The really boring and totally pointless snippets thread II

[Cacophonix]

Remember when the BBC Micro first came out one used a cassette player to load the programs. The Beeb had a rather wonderful 6502 assembler that one could use to write very compact machine code and also address the UART directly which skill I used at that time to link an IBM ERP system (System 38 running MAPICS) to the programmable CNC machines in a factory in Cheltenham using the BBC micro and the easily programmable UARTas the comms interface. Worked like a charm even if I say so myself.

Caco

[ian16th]

Its communications capabilities were definitely not S/38's strengths!

[Cacophonix]

Its communications capabilities were definitely not S/38's strengths!

Yes as you say. If the comms protocol wasn't IBM SNA compliant then you had an issue which meant that if you wanted to talk to the VAX or Unix based machines life became somewhat difficult. The EBCDIC ASCII conversion stuff was a pain in the rear end as well. They did later develop a decent program to link to PC's (PC Support) which eventually supported the TCP/IP stack and things got a little easier on the comms front.

Caco

[ian16th]

Wasn't the SNA capability only PU2/LU2 to upstream SNA hosts?

LU 6.2 peer-to-peer, I think came late in its life.

[Cacophonix]

Wasn't the SNA capability only PU2/LU2 to upstream SNA hosts?

LU 6.2 peer-to-peer, I think came late in its life.

You remember well. LU6 allowed apps to talk peer to peer when IBM realised that they might have to allow comms with programs on other vendors' kit and not just IBM proprietory terminals and the like (e.g. 3270 etc. which was PU2/LU2) and controllers etc. I guess you would have been conversant with the System 34 & 36 as well. Once had to link the System 38 and the AS/400 to a Dutch manufacturing company running a network of S36's. Screen emulators to link to PC's and a system emulator (on the AS/400) to the run the System 36 code natively. All good fun.

Caco

[ian16th]

I don't think that any of S/3X family could control 3270's only emulate them, and do 2780/3780 emulation that was often miss-sold as a file transfer utility.

[Cacophonix]

I don't think that any of S/3X family could control 3270's only emulate them, and do 2780/3780 emulation that was often miss-sold as a file transfer utility.

Correct and LU2 covered the protocol for connection to an IBM 3270 terminal (which had to understood to write any software emulator to connect to a 3270 display). The 3270 was used by the IBM mainframe range. The emulators we ran on PC's could emulate both a 3270 and 5250 block display.

The native terminal controllers on the System 38 were for the 5250 display family.

Did you ever do any programming using SDA on the 5250 screens (subfiles etc.)? Complete pain and looked really clunky in comparison to the graphical interfaces everybody expects on their devices these days. How things have changed.

Caco

[ian16th]

Never programmed a S/3x.

[4mastacker]

I had steak and chips for me dinner tonight.

[wings folded]

What protocol emulator did you employ for your steak? I hope it was SNA compliant or it would never have interfaced with the chips

[A Lutra Continua]

What protocol emulator did you employ for your steak? I hope it was SNA compliant or it would never have interfaced with the chips

Brown sauce and pickled onions. Fried egg on top.

[Ex-Ascot]

Thanks you 4M I understood that. As for the previous 8 posts

Had 1.5mm yesterday evening. Clear morning but another small amount of the wet stuff forecast. We will still have to water today. Dumped the gardener in the lagoon yesterday to move the water pump inlet. He came out with all arms and legs.

Varnishing again today. Got side tracked yesterday setting up a system to divert the overflow from the water tank to an area where we are putting more bananas. At the moment it just goes over the side into an area of ornamental grass which don't really need the water.

We are both crocked. 'er with a bad back me with persistent swelling from the bite some days ago. I blame lack of internal lubrication. 8 days 17 hrs 22 mins. The end is in sight

[handsfree]

The aged mater is back home safe and well. She asked to go to bed at 8 last night and we
didn't hear a peep from her until 6 this morning. Spent most of the night awake listening
out for movement. She is now recovering quite nicely from the bout of pneumonia that had
made her rather poorly.

Thank you all for the good wishes that you have expressed during this recent saga. It did help.

[Cacophonix]

What protocol emulator did you employ for your steak? I hope it was SNA compliant or it would never have interfaced with the chips

Touché

Caco

[A Lutra Continua]

...gardener in the lagoon yesterday to move the water pump inlet. He came out with all arms and legs...

Sucks all the fun out of croc fishing, don't it...

[Ibbie]

Morning from a grey Southampton.

Grimaldi Lines Grande Luanda has just sailed.

Going to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard today, then a Chinese tonight.

[ian16th]

Any of you world travellers planning to come to SA soon?

I need a courier for a small/light legal package.

Any costs to be covered in R/$/£ your choice.

PM me

[Woody]

For those who don't follow the football thread, I'm now in Madrid, train to Seville at 1200 local time.

[Ex-Ascot]

Spent two hours yesterday rigging up a funnel made from a 5 ltr water container with the bottom cut to go under the overflow for the water tank. Pipe connected to that takes the water to where I need it in the garden. The overflow is threaded. I have loads of junk plumbing bits. 2+2 came to 4 in the middle of the night. Ripped it all down this morning. Screwed an elbow into the outlet and connected the pipe to it - 5 mins and no water sloshing all over the place.

Phoned the chief this morning to see if the community would like a cooker and fridge freezer. Latter only two years old. Gratis of course. He has to bring the village development committee around to view them. Then they probably have to call a meeting about it. What a carry on.

[ian16th]

Phoned the chief this morning to see if the community would like a cooker and fridge freezer. Latter only two years old. Gratis of course. He has to bring the village development committee around to view them. Then they probably have to call a meeting about it. What a carry on.

The cooker I can understand, but why ditch a working fridge?

In Africa you can never have too much cold beer.

We even have a U/S one we use as a cupboard!