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by Joel Klebanoff
Published 05/09/2006
Today, even in organizations that depend on iSeries as
their primary information technology engine, the technology on users' desktops
is increasingly PCs rather than green-screens. Furthermore, because of the
prevalence of Microsoft Office, most users are more familiar with the
applications in that suite than they are with any other software.
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Often, they'll
even use one or more Office applications at home as well as at work. Taking
advantage of this familiarity, while still employing iSeries' superior data
management capabilities, can reduce training times and increase productivity,
without giving up the iSeries' security, control, and scalability features.
Launcher/400 Office from BOSaNOVA can help organizations
implement this strategy.Launcher/400 Office
Launcher/400 Office
is designed to serve iSeries data to Microsoft Office applications, such as
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, in a way that is transparent to users. Beyond
Office, it also works with any application built to the Object Linking and
Embedding (OLE) standard, allowing a more-complete integration with the various
applications in use on PCs across your organization. In addition, with
Launcher/400 Office, any standard Windows program can be launched directly from
an iSeries server, thereby making it possible to automate Microsoft Office and
other Windows-based application functions.
With Launcher/400 Office working in the background, users can open a standard
document and it will automatically be populated with the required information
from the iSeries server. The movement of files to and from the iSeries IFS or
iSeries DB2/400 queries and users' PCs is fully automated. The documents that
users work with can be enhanced with any objects available to either the PCs or
iSeries, including barcodes, digitized signatures, and graphics, such as company
logos. If the user makes any changes, Launcher/400 Office applies those changes
to the source iSeries data, without the need for any additional action on the
user's part.
In addition to being able to work with Office's proprietary document formats,
Launcher/400 Office can be used to create documents in HTML and PDF formats. It
can also be used to email or fax any document directly from an iSeries
server.
For organizations currently using OfficeVision/400 applications, the
integration features of Launcher/400 Office make it relatively easy to migrate
templates and documents to Microsoft Office.
Launcher/400 Office will be appreciated by organizations that want to draw on
the stability, scalability, security, and data management features of iSeries,
while providing users with a familiar Windows and Microsoft Office
front-end.
Launcher/400 SQL
There's another side to the iSeries and Windows
integration coin. In many organizations, in addition to iSeries, considerable
information is now stored on a variety of databases running on Windows servers.
Accessing this Windows-based data through native iSeries programs, without
having to duplicate the data, can leverage the value offered by both platforms.
BOSaNOVA offers another product, Launcher/400 SQL,
that serves this need. With Launcher/400 SQL, iSeries programs can display and
update the data in any Windows-based, ODBC-compliant database.
Launcher/400 SQL is an API for iSeries languages operating in both ILE and
non-ILE modes. To eliminate the need for data duplication and synchronization,
iSeries native programs are in direct connection with live data on the external
servers.
Launcher/400 SQL is compliant with all OS/400 and i5/OS versions since V4R2
and works with all iSeries programming languages, including, among others, RPG,
CL, COBOL, and C, as well as 4GLs. It also supports all standard SQL commands,
including Select, Insert, Update, Call, Create, and Commit. And Launcher/400 SQL
can be used to call stored procedures. In addition, it supports all data sources
with an ODBC driver, including Microsoft SQL Server, ORACLE, MS Access, MySQL,
DB2, and Excel. Furthermore, all SQL data types are automatically translated to
the corresponding iSeries data types as required.
Installation
Installing Launcher/400 Office and Launcher/400 SQL
is fast and easy. Both products consist of two components, one that runs on
Windows and one that runs on iSeries. To install either Launcher/400 Office or
Launcher/400 SQL, you first load the Windows component, which takes about four
minutes. After that component is installed, Launcher/400 provides the option of
installing the iSeries component, which, if this option is selected, is done via
FTP.
Even for Launcher/400 Office, which users interact with more directly than
Launcher/400 SQL, configuration is usually done by someone from the IT
department. Once the configuration is complete, Launcher/400 Office works in the
background and users are typically not aware of its existence. They simply work
with spreadsheets and documents as they would if they resided on their own
PCs.
Installation would likely require some instruction and hand-holding for
someone without any computer skills, but anyone familiar with any iSeries
programming language, such as CL or RPG, should be able to complete the
installation processes without any difficulty or additional training.
Value
Organizations will derive value from Launcher/400 by
using it to take the best advantage of the different strengths available on the
iSeries and Windows platforms. "iSeries/Windows integration is certainly an
important challenge today, and Launcher/400 is a very timely solution that
allows users to leverage their investment in iSeries," explained Martin
Pladgeman, president of BOSaNOVA Inc. "It empowers iSeries users to combine the
power and flexibility of Microsoft Windows applications and the control of
iSeries. They get the best of Microsoft and of IBM."
BOSaNOVA offers a 30-day free trial, downloadable through the Web, that
allows organizations to try Launcher/400 before buying it.
Specifications
iSeries
- Compliant with all OS/400
and i5/OS versions since V4R2
- Programming interface available for ILE and non-ILE environments
- For batch and interactive jobs
Windows
- Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, NT, XP, 2003
- Supports all databases compliant with ODBC (Launcher/400 SQL)
- Configuration in "Service" and "Desktop" modes (Launcher/400
SQL)
Connectivity
- Uses only TCP/IP to connect to Windows. Does not
require the use of any other middleware.
Launcher/400 Office and
Launcher/400 SQL are independent products. Licensing fees are charged per module
and vary depending on the iSeries Processor Group that the iSeries-based module
runs on.
Joel
Klebanoff is a consultant, a writer, president of
Klebanoff
Associates, Inc., a Toronto, Canada-based
marketing communications firm, and author of BYTE-ing
Satire. Joel has 25 years experience working in
IT, first as a programmer/analyst and then as a marketer. He holds a Bachelor of
Science in computer science and an MBA, both from the University of Toronto.
Contact Joel at joel@klebanoff.com.
BOSaNOVA, Inc.
2012 W. Lone Cactus
Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85027-9919
USA
Web: www.bosanova.net
Email:
sales@bosanova.net
Tel: 866.865.5250
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