Non technical advice. :) Since I've been doing Web applications for some years now, one of the most enduring processes is educating Users. Web applications have many benefits as well as drawbacks, the User must understand the differences and accept them. You cannot always do what the 3270 terminal application or a client/server application can do , you can be very very close!
But in the end the most diificult part is getting the User's to change their habit. After doing things the same way for 10-15 yrs good luck! Often I take the time to review with the User the business process. It is important to do it with the User, this way they get a sense of creating, participating with the Web application and end up being more receptive to changes. In the end, Web applications sort of simplfy the process (as compared to client/server applications) and ultimately make applications easier to use. - Glenn Chuck Chopp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent by: news <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 26/07/2004 04:29 PM Please respond to "Struts Users Mailing List" To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: Subject: JSP / ActionForm / Action design quesetion Classification: I'm experimenting with putting a JSP / Struts front-end onto an existing "green screen" application on a midrange system. I have JavaBeans that serve as wrappers around the underlying code that implements the business logic, which allows me to divorce the legacy green screen terminal I/O interface routines from the business logic. Now, however, I have to meet a requirement of the end-user and I'm too new at using Struts and JSPs to know for certain how to go about doing meeting the requirement. In a nutshell, the green screen interface allow for rapid data entry, and the JSP front-end that I'm trying to build needs to allow for the same techniques to be used or else it will fail to meet the user's requirements. Currently, a lot of of the data that gets entered is for fixed length fields, and when the data input results in one field being full, the focus automatically jumps to the next field as if the TAB key had been hit. When all of the fields of data have been entered, simply hitting the ENTER key results in the screen full of data fields being submitted, validated and then the screen is "reset" to empty field values again for additional data entry. Most of the data is numeric and the data entry is done via the numeric keypad. I need to know if it is possible to set up a JSP to work in the same way. Is it possible to set up a JSP such that quick data entry can be done with the focus automatically forwarding from one field to the next as the fields are filled up with fixed length data w/o having to hit the TAB key and with the ENTER key resulting in posting the form data to the applet? I can already handle the ActionForm programming for data validation and the success/failure forwarding so that the successfully validated data is fed into the model and then the controller forwards back to the same JSP / ActionForm combination again for additional data entry. I'm not sure if I can code things so that some other single keystroke can be used in place of clicking a "CANCEL" button on the form, such as hitting the ESC key and having that trigger an event in the JSP that is the same as clicking the "CANCEL" button. In the green screen application, hitting ESC results in leaving the data entry screen and returning to a higher level menu. I'd like to preserve as much of the legacy application's quick data entry functionality while putting a more modern web-enabled frontend onto the application. TIA, Chuck -- Chuck Chopp ChuckChopp (at) rtfmcsi (dot) com http://www.rtfmcsi.com RTFM Consulting Services Inc. 864 801 2795 voice & voicemail 103 Autumn Hill Road 864 801 2774 fax Greer, SC 29651 Do not send me unsolicited commercial email. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]