Automatic Data Transfer from AS400 to MS Access

[madhouse]

Ok, I'm not looking for a complete solution here, just some ideas on the best way of going about this.....

I'm looking to automatically transfer data from our AS400 into an MS Access database. The transfer of the data is to be triggered maybe via an exit program after an object has been checked out into Development (we use the Aldon Change Management System).

Basically, without going into too much detail, some of our development is done with JWALK. This is a PC based application where AS400 screens are "scraped" and made into a Windows GUI front end. At the moment all the JWALK files are stored on a server which all the developers can access. The problem we have is that there is no control over what changes are made to these files and because of the manner of these files I don't believe we can use something like Source Safe. So we're looking at creating a release on the AS400 (in ACMS), then each JWALK file on the server will have a corresponding source member within this release - all the JWALK files on the server will be changed to Read-Only. When a developer needs to make a change to a JWALK file on the server they checkout the corresponding source member in ACMS......this is then where an exit program will kick in. The idea is that something (not too sure what yet) will be automatically be transferred to an MS Access database, then some VBA code within the database will take off the Read-Only attribute of the JWALK file on the server. I realise this all sounds very complicated, but my company is reluctant to fork out huge amounts of money for a ready made product that will do this!! So if anyone has got some suggestions on how an exit program can trigger an automatic data transfer to MS Access, or even some ideas on how to go about this, I would be most grateful.

 

[MarcLodge]

Madhouse,
I think I understand what you are after, which appears to be a way to protect the JWALK files from being tampered with. You currently use ACMS on the AS400, and would like to use that to somehow do the trick.

The thing that occurs to me is that you might be over complicating things by adding another package (MS Access) into the mix.

I would possibly try a little bit more investigation in other areas before attacking this in this way eg.
Do the makers of JWALK offer any code management tools that might be purchased cheaply as an add on to the already existing JWALK package?
Is Source Safe definitely not up to the task?
Is there another cheap alternative on the market?

Sorry to not be much help, but maybe somebody else who has worked with this language will be able to come up with further ideas.

Ps If JWALK is made by Seagull then they have a pretty extensive and impressive site here:

http://www.seagullsoftware.com/products/jwalk.html

Marc

 

[madhouse]

Marc,

Thanks for your reply. As you said yourself, it does looks as though we're over complicating things by bringing in MS Access into the equation. However, Seagull don't sell any other products to manage the files - they've just got the actual Jwalk development package. And I might've been a bit hasty with Visual SourceSafe not being up to the job because it looks like it might be. But the cost is some $549, and with the year that our company has gone through so far even that amount would be pushing it in terms of getting it authorised. Mainly because this idea of protecting the Jwalk files is being pushed from the Jwalk developers....not from the management - they aren't really interested!! Hence why we started putting our heads together to come up with something ourselves. I'm a fairly apt MS Access developer, and one of the Jwalk developers is also an AS400 coder. SO between us we thought we come up with a front and back end solution. I have also looked around to see if there are any other solutions out there but didn't come up with anything. Which brings up back full circle to coming up with something ourselves. All we need is to understand how to carry out the data transfer from the AS400 to an Access database, the rest should be easy

 

[MarcLodge]

Madhouse,
The only thing that I can think of is to build the top level application (ie. the one that initiates everything else) in Access. This app could then get the relevant data from the AS400 via ODBC and display it on a screen. The developers could choose the module that they wished, and then the Access app could obtain the source from the server. It's even possible, in theory, to write the Access app so that it controls all the locking of the files on both the server and the AS400 doing it this way.

It depends how good your Access is!!

Good luck

Marc