text of the message has to be copied twice, once into the Work
Area and once from the Work Area into the message. The user has
to wait while this is done.
Recommendations
Solution A , the FSC solution, only provides mailing facilities. If the
user wants to use other areas of HP Desk, this method is not suitable.
Its advantage is that the user never leaves the interactive application.
Solution B provides the user with full access to HP Desk and is simple to
implement. However, while in suspend mode, the user can no longer
monitor the application.
Solution C provides the worst of both worlds! The user's access to HP
Desk is limited, contact is lost with the monitoring application, and it
creates an overhead by stopping and restarting the application. The only
realistic use for this solution is to mail a single report at the end of
the day.
Solution D is better than solution C because it does not create the
overhead of stopping and restarting the application. Otherwise, this
solution is no different to solution C.
The best solution depends on circumstances. If the user needs full
access to HP Desk, solution B should be used. If it is essential that
the user never loses sight of the monitoring screen, solution A is the
answer.