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friedl.otto |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:42 am Post subject: VB6 Gurus ... please step up to the plate. |
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Centurion
Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 116
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I have seen scores of forums/pages where people bemoan issues with the
IBM WebSphere MQ VB6 sample app to do an MQ put (to wit amqsgetb.vbp).
It is interesting to note that amqsputb.vbp works like a charm. From which I
would surmise that it is neither an IBM nor a Microsoft library or even a
configuration issue.
I have seen nary a solution ... please oh great ones ... let us bask in the
warm glow of your immense and infinite wisdom. _________________ Here's an idea - don't destroy semaphores unless you're certain of what you're doing! -- Vitor |
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Vitor |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:49 am Post subject: Re: VB6 Gurus ... please step up to the plate. |
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 Grand High Poobah
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 26093 Location: Texas, USA
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friedl.otto wrote: |
I have seen scores of forums/pages where people bemoan issues with the
IBM WebSphere MQ VB6 sample app to do an MQ put (to wit amqsgetb.vbp). |
Not least this one I think:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=115509&tstart=0
The "solution" I've used is to crib bits of the code from the samples as required into other VB6 I've written and run those. I can't in all honesty say I've ever tried to use either of the VB6 samples, as I started writing VB6 with MQ as ports of C code I'd already written & obviously these were in projects I'd created.
As VB6 now appears to be in the same boat as MQv5.3, the question seems largely academic.  _________________ Honesty is the best policy.
Insanity is the best defence. |
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friedl.otto |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:08 am Post subject: |
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Centurion
Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 116
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"Mainstream Support for Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 ended on March 31, 2005. Extended support will end in March 2008."
Duly noted. But if you are helping one of your data providers (who are a VB6
shop) to send you data over MQ ... well debating the pros and cons of VB6
vs VB.NET is not exactly the place of the guy with the WebSphere T-shirt.
But let us board your thought-train, you recon .NET will make my woes stop? _________________ Here's an idea - don't destroy semaphores unless you're certain of what you're doing! -- Vitor |
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Vitor |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:23 am Post subject: |
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 Grand High Poobah
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 26093 Location: Texas, USA
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friedl.otto wrote: |
But let us board your thought-train, you recon .NET will make my woes stop? |
Having started this reply, I notice the very small quote in really faint green which I didn't see in your original post. If you're going to include stuff, have pity on those of us of advancing years, failing eyesight and really small and useless monitors......
This underlines my point that VB6 & MQv5.3 are in the same boat, i.e. obsolete and drifting into the sunset. So extensive efforts to fix either are probably not an effective use of resources better spent on upgrading.
If one of your providers is a VB6 shop, then they will have produced their own applications rather than using the samples. These application undoubtably work. The samples work in terms of code even if (as seems to be the case) the supplied project's a bit naff. Like I said, never tried the samples in VB6 myself.
Hence if you've got a problem in a VB6 app you should fix it as normal. If you're producing a new app you should probably consider using VB.NET rather than VB6 in the same way you should consider using MQv6 not MQv5.3. At this stage, I can't imagine why you're messing around with VB6 samples.
It's not a cut & dried decision, but .NET is certainly the direction you should be going in because as you correctly point out VB6 is swirling the drain and therefore unsuitable for production use. _________________ Honesty is the best policy.
Insanity is the best defence. |
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friedl.otto |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:39 am Post subject: |
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Centurion
Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 116
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Perhaps I should give you some sufficiently vague and non-incriminating
background to illustrate my predicament.
1. We operate in Africa
2. Our organisation cannot get DNS to work on AS/400 and simply hardcode
hostnames in the hosts file.
3. Our organisation believes that XML is God's gift to the planet.
4. Our organisation does not know what XSD, XSL or XPath is.
5. Our organisation uses http to post to a Java app that in turn puts to MQ.
So ... our preferred vendors are not always A grade.
But ... neither are we.  _________________ Here's an idea - don't destroy semaphores unless you're certain of what you're doing! -- Vitor |
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Vitor |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:43 am Post subject: |
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 Grand High Poobah
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 26093 Location: Texas, USA
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friedl.otto wrote: |
Perhaps I should give you some sufficiently vague and non-incriminating
background to illustrate my predicament. |
That's not a predicament, that's a day at the office in most organisations round the world. Only the list of problems varies.
And I deal with 3-5 on a daily basis. Along with others. Including non A-grade vendors.
