Welcome to HATS!
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With HATS, you can transform your critical business applications on the host into Web or rich client applications.
We strongly recommend you follow all the steps below to quickly get started with HATS.
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If you need help: As you work with HATS wizards and editors, press F1 to get explanations on specific fields.
Refer to the Getting Started
book for more information on each topic (and its
glossary
for terminology definitions, and
What's New for V7.5), and the
Information Center for the latest helpful updates.
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Expand the ordered tutorial topics and click on related links to learn about HATS:
Create your first project
Creating a project is the first step in developing with HATS.
- Click here to
launch the Create a Project wizard
(
: this icon is also available on the toolbar above).
Specify project type, connection settings, theme and template.
Click on the 'Welcome to HATS' tab above to return to this page after finishing the wizard.
- Test your HATS project using
Debug On Server
(
) for a Web project or
Debug
(
)
for a rich client project.
When asked, do start the display terminal. For Web projects, you may have to specify which server to start.
For rich client projects, you can likely accept the defaults in the Debug window, and double-click on the application name in the Host Access window to start it.
This
built-in test environment
runs your project so that you can preview and
test it before deploying it.
Note that your host screens are currently being displayed using the default transformation.
- Starting with version 7, HATS is installed as a trial product. If you have purchased HATS licenses, click here to
launch the License Settings dialog.
Click here for
more information.
Congratulations, you have created and previewed your first project!
Modify the template
A template controls the basic layout and style (such as color and font) of the application.
The template you selected in the Create a Project wizard is the default used for each screen.
To
edit the template,
click here to
open the default template in its editor.
To make a simple change to a Web project HTML template, do the following example:
- In the Design tab, click to place the blinking cursor just at the right of the My Company text.
- Backspace to erase the placeholder name, then type your company name.
- Type 'Ctrl+S' (or select 'File >> Save') to save your changes.
- Click on the Web Browser tab and select Refresh to see a preview of your change (click here if you need to restart the Debug On Server).
- You can also edit the template links and the URLs they point to now, if desired, or wait until later.
To make a simple change to a rich client project template, do the following example:
Note: If you do not have the visual editor installed, the template opens into the Java editor, ready for source editing.
To obtain the visual editor, read the technote available from the
HATS Support web site
(search on 'visual editor' at that site to find it). The following steps are valid only when using the visual editor.
- In the visual editor, click on the large blank area where the transformation will go, to select it.
- Click on the Properties tab (located in the pane below the editor).
- Select the 'background' row and click on the button (with the ellipsis) on the far right.
- Change the color and click OK. Note the immediate application of the new color in the visual editor.
- Type 'Ctrl+S' (or select 'File >> Save') to save your changes.
- Click Refresh in the test environment (or click here to restart it) to see a preview of your change.
To edit a template using the HATS Projects view, double-click on the template in the project's Web (or Rich Client) Content/Templates
folder (or right-click over the template and select Open).
You can create a template based on another template (or, in the case of a Web project, an existing Web site, easing
usage for instance of your company style and content guidelines),
with the
Create a Template wizard (
).
Edit the default rendering and global rules
Rendering sets are collections of ordered conversion pairings.
The
default rendering
set is used by the default transformation to change host components to GUI widgets.
Click here to
open the Project Settings editor
(
)
to the Rendering tab.
Select a row in the bottom table and then select Edit (if you do not have any screen captures you will be told how to obtain one) to open a wizard that allows you to:
- Modify the screen region in which to look for the target component.
- Change the component to be looked for in the region.
Modify the component settings if needed so that the component as used in your application is recognized.
- Change the widget you want to use to render the component.
For example, you might want to render functions keys as buttons instead of links.
You can add new component/widget pairs, or disable existing items.
When HATS processes a screen using default rendering, it examines the first pair, and if any target components in the
specified region are found, the associated widget is substituted, and the area consumed is unavailable to any other pairing.
Then the next checked row (pair) in the table is looked at, and so on.
