Midrange Programmer

Climbing Mount WebFace: An Exploration of WebSphere Development Studio Client

There it is, the summit is plainly in sight. It seems so close that you can almost touch it. This is not the time to relax. Many climbers have had to turn around when the top of the mountain was just beyond their reach. With the right preparation, deploying an RPG application via a browser is easy. WebFacing technology allows you to do this with little or no change to your code. Are you ready to climb Mount WebFace?

You may be asking, why should I climb Mount WebFace? Because it's there. Because you can. Because there's an adrenaline rush that goes along with pushing yourself to the limit to achieve a goal. The closest that I've ever come to climbing a mountain was a forced march up the slopes of Mount Marcy, near Lake Placid, New York. My employer at the time suggested that it would be a learning experience for our group, and he was right. I learned that I don't like climbing mountains. Don't get me wrong, a nice walk along a wooded trail is one of life's great pleasures. But any hike that requires physical conditioning and provisions is a little more than I want to attempt. Some of you may feel the same way about all the new technologies that IBM is delivering to our once quiet midrange world. I don't have to convince anyone of the strengths of the iSeries server. Its reliability and ease of use are legendary. But some people want more. GUI, the Internet, and a host of other buzzwords have become the standards by which applications and servers are measured. Sometimes, providing a GUI Web-based interface offers no real added function or value. One thing that I've learned over the years is that value is perceived. If my boss's boss thinks that a GUI interface is of great value, the pressure will be on to deliver GUI interfaces. When you try to explain that there is little to be gained by rewriting applications, the applications are labeled as "legacy code," which is perceived to be archaic, outdated, and of little value. The fact that the "legacy code" successfully runs the business is overlooked. How, then, do we give proven applications a face lift? WebFacing is the answer. If an application can be quickly Web-enabled with no change to the underlying code base, we are free to strategically plan if, when, and how we will move away from the traditional midrange-programming model. The purpose of this article is to change your perception of WebFacing from being a climbing expedition to a stroll in the woods.

No serious climber would attempt to climb Mount Everest without the right equipment. The development environment for green-screen applications is not the same as the development environment for Web-enabled applications. IBM has developed an integrated set of development tools and packaged them as WebSphere Development Studio Client. If you have a choice between WebSphere Development Tools and WebSphere Development Studio Client, choose Development Studio Client. I once heard an IBM executive say that the difference between WebSphere Development Tools and WebSphere Development Studio Client is like the difference between DOS and Windows XP. Regardless of which you use, get the most up-to-date service packs for both the client and the server. PTFs are very important. These development tools have evolved and will continue to evolve at a pace that may be disturbing to most midrange shops. Last year's tools will make your job harder. Even some Redbooks released earlier this year are now outdated. IBM is committed to this new environment and continues to improve and enhance the usability of these tools. So it is important to start using them today. Yes, there is a learning curve. Yes, it is new technology. No, it is not going away. The time to begin learning is now. There is an unprecedented amount of material available to help you begin your expedition.

Installing WebSphere Development Studio Client is much easier than installing WebSphere Development Tools. The installation consists of three CDs or one DVD. I installed Websphere Development Studio Client on 25 PCs and encountered only a few minor problems. The average install took about 30 minutes. On the first CD, when installing "common components," the progress bar wraps and starts over, so don't be alarmed when this happens. I also installed WebSphere Development Studio Client on a PC that already had WebSphere Development Tools installed, and was happy to find that the installation was just as easy. Installation from the DVD seemed to hiccup each time, but after restarting the installation, it ran to completion. If you are installing from a network drive and the path is too long, the installation will fail. The solution is to map a drive to the subdirectory that contains the WebSphere Development Studio Client image, then install from the mapped drive. The current service pack for Websphere Development Studio Client is SP3. The service pack can be downloaded from IBM's Web site and takes about 10 minutes to apply.

