Rexx Anywhere!
NetRexx page
© Copyright 1998 by
David Alcock
This page deals with what I did to port my
REXXVER Rexx exec to NetRexx. For the first
porting attempt, I created a Java Application that sent information to
the Java console via the NetRexx SAY command. I then created
a Java applet that simulated the SAY and wrote via a graphic
command to the applet window. The third iteration is slightly more
elegant and used an AWT component to put the Rexx/NetRexx environment
information in an area that is easy to do a GUI text copy from.
For more information on porting your Rexx execs to NetRexx, please
surf over to IBM's
NetRexx
web page.
Application
The easiest way to get the Rexxver
Rexx exec running using NetRexx
was to create a Java application. Java applications can't run under
a web browser and the easiest port was line-mode output to the Java
console.
The port of Rexxver to
NetRexx was very simple. It mainly dealt with the ADDRESS() missing
function and changing "translate(date(),'-',' ')" to simply "date()".
NetRexx returns the Java date which is in a UNIX format so the
translate to add dashes wasn't needed.
Take a brief look at this version of the Rexxver exec called
rexxvers.nrx. Were you surprised that it
looked almost exactly like the Rexx execs you create on your favorite
platform? This Java Application (with the supporting NetRexx classes)
will run on any Java implementation.
Applet
It took
a little more work to get the Rexxver
Rexx exec working
as a Java applet. This version of
RexxVerN merely does a drawstring to the
applet "window" area using a simulated say function.
Here is a sample
invocation of REXXVER as a NetRexx (Java) applet:
Here is the source of the
RexxVerN Rexx exec.
Better Applet
Using the drawstring approach in the first applet version doesn't
allow cut and paste of the output. In my second attempt at this applet,
I've used the TextArea function that gives us this capability.
This version of the REXXVER applet is called
RexxVerA and looks a lot better:
Here is the source of the
RexxVerA Rexx exec.
My Windows 95 development environment
I've chosen to use the NetRexx Version 1.02 (for Java 1.0.x) for the
Java applets I distribute because that version of the compiler uses
the older Java specification that most browsers will support. On my
Windows 95 system, I have two versions of Sun's JDK and NetRexx:
- Java 1.0.2 JDK using NetRexx 1.02
- Java 1.1.5 JDK using NetRexx 1.28
When I fire up a MS/DOS window, I use a BAT file to set up each
Java JDK and NetRexx like:
SET CLASSPATH=.;\jdk1.1.5\classes;\jdk1.1.5\lib\classes.zip;\jdk1.1.5\lib\NetRexxR.zip;\jdk1.1.5\lib\NetRexxC.zip;
path %path%;c:\jdk1.1.5\bin;
After using the JAVA102.BAT or JAVA115.BAT file, I am now ready to
compile NetRexx programs using the supplied bat file. Sample way to
compile my second Rexxver applet is this command at the DOS prompt:
"NETREXXC RexxVerA.nrx".
Summary
I haven't attempted to give you a "NetRexx 101" course here but mainly a
discussion about my port of the Rexxver Rexx
exec to NetRexx. These small Java (via NetRexx) applications and
applets show ways to determine what Rexx and Java implementation you are
executing under.
Mike Cowlishaw, the inventor of Rexx and NetRexx,
says that NetRexx-generated Java applets
use 35% less code than using the native Java programming language.
Take a few minutes and check out the
NetRexx home page
and take a look at the
Freely Available Code and other code samples and tutorials
on the NetRexx links page.
Have Fun!
Return to the Rexx Anywhere! page.
Last Updated: 2000-05-27
This web page is © 1997-2001+ by
David Alcock.
All Rights Reserved.