How do I create a 3270 screen with my own menu|options?

Question

I want to know if it is possible to create a 3270 type screen with my own options, like a program. If possible, is it done with REXX? Until now I wasn't able to find anything about that.

Answer 1

It depends on where your Rexx program is running. For example, if you are running Rexx in ISPF you could create an ISPF dialog.

Answer 2

It's not really done with REXX, but with ISPF. The panel definitions are stores as text files in your ISPPLIB concatenation and then called via the ISPF dialog service DISPLAY PANEL. This can be called from REXX, Clist, assembler etc.

You need to read the ISPF Dialog Developer's Guide and Reference. It's not referred to inthe REXX manuals.

http://publibz.boulder.ibm.com/epubs/pdf/ispzdg80.pdf

(there is a newer version, but this stuff doesn't change very much).

To see a panel definition, look in any dataset in your ISSPLIB concatenation in TSO. Use the TSO ISRDDN command to see what libraries you have allocated.

ISPPLIB - Panels SYSPROC/SYSEXEC - Clist/REXX ISPSLIB - Skeletons ISPTLIB - Tables

etc, etc.

Steve