Global rules are a related concept (found just below default rendering in the Rendering tab navigation tree).
Select the Add button and explore the power of a
global rule
to:
- Define an input field component/widget mapping that applies for all transformations, not just the default.
- Specify not only the target widget but also a "transformation fragment" which contains the target widget but also allows
all the rich functionality of JSPs (Web) or Java (rich client).
Experiment a bit with changes to the default rendering (for instance, make selection lists appear in a drop-down menu instead of as
links), and perhaps add a global rule (such as converting date entry fields into calendar widgets).
After saving your updates, click on Refresh in the test environment (or click here to
restart it) and look for examples of your changes.
Customize a screen
- Click here to
open the host terminal using the default connection
(
),
then navigate to the screen you want to customize (such as a logon screen).
-
Start the Create a Screen Customization wizard
(
).
- Change the screen recognition criteria if desired. You can make the descriptors very specific to this screen, or more general, such that more than one screen might be recognized.
- Specify that a new, blank transformation be applied as the only action that will occur when this screen is recognized, and finish the wizard.
- The
transformation editor
opens. Your next actions depend on whether it is a Web or a rich client project:
- Web:
- The Insert Host Component wizard (
)
opens automatically over the transformation (page designer) editor.
- Use the mouse to drag-select a portion of the screen. Include, for instance, some static text and an entry field.
- Choose a host component to be looked for in the selected region, and a browser widget to display the information, and finish the wizard.
- Add a component by dragging it from the HATS Component drawer of the palette and dropping it in the editor.
You will need to go through the Insert Host Component wizard again, to complete the action.
- Select a component in the editor (Design tab view) and click on the Properties tab (located in the pane below the editor) to see a useful place you can change component or widget settings.
- Save the changes to the transformation.
- Rich client:
Note: If you do not have the visual editor installed, the transformation opens into the Java editor, ready for source editing.
To obtain the visual editor, read the technote available from the
HATS Support web site
(search on 'visual editor' at that site to find it). The following steps are valid only when using the visual editor.
- The transformation opens with the Java visual editor design pane over the source pane.
- If the palette is not open, select Window >> Show View >> Palette.
- Click on Component in the HATS drawer.
- Move the mouse pointer over the gray rectangle in the design pane and left-click.
- The Insert Host Component wizard (
)
opens.
- Use the mouse to drag-select a portion of the screen. Include, for instance, some static text and an entry field.
- Choose a host component to be looked for in the selected region, and a browser widget to display the information, and finish the wizard.
- Select the component in the design pane and click on the Properties tab (located in the pane below the editor) to see a useful place you can change component or widget settings.
- Save the changes to the transformation.
- Click Refresh in the test environment (if open), or click here to restart it and see a preview of your
customized screen.
You may want to return to the transformation editor and see the extensive list of
items you can insert into transformations:
- For Web, select HATS Tools from the menu bar
- For rich client, examine the other choices in the HATS drawer of the palette
Know also that when you create a transformation, you have the option to prefill
it with a pattern such as all host components found on the screen, arranged in a table of widgets you can then modify as desired.
Combine screens
HATS provides several ways to collect information from a series of host screens and present the results as one page.
A HATS
screen combination
event lets you display in one view, a collection of data that requires the user to page forward
multiple times if using the host.
- Click here to
open the host terminal using the default connection
(
),
then navigate to the screen from which you want to start the combining activity.
-
Start the Create a Screen Combination wizard
(
).
Note that you can also start this wizard from a screen capture.
- Change the 'begin screen' recognition criteria if desired.
- Specify the region of each screen that you want combined.
- Choose a host component to be looked for in the selected region, and a widget to display the information.
- Make changes if necessary to indicate the host keys used to navigate between the host screens.
- Denote how to recognize when the combination should end.
This can be based on the number of iterations (screens), when a particular screen is recognized, or whichever of the two comes first.
