1. What is CAIL Studio?
The main purpose of CAIL Studio is to provide web access to applications with updated displays that improve user productivity, and leverage the investment in current systems with newer, proven technology.
CAIL Studio is server centric software designed to work with a standard Browser.
Through CAIL Studio, screen based Host software can be changed or combined with other screen based Host software or web accessible data or web services with no changes to the existing Host software or systems.
The main unit of transaction is considered to be a Web Page or SOAP message. To be interactive, the Web Page contains a Form. The Form conveys data in and out of the system and therefore between Hosts and Users.
Host software that use TN6530 or VT protocols can immediately be utilized by CAIL Studio infrastructure through CAIL Adapters that already produce HTML forms for both Conversational and Block Mode screens.
To CAIL Studio, the HTML Form and the SOAP message (for Web Services) are very similar basic transaction units. Any named data that is in a form can be repackaged into a WSDL defined SOAP Request Reply.
2. What is a CAIL Studio Project?
The CAIL Studio Project concept is to tie together existing Web Assets, Web Services, Web Pages, and Telnet based Host software (particularly 6530 NonStop Guardian SCOBOL systems or VT accessible systems).
The web based interface created by a CAIL Studio Project is in a completely free format. HTML of any chosen sort may be applied to create new access interfaces into a Host application or combination of TCP/IP accessible Host resources.
Basic to the whole concept is the conversion of 6530/Telnet screens into HTML forms using the CAIL Studio for Host access. Since CAIL Studio screens are actually HTML forms, all the important information from each screen is already easily identifiable, recognizable, and extractable by consistently and programmatically named variables.
Every unique screen type can be easily recognized and differentiated when accessing a Host application by CAIL Studio.
Orchestrating data acquisition and movement between client and host transaction units and managing all the behind the scenes data access and storage is the Javascript and Ajax Code.
Generally a Web application is developed in two Frames based formats, one for develop and debug, and another for release for public usage.
In the Debug version, the right side is the raw CAIL Studio session output obtained by Ajax but displayed using Javascript – it is not interactive as per usual, just display to confirm where the session is at. The middle window is for debug interaction, printouts of variables etc. The left section is where the user interface is developed with the final output screens. Usually a single variable
VIEWDebug=true;
Is set for debugging, and cleared in the release version which does not display the center and right frames.
In the supplied examples Do.html is the debug script page, and DOREL.htm is the release page and the only difference is how the VIewDebug variable is set.
Two index pages are provided that arrange the display appropriately.
This is a sample of a debug session for a simple application using Ajax and HTML and the basic CAIL Studio session - obtained by Ajax is shown on the right.
3. What kinds of CAIL Studio Projects can be developed?
- Simple HTML access involves no new development, CAIL Studio works right out of the box to enable secure web access of Telnet over HTTP/HTML in a browser with no downloaded controls.
- Controlled access gui-ization of existing Telnet/SCOBOL in which a part of an application is mapped and new HTML output is developed to represent the interface to part of the recognized Host application. The user is not permitted to do anything other than what has been recognized as part of the application (see #4 below for management of unrecognized screens or general user access)
- Aggregation and controlled access in which data from multiple screen based sources (and Web Services and any web based data) is interacted with in a limited way on a simpler new HTML form. (see #4 below for management of unrecognized screens or general user access)
- Web Service Projects which can be either of the above two classes but where the communication is SOAP based and typically restricted to a single request distributed out into a complex series of aggregation or limited access background methods.
4. How is a CAIL Studio Project developed?
First CAIL Studio is used to visit all of the pages that are expected to be experienced while running a particular piece of Host software in the capacity required for the new web application.
In the process of doing so a uniquely numbered HTML Log is produced in the Tomcat Logs.
This file should be loaded into the CAIL Studio Wizard and examined.
The Demo Ajax Application HTML files should be copied to a new directory and edited so that the Variables isolated by the Wizard and the Ajax commands suggested by the wizard can be coded into Javascript in the same way that the example is prepared.
To test it you can either deploy it (see next section) or remote deploy it in a similarly named application subdirectory from the Pagelet which will send the log pages to the test application. In this way an application can be developed and partially tested offsite from the actual Host machine.
5. How is a CAIL Studio Project installed?
The named directory for the application is installed as a subdirectory to the CAIL Studio Servlet.
It should work immediately.
6. How is a CAIL Studio Project maintained?
Usually it is possible to edit files on the fly with no serious impact on the users.
More dramatic maintenance, such as installing a new release of CAIL Studio involves backing up all the subtended web apps, or adding them to the War file prior to installation/updating the Servlet.
It is reccommended that a Backup of every live application be managed by the person responsible for the web application server.