What does WindowsEnabler/400 do?

In a Client/Server environment, a client PC is often the workstation of choice. It is very common to let such client PC's borrow computer time from a host to do certain tasks, such as delivering database records to a presentation program. You use the workstation as a front end to a host computer.

The PC is also used for common tasks such as word processing and spreadsheet calculations, which are performed locally on the workstation. Suppose one is working in an accounting program (on a host) and a certain standard letter has to be edited. One would need to start the workstation's word processor to edit a document and to print it.

It would be nice, however, to have the host program start the word processor with a certain document or to have the host program print a letter using the workstation's capabilities to do so.

In an AS/400 environment using IBM's Client Access/400 or another PCO capable terminal emulator, the command STRPCCMD is available to start programs on the PC. This command however, does not integrate well with the Microsoft Windows operating system: you cannot wait for completion of a program and therefore receive no return values from these programs. Integrating these workstation tasks with host programs is very difficult without complex middleware.

WindowsEnabler/400 (WE/400) offers a unique solution to this problem by providing you with AS/400 commands to start programs on a computer, running the Microsoft Windows operating system:

• You can start programs from an interactive job, on the workstation of the user. We call such a PC a WindowsEnabler/400 client PC. You can use this ability to integrate your interactive AS/400 applications with PC applications such as ITP or a word processor.
• You can start programs on a dedicated PC from arbitrary jobs. We call such a PC a WindowsEnabler/400 server PC.

  Note

  Server mode is a deprecated feature. It is not allowed and not supported to use server mode to run unattended or batch jobs on a dedicated PC. You may only use server PCs as an alternative for automatically determined client PCs.

Figure a sample WindowsEnabler/400 environment