If you try to use these new development tools on a Pentium II class machine, you will be disappointed. My advice is to get as big a machine as your budget allows. Since my budget tends to be rather small, I ran some tests to determine what would be an acceptable machine to start with. The first PC that I tested was a 447 MHz Pentium II with 128 MB of RAM. Unfortunately, the install would not run. The next PC was a 730 MHz Pentium III machine with 128 MB of RAM running Windows XP. The installation was uneventful and went as expected. When I started WebSphere Studio Site Developer Advanced (WSSDA), it took 40 seconds to load the application. That may seem like a long time, but remember that in the Java environment the "first touch" always has a performance penalty. When I loaded WSSDA again, it took only 20 seconds. When the application is started the first time, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) has to be loaded, so it takes longer. When I used the wizard to WebFace a simple application, it took 4 minutes and 50 seconds. Five minutes to WebFace a simple application may be acceptable for the first few projects, but I would not want to work in that environment. The easiest way to upgrade a PC is to add memory. So after cannibalizing another machine, I ended up with a total of 319 MB of memory. While the WSSDA startup times remained constant, the time to WebFace the same application dropped to 68 seconds. When I WebFaced the same application a second time, it took only 20 seconds. Next I tested a 1.2 GHz Pentium III with 768 MB of memory. The initial WSSDA load remained unchanged. The second load took only 12 seconds, and the time to WebFace the same application took 35 seconds. See Figure 1 for a comparison of all the hardware tested. The pattern is clear. WSSDA loves memory. If you can't do anything else, feed it more memory. In this release of WebSphere Development Studio Client, CODE/400 and VARPG are still separate programs and can easily be run with any of the configurations tested here. In the future, the function of these products will be merged into WSSDA as well. Another consideration for sizing your PC is that WebSphere Development Studio Client allows you to test your application right on your desktop. While this is a great feature, it requires resources as well. If I were buying a machine to run WebSphere Development Studio Client, I would choose a 1.8 GHz processor with at least 512 MB of RAM.

If you expect to have a successful climb up Mount Everest, you need to plan. You need to plan the time of year for the climb and decide who will go with you and who will guide you. You need to prepare supplies for the trip. I'm not suggesting that WebFacing is as grueling as climbing a mountain. My recommendation is that you consider WebFacing as a first step in your plan for the future. To deploy your WebFaced application, you will need an application server. Your choice of an application server is the most strategic choice that you will need to make. Much has been written about the Tomcat and WebSphere application servers. There are strong opinions in both camps. Figure 2 highlights some of the factors that you should consider.

The conclusion that I've come to is that, when I'm called upon to provide a quick "proof of concept," I'll use the Apache Tomcat application server. I can download it on demand, install it quickly, and demonstrate a WebFaced application. It's also free. For information about installing Tomcat on the iSeries, see the article "Installing and Configuring Tomcat on iSeries." For production use, I recommend WebSphere Application Server Express 5.0 (a version for the iSeries should be available early in 2003). IBM supports it, it is integrated with the HTTP server, and it is more scalable than the Tomcat application server. The newest version of WebSphere Application Server is also much easier to configure and maintain. Another selling point is that IBM has priced the Express version very competitively. Since many of IBM's newest technologies are built on the WebSphere Application Server infrastructure, many new applications will require it as a prerequisite. See "iSeries Access Includes WebSphere Host Publisher," by Carole Miner, for an example of such a product. Finally, support is a big concern. While the Tomcat server requires less processor and memory, there is a lack of good documentation and support channels. I spent hours trying to resolve a problem that disappeared once I installed an older version of Tomcat. The time I spent trying to make it work could have paid for WebSphere. You might say that "free" isn't always the best value.

The next article in this series will explain how to WebFace and deploy an application to the application server. The same application will be deployed on Tomcat and a WebSphere application server. Until then, get your copy of WebSphere Development Studio Client and load it on your PC. A stroll in the woods is much better experienced than read about.

