HATS Studio Connections
HATS defines two categories of connections:
Transformation Web-based transformations of a host connection. Background Used by an Integration Object or a Perform macro transaction. With background connections, you can gather, enter, or exchange data between hosts via pre-recorded Host On-Demand macros. This data can be combined with the transformation connection as well. In this way, you can automate transactions on other hosts as well as transform the default connection for your end-users.
VT hosts (VT52, VT100, VT420_7 and VT420_8) are limited to background connections. If you use the VT connection as one of the project's background connections, it can be used for recording macros and running Integration Objects. Background connections can also be used with the Perform macro transaction action.
Create a connection
The new Create a Connection wizard enables you to create more connection configurations. To access this wizard, you can use the context menu in the...
HATS Project View | New | Connection...selection in the HATS menu, or click the Create a HATS Connection icon on the toolbar.
The wizard requires basic connection information such as host name, port, terminal type, code page and screen size.
The host name and port number fields are entry fields. You can change the name of the host to which your connection connects or the port number through which you connect by typing over the name and number that appear in these fields.
The type of session, code page, and screen size fields have drop-down lists from which you can select certain values for the fields.
- The values for screen size change depending on the code page and type of host session you select.
- If you select a bidirectional (bidi) code page, see Enabling the user to reverse the screen direction.
You can also specify some advanced connection settings using this wizard or the connection editor later. The advanced connection settings that are shown will depend on your connection type. If your connection is 5250, you will be able to configure your workstation ID. If you use a 3270E connection, then you will be able to configure the LU or pool name. There is no LU or Workstation ID settings support for VT connections or 3270.
The Create a Project wizard also gathers the minimal amount of information needed to define a connection and creates main.hco as the default connection for the project. You can only have one transformation connection per HATS project. If you want to establish a second transformation connection, you will need to create another HATS project. You can share information between both applications using shared global variables.
Connection editor
The connection editor enables you to perform custom configurations to your connections and has the following tabs: Overview, Basic, Advanced, Security, Pooling, Macros, User List, and Source.
Overview
The Overview tab of the connection editor summarizes most of the connection settings you specified when you created your connection. The only item you can modify on this tab is the description of your connection.
Each of the section headings on the Overview tab is a link to the other tabs of the connection editor.
Basic
Under the Basic tab are the general settings initially set up with the Create a Connection wizard. Following is a list of settings that can be modified.
- The name of the host to which your connection connects. This is either the name or IP address of the Telnet server.
- The number of the port through which the connection connects. Typically, port 23 is used, but the administrator of the Telnet server might have modified the port number.
- The type of host session for the connection, such as 3270, 3270E, 5250, VT hosts (VT52, VT100, VT420_7 and VT420_8)
- The code page used for the connection. Select the code page for your backend host.
- The screen size of the host connection. The screen size defines the number of rows and columns in the host screen.
- Three check boxes to specify:
- Only allow single connection with each user ID
- Abandon attempt to connect after a specified number of seconds
- Abandon attempt to disconnect after a specified number of seconds
Advanced
To specify print support as well as any other HATS connection session parameters, define these parameters in the Advanced section. The print support settings are used only if the connection is the default connection.
Select the Enable print support check box if you want print support.
For 3270E hosts, if you select the Enable print support check box, you can choose the paper size, page orientation, and the print font you want to use for printing jobs. See Defining print support for your project for more information.
For 5250 hosts, if you select the Enable print support check box, specify the URL of the iSeries for Web Access (iWA) Printer Output window. The default URL is...
http://hostname/webaccess/iWASpool...where hostname is the name of the 5250 host. The end user of your application can set print options in the IWA Printer Output window.
Print support in not available for 3270 connections and VT connections.
You can add, modify, or remove any IBM WebSphere Host On-Demand session parameters using the buttons to the right of the table of parameters. If you click Add, you can select a parameter using the drop-down list next to the Name field and then type a value into the value field.
Security
The Security tab contains information on SSL and Web Express Logon (WEL). Select the SSL enabled check box to enable SSL. If SSL is enabled, you can import the required certificate file by clicking Import. You can select the Use Web Express Logon check box and then click Configure.
Pooling
A pool is a group of host connections that are maintained in an initialized state, ready to be used without having to create and initialize them. When an end user is finished with a connection, and if the connection is in a known safe state (such as a matching checkin screen), then this connection is added to a pool of connections. When the next request for a connection is received, one of these pooled connections is used. This reduces the response time when starting and running an application.
Because there is no guarantee that an end user navigating screens on the transformation connection will navigate back to the checkin screen, it is recommended that you do not use pooling on the HATS transformation connection.
You can enable pooling by clicking the Pooling tab and selecting the Enable pooling check box. If pooling is enabled, after the connection has been released it is kept in a list of active connections. When a new request for a connection is received, one of these idle pooled connections is used. If connection pooling is disabled, after a connection has been released, it will be disconnected. If there are no idle pooled connections, a new one is created.
You also have the option of setting your Connection Timeouts and Connection Limits.
- For Connection Timeouts, select Terminate connection after a maximum idle time and/or Terminate connection after a maximum busy time check box(es) and enter the time in seconds.
Maximum busy time should be set to the same value for all connections within a HATS application.
- For Connection Limits, enter the Minimum number of idle connections to retain in the pool and/or the Maximum number of connections in the pool that can be active in the text box(es).
You can also decide what should be done After the maximum number of connections has been reached. You can either Create a new (non-pooled) connection by checking the radio button or Wait for an available pooled connection and set the limit to the time to wait by selecting the Limit the time to wait for a pooled connection to a maximum number of seconds check box and entering the time in seconds in the text box. Leave the check box unchecked to wait indefinitely for a connection.
Macros
The Macros tab shows information about the Connect macro, the Disconnect macro, and the checkin screen. Both macros are optional. This information is on a separate tab from the pooling information because these macros can still be applied even if pooling is disabled.
Select the connect and disconnect macros from the Connect macro and Disconnect macro drop-down lists.
The checkin screen section will be available only if you have enabled pooling on the Pooling tab. If you have enabled pooling, the checkin screen section has three options:
- Use first exit screen of Connect macro. This is the recommended option.
- Use a specific screen of Connect macro where you have the option of selecting a screen macro from the drop-down list.
- Use different screen recognition criteria based on a previously captured screen allows you to use different screen recognition criteria for the checkin screen based on a previously captured screen which you select from the drop-down list.
You can also specify recognition criteria for the checkin screen. For instructions on how to define screen recognition criteria, see Screen Recognition Criteria.
A poorly-defined checkin screen will render your pool useless. Adding a definitive string criteria is highly recommended.
For more information on macros, see Incorporating macros. If you use a connect macro, you can set up a user list to specify the list of users who can use the connection.
User list
The user list is a list of users and passwords that can be used by a macro. During the creation of a macro the user ID and password in the user list can be pulled from the list and placed into the user ID and password fields in the session. This allows a predefined list of user IDs and passwords to be used so that the user does not have to know or type in a user ID and password on the screen.
The User List tab displays a table of user profiles with the capability to add, edit, or remove any one of them.
If you click Add , you will be prompted to provide the user ID, a description, and password. All of these fields are required and any of these fields can be modified by clicking Edit. You can also delete the entry by selecting it and clicking Remove.
User profiles from the user list can only be used in the connect macro
Source
You can configure all connection editor settings manually by going to the Source tab and using the built-in editor. See Source for more information.
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