Xwindow 3270 Emulator (xhcon)

The xhcon command is the Motif version of the e789 command. It has all of the functionalities of the e789 command. However, some new features are supported:

• Mouse function
  • cursor movement and control
  • light-pen support
• Access 3270 function keys via push buttons
• Dynamic window size for multiple sessions

The following software is required to use the xhcon command:

• X Window System Version 11 Release 5
• OSF/Motif Version 1.2

Customizing the xhcon Command

The xhcon command uses the hconutil utility to customize the color and keyboard configuration so that the e789 and xhcon commands can run interchangeably. The xhcon command also requires the Motif default resources from the /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XHcon file. These default resources are:

• Bindings for the virtual key events defaultVirtualBindings :

  osfMenuBar: Ctrl<Key>F10 \ 
  osfRight: <Key>Right \
  osfDown: <Key>Down \
  osfUp: <Key>Up \
  osfCancel: <Key>Escape \
  osfLeft: <Key>Left

• Background color if it is not already defined by the hconutil utility:

  *background:            SteelBlue 

• Foreground color if it is not already defined by the hconutil utility:

  *foreground:            White

• Color of the scroll bar slider trough:

  *troughColor:           White

• Color of the highlighted rectangle:

  *highlightColor:        Red

• Font to draw the text:

  *fontSet : -ibm--medium-r-medium--20-14-100-100-c-90-*

• Color to draw the field outline box:

  *fieldOutlineColor:     White 

• Cursor style, block/full cursor, or underscore:

  *fullCursor:            True 

  Note: Do not change the defaultVirtualBindings resource because the osfMenuBar binding will disable the 3270 F10 function key. Use the Ctrl-F10 key combination to activate the menu bar.

For international language support, the double-byte character set (DBCS) countries have their own application default resource file located in /usr/lib/X11/<LANG>/app-defaults/XHcon. For example, for DBCS countries, the default resource files are:

Japanese: /usr/lib/X11/Ja_JP/app-defaults/XHcon

Korean: /usr/lib/X11/ko_KR/app-defaults/XHcon

Traditional Chinese: /usr/lib/X11/zh_TW/app-defaults/XHcon

To display text correctly, the following fontSet resources are recommended for each country:

Japanese: -ibm_aix-gothic-medium-r-normal--19-120-100-100-m-*-*-* 

Traditional Chinese:
          -ibm_aix-sung-medium-r-normal--27-170-100-100-m-*-*-*

Korean:   -ibm_aix-myungjo-medium-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

ISO-8859: -ibm--medium-r-medium--20-14-100-100-c-90-* 

These default resources can be overridden by the standard .Xdefaults file in your local home directory.

Mouse Function

In an X Window System environment, the mouse is the ideal mechanism to emulate the light-pen. With a mouse, you can activate a light-pen selectable field or trigger field, or move the cursor to a new location by clicking on a mouse button.

The following list shows the action taken when a mouse button is clicked:

Button 2 provides the same function as the CURSEL (cursor select) key.

Note: Cut and Paste function is not supported.

Access Function Keys through Push Buttons

This feature allows you to select and run function keys by using push buttons. A pop-up window containing the push buttons for each of the function keys is displayed when you select Function Keys from the menu-bar option list. Once the Function Keys button box is displayed and the buttons are placed on the screen, you can move them to any location on the screen. The initial window displays the first 12 function keys and you can select the next set of 12 function keys by clicking a push button. The hconutil command can be used to configure the action of each button.

The Function Key Window screen shows the layout of the Function Key window when it is first activated.

When your session is iconified, the Function Key window will also be iconified.

Dynamic Window Size for Multiple Sessions

The user interface can run multiple sessions in one window, the window is resized to fit each sessions geometry configuration. The window size is part of the session definition using SMIT. For the DFT and TCP/IP sessions, the window size remains constant as specified in the session configuration profile. However, the SNA T2.1 session window size will change in accordance to the BIND parameters specifications.

xhcon Process

Like the e789 process, the xhcon command invokes the xhcon process which starts the xhconx process for each session. For example:

xhcon abc [ options ]

starts one instance of the xhcon process and three instances of the xhconx process for session a, b, and c.

The process hierarchy can be represented as follows:

XDesktop Startup

xhcon may be started from the AIXwindows Desktop using its Application Manager. Use the following steps:

1. Log on to AIXwindows Desktop.
2. Open an Application Manager window. Make sure you are at the top level if the current level is not the top level.
3. Double-click on the xhconstart icon to bring up an xhconstart window.
4. Select sessions and options for HCON:
   • Select options:
     • Disable Typeahead

       When this option is selected, all keyboard inputs, including AID keys, are discarded during input-inhibited condition except the SysReq, Attn, and Control keys.

     • Other Options

       This field is reserved for future options.

   • Select sessions:
     • All Configured

       Start all sessions that have previously been defined.

     • Individual sessions

       Start one or more individual sessions that have previously been defined.

5. Select the Start button to start the xhcon window.

   Note: Alternatively, the Cancel button closes the xhconstart window.

Window Characteristics

Once the window is displayed, the window consists of the following components, as depicted in the Window Characteristics figure.