Raymond Everhart is an independent programmer/consultant in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and has 17 years of experience with IBM midrange servers. Raymond can be reached at reverhart@raecodesign.com.

Sponsored By

WORKSRIGHT SOFTWARE

CASS Certification
What is it? Why do you need it?

CASS stands for "Coding Accuracy Support System." This is a test developed by the U.S. Postal Service to determine whether ZIP Code software can accurately assign ZIP Codes to mailing addresses. CASS-certified software is intended to improve the accuracy of carrier route, 5-digit ZIP, ZIP+4, and delivery point codes.

CASS certified means the software has passed the test. When you use CASS software to update and maintain your mailing file, then your mailing file becomes CASS certified. What does this mean to you?

CASS certification is the first step in qualifying for postage discounts. Look at the mail you receive at home and at work; you will see that a lot of it was mailed for less than the regular 37 cent rate.

Despite all the glitz and glamour of the Internet, email, and such, the wheels of America's economy are lubricated by the ordinary envelope and the U.S. Postal Service.

If your company sends out a lot of mail, there is a good chance CASS certification can cut your postage expense. There are other steps you must perform to get these discounts, but CASS is the first step.

Your mail must be printed, sorted, and then packaged according to postal regulations. It takes some effort, but the potential savings make it worthwhile.

Exactly what happens when you process your mailing files with CASS software? The software breaks the address down into its individual elements: state, city, street name, and so forth. Then the information is compared to the national ZIP+4 database. If a match is found, the ZIP Code, ZIP+4, delivery point, and carrier route are assigned. Also the delivery line is standardized to comply with Postal Service preferences.

If an address can't be matched, no action is taken. This has the positive effect of allowing you to identify addresses in your mailing files which possibly can't be delivered, will be delayed in delivery, or at the very minimum need some minor correction to one of the address elements.

Using CASS certified software has many side benefits. You will be able to identify addresses that are potentially undeliverable. It has been estimated that as much as 30% of all advertising mail is never delivered.

That means the costs of postage, printing, paper, and overhead for undelivered mail are wasted. That means if you spend $100,000 on a direct mail campaign, as much as $30,000 could be completely wasted.

CASS software provides a number of intangible benefits. With CASS certification and bar coding there is a good likelihood that that your mail will be delivered sooner. If your invoices are delivered one day sooner, you may receive payment one day sooner.

If you CASS certify your mailing file, you can move on to the next step which is postal automation. This means applying a POSTNET bar code.

POSTNET is that little row of tall and short bars you see on your mail. POSTNET is a special bar code used by the Postal Service to allow automatic sorting machines to work.

It has been reported that bar code standard class (the old third class) mail gets delivered about as soon as first class, instead of the usual 2 or 3 weeks.

The bottom line is that using CASS software will help you keep your customers' address information in much better shape than they would be otherwise. Your mail may be delivered sooner at less cost and that means more bottom-line dollars for your company.

If you would like more information about CASS and CASS software,
contact your local post office or
call WorksRight Software, Inc. at 601-856-8337.

Are FedEx, United Parcel, and Airborne charges
for incorrect addresses eating into your budget?

Every bad address can result in a $5 to $10 charge. Even seemingly small addressing errors such as misspelled street names, or missing suite numbers can result in the same penalty as if the address were totally wrong.

Our PER/ZIP4 addressing matching software will match your addresses to the national ZIP+4 postal database. Based on the match PER/ZIP4, will update your addresses to postal standards. Our sophisticated address logic can add missing directionals, correct minor misspellings, and standardize the address format. If PER/ZIP4 can't match the address, then you know that there is likely a serious error in the address that needs to be corrected.

PER/ZIP4 can be used in a batch mode to update an entire file or interactively to update individual address one at a time. We provide a search function so that you can search the national ZIP+4 database to verify a specific address.

Visit our Web site www.worksright.com for more information and to order a free, no-hassle, 30-day trial. Or call WorksRight Software, Inc. at 601-856-8337.