- Specify that the existing default transformation be applied as the action that will occur after the screen data is collected.
- Web only: Check the 'Use dynamic, cached content loading (not supported for portlet projects)' check box if you want the user to be able to interact with the
page before it has completely finished being built, and finish the wizard.
- Click Refresh in the test environment (if open), or click here to restart it and see a preview of your
combined screens.
Work with macros, Integration Objects and Web services (SOA)
Macros can be employed for many useful purposes, such as:
- Skipping host screens
- Automating common user paths (including repetitive looping)
- Combining data from many host screens into one page
- Prompting for and extracting data
Integration Objects (Web only) are macros in a Java wrapper.
You can create one by right-clicking on a macro in the HATS Projects view and selecting Create Integration Object from the context menu.
Macros
and
Integration Objects
can be created on background connections rather than the HATS default
connection, which is used for all transformations. Background connections allow back-end data operations to be specified as
actions in screen customizations or other events.
For now, create a simple macro (such as a logon macro) from the
host terminal
by clicking on the Record Macro (
) icon. When you are done
recording, click on the Stop and Save icons to save your changes.
Test your macro in the host terminal by playing it back or stepping through it to debug.
You can then associate the macro as an action in a screen customization that recognizes the first screen of the macro.
Click Refresh in the test environment (if open), or click here to restart it
and verify that the macro is running as designed.
Later you can explore the several methods available for editing macros by right-clicking on the macro in the
navigation pane and selecting 'Open With'.
The Visual Macro Editor (VME) displays a macro as a connected series of screen nodes, with a summary of actions, and available edit capabilities.
Model 1, Struts and Java Server Faces (JSF)
Web Pages,
EJB Access Beans,
Web Services
(SOA):
In Web projects, from macros and Integration Objects you can create powerful resources for back-end data processing and chained transactions,
facilitating usage of shared artifacts.
Rich client projects, while they cannot create Web services, can call Web services as part of an event's set of actions.
Either type of project can utilize EJB access beans.
Utilize host simulation
The
host simulation
function lets you work on a HATS project without requiring a connection to the host application,
but with the ability to, for instance, create macros, screen events, transformations,
and run it on the local test environment.
Specifically, it allows you to:
- Record a path through a host application that can later be used when you are in a disconnected state.
This could allow you to work when you do not have live access to the application, but without having to previously create screen captures
for all needed screens.
- Set up a demo of a HATS application that uses a saved trace file representing an actual host application, without requiring
connection to the host.
- Save the record of an end user's interaction with a particular HATS application, to aid in client support.
To record a trace:
- Click on the
Create a Host Simulation Trace wizard
(
).
- In the host terminal that opens after you finish the wizard, interact with the host in the desired sequence; when
finished, save the trace file.
To playback a trace:
- Right-click over a trace file in the Host Simulations folder, and select Playback on Host Terminal.
- Interact with the host. Notice that your path is constrained by the actions you took during recording.
To test a HATS project using a host simulation:
- In the Connections folder,
open the default connection.
- On the Basic tab, check the 'Use host simulation instead of the live connection' check box.
Save the change.
- A connection change like this requires the local test environment to be 'recycled' to pick up the new setting:
- Web: Close the Web Browser tab, and stop then restart the server
- Rich client: Close the Host Access window, then click on the Debug icon on the toolbar
- Notice, again, that your path is restricted to the actions you took during recording.
Explore advanced functions of HATS
- Project Settings
(
):
Double-click on Project Settings in the
HATS Projects view and explore the tabs. You can specify
advanced settings such as keypad and keyboard support, event priority, and component/widget settings. Click here for
more information.
You can modify HATS global settings in Window >> Preferences.
- Screen Captures (
): Create an XML snapshot of a screen using the
host terminal,
allowing you to customize it later offline. A screen capture is automatically created for you when you create a screen customization or transformation
from the host terminal. You can also create screen captures from CICS BMS maps you have imported.
