Funny Stuff

There are 2 major areas of mainframe programming which I would recommend when you're thinking of having fun: playing around with dynamic areas and in ISPF, and smart algorithms implemented in REXX.

1 - GRAPHESC

Show displayable characters in Graphical Escape Mode

The program shows all characters from x'00' to x'FF' within two dynamic areas on an ISPF screen. The left area uses field attributes with graphical escape ON, the right ares with graphical escape OFF.

This sample demonstrates the use of multiple dynamic areas on one screen and gives you an impressions of the extented character set available on your site to beautify and improve ISPF panels.

Look at the ISPF Dialog Developer's Guide an Reference with the explanations to the )ATTR Section and its GE keyword, and at the paragraph 'Character-Level Attribute Support for Dynamic Areas' in the same manual for further explanations.

Here is the program, the panel, and a JPEG image file showing a sample output:

2 - FIREWORK

Show fireworks with random explosions in multiple colors

This program uses a dynamic area, runs for a specific number of loop turns, and displays randomly generated exploding circles using alternating colors.

Here is the program, the panel, and a JPEG image file showing a sample output:

3 - PROGBAR

Build a progression bar for long-running applications

During long-running applications you sometimes wish to attract the user's attention to the program even if it still takes some more seconds to present the results.

A well-proven technique is to show a progression bar, for example an arrow which grows in length to indicate an ongoing process.

Here is the coding fragment and an HTML file showing a sample output:

4 - CELLS

ISPF-based implementation of 'Game Of Life'

John Horton Conway, a british mathematician, has developed a cellular automation called 'Game Of Live'.

My ISPF-based implementation was an early exercice on dynamic areas and simple REXX algorithms, - just for fun -, and very limited mainly due to the restrictions of the 3270 screen size. But maybe it gives you an impression how simple gaming might work with an ISPF interface.

More information on 'Game Of Life' can be found here.

Here is the program, the two panels, a sample ISPF table, and an HTML file showing a sample output:

5 - NOTIFY

Keep your buddies up-to-date

This tiny application offers a list of TSO userids to which you can send a small text (up to 4 lines with 44 characters each) via the TSO SEND command.

Here is the REXX program, two ISPF panels, and a sample screenshot:

If you have any difficulties with the program or with general concepts behind, feel free to contact me.

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