None of this has anything to do with your original post regarding VB6 samples, which is splendidly irrelevent to your list of issues.
 _________________ Honesty is the best policy.
Insanity is the best defence. |
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zpat |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:48 am Post subject: |
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 Jedi Council
Joined: 19 May 2001 Posts: 5866 Location: UK
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Vitor |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:52 am Post subject: |
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 Grand High Poobah
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 26093 Location: Texas, USA
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Again I find the forum educational; thanks for the link!  _________________ Honesty is the best policy.
Insanity is the best defence. |
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friedl.otto |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:55 am Post subject: |
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Centurion
Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 116
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OK ... relevance is King ... let's think.
Our non-A-grade vendor has been given some development to do, as
usual in an extremely optimistic timeframe. Since the MQ team bothered
to butt in and suggest that this would be a good time to correctly
implement MQ, they will obviously (read 'illogically') be held
accountable for any failure to develop and test the app on time.
Since the data exchange is between two organisations, we argued that the
blessings of assured delivery and transactionality may actually make life
easier for all involved.
Only ... the vendor is a VB6 shop. The deadline does not allow for trips to
the bathroom, nevermind retraining and retooling. So ... if the .NET 'Plan
B' will not shake budgets and timelines ... perhaps we could build an
MQ_PUT and MQ_GET DLL for use with the main app? _________________ Here's an idea - don't destroy semaphores unless you're certain of what you're doing! -- Vitor |
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friedl.otto |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:01 am Post subject: |
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Centurion
Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 116
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I am bound to use this knowledge when the jrun support expires soon.
Thanks Clockwork Orange Man.  _________________ Here's an idea - don't destroy semaphores unless you're certain of what you're doing! -- Vitor |
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Vitor |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:17 am Post subject: |
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 Grand High Poobah
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 26093 Location: Texas, USA
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friedl.otto wrote: |
Only ... the vendor is a VB6 shop. The deadline does not allow for trips to
the bathroom, nevermind retraining and retooling. So ... if the .NET 'Plan
B' will not shake budgets and timelines ... perhaps we could build an
MQ_PUT and MQ_GET DLL for use with the main app? |
So they should build a VB6 app, using the sample code for reference, which will work once they've coded it right.
So would your plan to wrap the MQI in another DLL and supply that. Be sure it exposes everything they might need.
If your timelines are that tight IMHO .NET is going to cause more problems than it solves & should be a medium term aspiration. Knowing that VB6 is going out of support they will of course have a plan to migrate off it. No, really, they will. Honest.  _________________ Honesty is the best policy.
Insanity is the best defence. |
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Vitor |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:19 am Post subject: |
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 Grand High Poobah
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 26093 Location: Texas, USA
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friedl.otto wrote: |
Since the MQ team bothered
to butt in and suggest that this would be a good time to correctly
implement MQ, they will obviously (read 'illogically') be held
accountable for any failure to develop and test the app on time.
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I told you this was a day in the office at most organisations round the world.  _________________ Honesty is the best policy.
Insanity is the best defence. |
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friedl.otto |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:57 am Post subject: |
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Centurion
Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 116
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Vitor wrote: |
I told you this was a day in the office at most organisations round the world.  |
You must have a remuneration package that allows you to drive an Aston
Martin and live in a mansion on the Thames the way you so matter-of-factly
state that our jobs suck piles ... and yet you joyously keep at it.
 _________________ Here's an idea - don't destroy semaphores unless you're certain of what you're doing! -- Vitor |
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Vitor |
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:02 am Post subject: |
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 Grand High Poobah
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 26093 Location: Texas, USA
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friedl.otto wrote: |
You must have a remuneration package that allows you to drive an Aston
Martin and live in a mansion on the Thames the way you so matter-of-factly
state that our jobs suck piles ... and yet you joyously keep at it.
 |
It's this or actually work for a living.
These days, it's not so much the money as the trout. Though the money is good.
But trout wielding is just fun.  _________________ Honesty is the best policy.
Insanity is the best defence. |
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dkeister |
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:30 am Post subject: |
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Disciple
Joined: 25 Mar 2002 Posts: 184 Location: Purchase, New York
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I just saw this thread as I was fly-fishing for trout in Chile for the past two week. I am at a loss to understand what the problem with writing VB6 applications to work with MQ is. If you have some questions or want some samples, contact me.
 _________________ Dean Keister |
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