News & Views, May 2000

San Diego, March 12, 2000 - michaels, ross & cole's mrc-Productivity Series has been voted the Best Product in the AS/400-based Application Development category in the 2000 AS/400 Technology SHOWCASE Product Excellence Awards recognition program. The award was received at a reception hosted by Midrange Computing in San Diego on March 12, 2000. Winners were selected via an online voting process that was open to more than 50,000 registered subscribers of AS/400 Technology SHOWCASE magazine. Winners were selected based upon the highest vote totals received in each of the 45 hardware and software categories.

More than 250 vendor representatives attended the Product Excellence Awards reception hosted by Midrange Computing in the Bayside Pavilion, at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina.

"Being voted as the best product in the AS/400-based Application Development category is truly significant as it reflects the opinions and judgments of a very critical audience-AS/400 end users," said David Uptmor, publisher of AS/400 Technology SHOWCASE and Midrange Computing. "By winning a Product Excellence Award, mrc has let the AS/400 marketplace know that it is a company that cares about its customers, and cares about delivering value to the business community."

Accepting the award on behalf of mrc, mrc communications director Tracy Doell said, "We are thrilled to have such overwhelming support from our customers. Since 1981, mrc has been committed to providing quality software that increases productivity and serves our customers' needs. And as technology has evolved, the mrc-Productivity Series has too, allowing our customers to integrate Java and client/server technologies quickly and easily. To have our customers recognize us in this way is tremendous. We are extremely honored."

AS/400 Technology SHOWCASE magazine is the leading product magazine in the AS/400 arena. A special editorial section featuring the winners of the Product Excellence Awards will appear in the June 2000 issue of AS/400 Technology SHOWCASE magazine. A complete list of winners can be viewed online here.

We've recently added a new command to enhance our software. This new command simplifies the process of creating and distributing Web-based reports. If you are manually converting reports to HTML and uploading or e-mailing them, you'll really appreciate the convenience this command offers.

MRCRPTSND is a command that will run an mrc report, convert the spool file to HTML or PDF, and then send the file to the IFS. From here, the report can be served to any Web browsers. If your AS/400 is set up to be an email server, you can also enter the e-mail addresses to which you wish to directly send the report. This update requires that update MRC8000113 be previously installed.

You can download this enhancement from the Enhancements and Fixes section. We also offer a wide range of new templates, External Objects, and upgrades that our development department has created. Please note that you do need your user name and password to get into this area. If you need help or have any trouble logging on, please go here for instructions.

If you haven't done so already, please complete and return your survey. Your input is important to us! We use the suggestions we receive from you to improve our customer service and product development.

This year, you have two options for completing the survey. The first is the traditional paper copy that you received last month in our monthly newsletter. The other option allows you to try out mrc's Java applications. If you click here, you'll be able to launch an mrc-generated Java application. This application will access our AS/400 database live. It's actually a maintenance application, which most of you should be familiar with, just using mrc's Java code generation capabilities. It's an excellent example of the kinds of Web applications you could be developing with the mrc-Productivity Series. And since your survey responses are input directly into our AS/400 database, it will be very easy for mrc to view and analyze the results!

If there are ways that you'd like to see the mrc-Productivity Series improved, we want to hear about it! Please complete your survey today.

Web/Java and Client/Server applications use several source code templates to create the entire application. For this reason, mrc uses C/S Application Types to specify the templates used to generate a complete application. With this feature up to six templates can be used to generate all the required pieces of an application. Sometimes an mrc user might want to change one thing about a single template and leave everything else the same. Since changing standard mrc templates is not suggested, the mrc user will need to create their own C/S template types. The steps to do it follow:

First, determine the standard C/S Application Type Number that you want to duplicate. The types are unique by the key: Module Type (G for Graph, I for Inquiry, R for Report, S for Summary, M for Maintenance) and C/S Type Number. Note the Module Type and C/S Application Type Number. If you have an application already created and have created the C/S or Web version, then enter the specification for that application. Select option 7 to view Client/Server Options. This tells you which C/S template type the app is currently using.

Second, determine the templates that are used for that C/S Application Type. From the mrc main menu, select option 43 (Template Management Options.) Then select option 4 (Work with Client/Server application types.) A list of available C/S Application Type is displayed. Locate the type you wish to duplicate. Type a 5 to display the individual templates used by that type. Note each template that is used for this type. When you create a new C/S Application Type, you will enter all the same templates listed here except for the one(s) you wish to change. Write down all the templates or print the screen so that you can enter them in a new type later.

Third, copy the existing template. Use F3 to get back the mrc main menu. Use F7 to get a command line. Type STRPDM to start the AS/400 Programming Development Manager. Select 3 for members. Select the file you wish to update (QVBTSRC for Visual Basic, Java, or HTML templates and QDDSLESRC for RPG server templates), MRCAPPLLIB for the library, and *ALL for the name and type. Find the template you want to copy. Type a 3 and enter the new template name. Try to name it something that mrc will never use, including your company name/initials, for example. This ensures new versions of mrc will not replace your special template.

Fourth, change the new template as desired. After that template is created, use 2 to edit that template/member. Make whatever changes you want to make that template special. Use F3 and Enter to update and save the changes to that template/member. Use F3 to return to the mrc menu.

Fifth, create the new C/S Application Type. Use option 43 and option 4 again to return to the Work with C/S Application Types screen. Use F6 to create a new C/S Application type. Enter the Module Type and Application Type Number that does not already exist. Enter all the same templates from the original C/S Application Type, replacing the new template name appropriately. Press Enter to add the Type.

Sixth, run the Update template validation cross-reference option. From the Template Management Option window, run option 2.

Now you can change the application so that it uses the new C/S Application Type. Of course, this new C/S Application Type will be available to other applications that you create.

mrc offers training sessions at both your location and ours. Visit our education area for more information on our education services, or click herevisit to view our schedule for the entire year. (You will have to log in with your user name and password to visit this area. If you need login instructions, please click here first.)