Putting the “S” in Service-Oriented Architecture

The tenth annual Sirius User Group meeting was held from Sunday, April 25 to Thursday, April 29, 2004 in the technology capital of the Southwest – Austin, Texas. The conference theme was “Putting the ‘S’ in Service-Oriented Architecture” and the focus was on combining Sirius products with Model 204 to implement state of the art applications using XML and Web Services. Over a third of the presentations were from users and partners who shared valuable insights that you can use to leverage your own applications.

Foils and handouts from the presentations are available online. Assistance locating viewers is available online to help you find the viewer appropriate for your platform.

User Presentations

Presentation Title			Speaker		Available Formats
Janus Web Server - Better Than Botox For Your 3270 Applications			Ann MacEwan - Texas Youth Commission		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	Texas Youth Commission is the state juvenile corrections agency, and has utilized Model 204 for its core applications since the early 1980s. In 2001 TYC acquired Janus Web Server, and in four months converted one of the most complex 3270 (originally coded in 1985!) applications to a web application. A big factor in the success of this project was the ability to utilize large amounts of existing code that has been "vetted" over the years. This presentation addresses the turbulence and triumphs encountered along the way to production.
Marks & Spencer - Exploiting Model 204 through Janus Web & SOAP			Daniel Ascher - Marks and Spencer		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	Marks and Spencer is a leading UK-based retailer of clothing, homeware and foods. The Foods division hosts a complex inventory management application in Model 204. Supply chain applications for perishable food stuffs must strike a delicate balance between under supply and waste due to spoilage - getting it right has a direct payoff in profitability. Point of Sale systems in the M&S retail stores communicate in real-time to a farm of Microsoft Biztalk servers that in turn use Web Services to perform real-time updates to the Model 204 inventory application. This presentation will discuss the highly successful Christmas stock management system that uses real-time anlysis of sales and inventory data to generate alerts to store personnel when popular items known to be in-stock are not selling as expected. This Janus Web Server/Janus SOAP application was processing 150 web services per second in its initial rollout. The Food Division had the necessary system infrastructure in place so that with minor changes to the rules in Biztalk and a feed of reference data from the DB2 systems, the Food division hosted alerting for the top lines in both Foods and General Merchandise!
SOA at Centrelink			Daniel Yee - Centrelink		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	Centrelink has embraced a Service Oriented Architecture with Model 204 publishing and consuming Web Services. This presentation will address the characteristics and early implementation of Centrelink's SOA. Various examples will show how the Janus SOAP User Language Interface has greatly simplified earlier generations of User Language code that implemented Object-Oriented concepts with Sirius $-lists. Current experiments with Model Driven Architecture will be illustrated through a demonstration of an Eclipse plug-in that generates Janus SOAP ULI code from Unified Modeling Language and vice versa.
Developing an Enterprise Query Solution at the DEA			Don Essick - Northrop Grumman Information Technology		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	Developers from Keane Federal Systems and Northrop Grumman Information Technology have developed an Enterprise Query Solution which runs queries against disparate stovepipe systems. The system replaces a legacy model which was difficult to maintain and enhance. The presentation will focus on design issues, tradeoffs, methodologies and results.
Centrelink Update – Managing Growth			Leon Rasheed - Centrelink		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	This presentation bring us up to date on the status of Model 204 at Centrelink. Of primary interest are our ongoing efforts to manage growth. Our peak period CPU usage has been growing at a compounding rate of thirty percent per annum, causing us to launch a War on MIPS to further improve the efficiency of our applications. One area of recent focus has been the effects of automated terminal scripts upon our peak period demand for CPU. A variety of other interesting topics will be covered, including the recently concluded long-term agreement between Centrelink and CCA, early experiences with the lastest release of the Sirius Sirius Mods and Fast/Unload, current and proposed enhancements to SoftSpy, and the surprises encountered while attempting to tune our development onlines.
CNYRIC Student Information System			Mary Brady, Sandy Kosina, Patti Neuman - CNYRIC		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	The Central New York Regional Information Center provides IT support for several school districts in upstate New York. This presentation outlines our use of Janus to web-enable a sophisticated Student Information System impemented with Model 204. Emphasis is given to the unique security requirements associated with providing Internet access to sensitive student information as we migrate from a 3270-based system used in an internal network. Our efforts to date have been both cost effective and very well received by our user community. We will present our plans for further enhancements that will keep our system at the leading edge of large-scale student information management.