-
Text Replacement:
Substitute new text (or an image or, for Web projects, HTML code) for every instance of a given string in any
protected area of the screen. Like many functions in HATS (such as global rules), you can make this project-wide or granular to a particular
screen event (or host component).
Java regular expression support is also provided.
-
Transformations
(
):
Define how host screens will appear to the user. Unless overridden, a default transformation is applied to each screen.
-
Templates
(
):
Specify what banner to use when framing a transformation. You can open the default template by selecting a project and clicking here.
When editing a Web project transformation or template using the HTML editor:
- Use the Gallery tab (located in the pane below the editor) to add images, animations, stylesheets, backgrounds, and sound.
- Insert links, forms, buttons, and other HTML controls using the Insert menu item.
-
Debug On Server
(
: Web) or
Debug
(
: rich client):
At any time you can select one of these to see your application using the test environment.
When using Debug On Server:
- Select the Servers tab to view, stop, publish, and restart the WebSphere Test Environment.
- View the WebSphere Test Environment log using the lower Console tab.
- You may need to restart the internal WebSphere Test Environment after making significant project changes.
When using Debug:
- You can optionally select a subset of plugins to launch.
- Additional options are available from the Host Access window; navigate to the File >> Preferences >> Host Access >> Troubleshooting node.
-
Administration
and
Display Terminal:
- Web: Click here to
open the Administrative Console
if you added administrative console support when you created the project.
(You can also right-click in the HATS Projects view and select Open Administrative Console.)
The Debug On Server will be started (if not already running) and the HATS Administration utility will open in a new Web Browser tab.
- Rich client: You can administer a project from the Host Access window; File >> Preferences >> Host Access >> Troubleshooting tab.
From either place you can enable a display terminal if you want to watch host screens change, and interact with them, while a HATS application
runs in the local test environment.
- Connections
(
):
The default
connection
handles all transformations; click here to
open the editor for the default connection.
Background connections to other hosts can be created for macros, Integration Objects, and other types
of entities. Security
(SSL and Web Express Logon),
pooling
and
user lists
are supported.
- Mobile Devices:
HATS Web applications can now be optimized to run on, for example, a PDA or phone Web browser. The Help has more information about supported platforms and capabilities.
See the documentation for information about:
Prepare your project for production
To make a completed HATS Web project ready for end users to access as a Web application:
- Export
(
): Build the project as a J2EE application.
- Transfer: Move the EAR file to the WAS server machine.
- Install: Deploy the application using WAS.
- Let your end users know the URL of the application.
To make a completed HATS rich client project ready for users to install:
- Export
(
) your Eclipse feature project (you will be prompted to create a feature project the first time you export your plug-in project).
- Export the HATS features and plug-ins which are required by your application.
-
Create a site.xml
(this file lists the features available on an update site; end users will point their rich client to the location of this file).
- Upload the exported features and plugins and the site.xml to your update site.
- Install the application by pointing your rich client at this site.
View the library of online information for HATS
Access additional information to help you create and customize applications using HATS:
- Getting Started
- Getting Started for IBM i
- User's and Administrator's Guide
- Programmer's Guide
- Rich Client Platform Programmer's Guide
- Advanced Macro Guide
- Messages
- Troubleshooting
- Readme and Certificate Management: available off the Start menu in the HATS program group
Visit these Web sites to search or browse for more information on support, hints and tips, updates, flashes, news, services, training, tutorials, white papers,
API reference, and newsgroups:
- IBM HATS Web site (http://www.ibm.com/software/awdtools/hats/)
- HATS V7.5 Information Center
(http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/hatshelp/v75/index.jsp)
- IBM Education Assistant (http://www.ibm.com/software/info/education/assistant/)
- IBM Support Assistant (http://www.ibm.com/software/support/isa/)
(click here
for information on installing the HATS plugin)
If you are new to the IBM Software Development Platform (SDP), you may want to peruse the SDP online help to learn how to work and navigate in the workbench
environment.