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BOS-complement

VTAM based Online Help and Documentation Solution for IMS/DC, CICS, TSO, CA-IDMS/DC Applications and others

Highlights

BOS-complement requires:
no program alterations
no source code access
no programming skills
  

Features

 

independent of programming languages
integration of existing data by the provided direct access facility(DB2 tables, VSAM files)
powerful import functions for existing documents
no help text limitation
user-friendly help display layout in form of pop-ups
CUA-compliant help functions
hierarchically structured help levels (field level, screen level, system wide valid help)
automatic data transfer facility into up to 10 fields at once
field content related help display
multiple usage of field descriptions
comprehensive cross reference listings
printing functions
integrated TSO/ISPF compliant text editor
user resp. terminal related help information
multi language support
easy help data exchange for a cross-platform usage in combination with BOS-EXPERT
TPX interface for a fast and easy system wide implementation
public and private annotations and bookmarks
  

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The Technical Concept

For creating online help functions, no source code is required. BOS-complement supports inhouse developed and third party application packages - independent of the programming language. 

 

Context-sensitive online help functions can be assigned by walking through the application, i.e. positioning the cursor on the desired field and pressing the CREATE key will activate the help create mode. 

 

The field will be identified by BOS-complement due to its own identification logic. Together with the field identification a reference to the help data (help text name and paragraph name) and the help window layout specifications are saved by BOS-complement. 

 

Pressing a function key will activate the BOS-complement text editor and allows to enter the help text for the field. Instead of help text (or in combination with it), a program may be activated to read external data (VSAM, DB2) for online help display. 

 

Immediately after returning to the application panel, the created online help is available and can be invoked by pressing the HELP function key.
  

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The Benefits

BOS-complement considerably reduces costs for creating, updating and distributing any information related to online applications in an MVS/VTAM environment. 

 

From an administrator’s view
Having the chance to implement online help functions without programming skills
Releasing IS staff from application documentation tasks
Separating application documentation from development
Having available comprehensive adminstrative functions for the created online help functions
Avoiding data redundancy due to a multiple usage of object descriptions
Integrating existing data (direct access / import)
Giving mainframe applications a new look and feel by implementing pop-up windows

 

From the end user’s view
Fast immediate access to always up-to-date help information
Context-sensitive online help functions in the „users’ language"
Creating of online help functions without programmers’ assistance
Automatic data transfer facility
Hypertext linking to efficiently access supplementary information
Increased user-friendliness of mainframe applications

 

From a company’s view
Cost reduction for
-Creating, distributing and maintaining application documentation
-User education and training
-User support
Quality insurance
Increased security in case of absence of users due to illness, 
vacation, ...
Minimization of damage repairing activities
Shorter processing times for all business transactions
 

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Technical Requirements

 

Operating systems supported:
z/OS, OS/390, MVS/ESA, MVS/XA 
with VTAM Version 3.1 end higher
Installation:
-Loading the BOS-complement source and load modules
-Defining two VSAM files, customizing the system to the VTAM environment via a batch job
-Running an Assembly to customize BOS-complement to the application environment
 

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Contact us

Convince yourself how easy it is to generate context-sensitive online help functions for your mainframe applications. Get your free trial.
 

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NEWSLETTER

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NEWS

tcVISION Version 4 available 

Julius Blum GmbH:
tcVISION moves data between DL/I, DB2 for z/OS and DB2 for LUW 

Vereinigte Informationssysteme Tierhaltung (vit): 
Bi-directional replication between ADABAS and ORACLE 

City of Leipzig: 
Bidirectional integration between IMS and Open Systems 

YAMPONG Corporation: 
the new B.O.S. Software partner in Taiwan 

CUSTOMERS

EVENTS

B.O.S. will present the tcVISION solution for the Real-time Synchronization / Replication of IBM-Mainframe data at the CICS/TS Working Group in Heidelberg from April 21 to 23, 2010 

B.O.S. Software will attend the Spring conference of GSE for z/VSE, z/VM and Linux on System z in Würzburg, Germany from April 19 to 21, 2010 

On December 10, 2009, B.O.S. presented a paper about their IDMS synchronization solution at the IDMS User Group Meeting in Bruxelles. The paper covers areas of bi-directional synchronization of IDMS-data, migration aspects and more