Partner Presentations

Presentation Title			Speaker		Available Formats
Model 204 V6R1 – Coming Attractions			Jim Damon - CCA		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	A preview of the plans for the next release of Model 204.
Get Out the Gold Watch and the 30-year Service Pin – Retiring the KEY Attribute			Robert Waggoner - Nodus, Inc.		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	The primary theme of this presentation is that there is much functionality to be gained by "modernizing" indexed fields through conversion of KEY fields to Ordered. This presentation serves as a workbook for converting existing M204 file fields from the KEY attribute. The advantages of the Ordered attribute over the KEY are discussed, as well as any disadvantages. Considerations for making decisions with regard to numeric fields, date fields, invisible fields, and multiply occurring fields will be discussed, as well as the impact on the File Manager, and on file reorganizations.
Java and Model 204: Web Serving or Application Development – It's Your Choice			Steve Nelson - CCA		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	Using Java and Model 204 learn how to provide a rock solid solution for either Web or application development using J2EE/J2SDK software development kits.
A programmer's editor for Model 204 User Language			Tony Pickering - Yoda Software		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	Xtend is a powerful PC-based editor for Model 204 User Language procedures that is developed and marketed by Yoda Software. Xtend is User Language syntax-aware and contains extensive built in documentation and help facilities. Xtend accesses Model 204 either via Janus or Connect*. This presentation and demo will highlight recent enhancements to the product and demonstrate the productivity savings it offers. A handout discusses the product features.

Sirius Presentations

Presentation Title			Speaker		Available Formats
Date/Time Processing in User Language			Alex Kodat		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	The inventors of the calendar and clock did not have computers in mind. Learn how to more easily deal with the complexity of date and time processing in User Language.
It Makes This Funny Noise When My Users Get On			Alex Kodat		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	Learn how to use a wide variety of tools to diagnose problems in a production region.
Persistent Janus Web Applications			Alex Kodat		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	While the “ideal” goal of web applications is to be purely session-less, there are many cases where this isn't feasible or even desirable. Many applications are best viewed from a user session perspective. But how can one write session-based applications running on the connectionless web paradigm? Presented are the generic techniques used to write session-based applications for the web as well as the Janus Web tools that facilitate such applications.
Janus SOAP Talks to Your End-Users			Alex Kodat		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	In addition to dramatically simplifying the User Language programming required for program to program communications or when generating data for an XSLT processor, there are many cases where Janus SOAP can simplify the task of sending or receiving data directly to or from a browser. Discussed are techniques for using Janus SOAP to receive or send Microsoft Word and Excel documents and to generate HTML which can be rendered directly by a browser.
Wrapper Classes Cookbook for SOAP Client and Server			Dave Evans		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	The information you need to understand to begin to write your own Janus SOAP wrapper classes. Step by step explanation of how to build the sort of application you're likely to need to build with Janus SOAP in the "real world".
Janus SOAP Object-Oriented XML API			Dave Evans		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	Release 6.5 of Janus SOAP embraces Object-Oriented syntax and semantics. This presentation provides an overiew of the O-O approach, with examples. It also explains some significant performance improvements and storage constraint relief.
XPath Enhancements and Namespace Support			Dave Evans		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	Release 6.5 of Janus SOAP completed support for the major components of XPath. Several additional axes are supported for XPath queries, covering all popular axes. Namespaces are fully supported for XMLDocs (both in their serialized and internal forms) and for use with XPath queries. This presentation outlines various enhancements to XPath processing and explains the use of namespaces.
Sirius Update			Gary Gregory		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	Our recent expansions (announced at SUG 2003) have quickened our pace as Sirius and Model 204 hurtle along a trajectory towards “Service-Oriented Architectures.” This presentation will outline what we have achieved since SUG 2003 and also offer a glimpse into our future.
SOAP, UDDI, SOA, BPM, MDA, UML – Bingo!			Gary Gregory		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	This presentation will survey the latest high-level trends in application architecture. An attempt will be made to sort them by their expected utility and then relate them to Sirius' plans. To help attendees stay focussed on the various concepts and their acronyms, cards will be distributed for the popular “buzzword bingo” game.
These Go To Eleven			Gary Gregory		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show FreeLance presentation
	This session presents an entertaining collection of misadventures in the IT world. The common theme is failure to achieve the desired result, usually only after a great deal more money than originally budgeted was spent. The title derives from a skit in the 1984 classic movie, “This is Spinal Tap”, where an addled musician explains a technology issue to a reporter. The company names have been omitted to protect the guilty, but the incidents described are real.
The Janus SOAP HTTP Helper			George Walter		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	This presentation demonstrates a high-level “helper” API layered on top of Janus Sockets. This helper vastly simplifies the coding required for a User Language program to act as a client to a service delivered via HTTP.
VB.NET with MSXML Versus UL and Janus SOAP			George Walter		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	This presentation compares an XML application coded in VB.NET using the MSXML API to an implementation of the same application coded in User Language and Janus SOAP. In addition to contrasting the coding styles and complexity, some subjective measures of performance will be demonstrated.
Managing Large Procedure Files			Tom Thoresen		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	The next release of Fast/Reorg (Fast/Unload plus Fast/Reload) will contain facilities for reorganizing the procedure dictionary in a Model 204 file. This presentation will review the role and structure of the procedure dictionary and explain the tools available for tuning its performance.
Configuring Janus Ports			Tom Thoresen		Single document Linked foils PowerPoint show
	The Application Programming Interfaces for the various Janus products are steadily becoming more intuitive and easier to use. Understanding of web protocols, such as HTML are also becoming more wide spread. As a result, the most daunting step of web-enabling a User Language program could be the Janus Port definition with all of its parameters. This presentation will clear up some of the mysteries and explain proper usage of the common parameters.

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