[Info-vax] message communication (VMS <> PC)

[ja]

On Jan 19, 5:28 am, Bob Gezelter <gezel... at rlgsc.com> wrote:
> On Jan 18, 1:04 pm, RLFitch <rlfi... at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I'm looking for ideas on how to establish communication between VMS
> > Fortran and MS Visual Basic to exchange short messages on LAN.  This
> > can be synchronous or asynchronous, serial or ethernet.
>
> > Thanks,
> > Ransom Fitch
> > rlfitch.com
>
> Ransom,
>
> I concur with Arne. TCP/UDP direct socket usage is certainly a viable
> alternative, particularly TCP (which underlines ftp, telnet, and many
> other well known application protocols).
>
> IMHO, one must consider whether using a middleware layer gains an
> incremental advantage, or whether it is merely adding unneeded
> complexity. I have seen many systems with large collections of
> middleware, resulting in an implementation that is far more complex
> than is needed (and far more complex than merely using sockets
> directly).
>
> - Bob Gezelter,http://www.rlgsc.com

Perhaps some of these questions are relevant:

1. what developer skills does the shop have
2. is this a small one-off
3. are standards involved (or should they be)
4. who maintains the home-grown software and for how long
5. casting doubt on middleware without being specific about which
solving what purpose is self-defeating before one even starts
6. employing standards-based software (no, I do not mean TCP/IP
sockets, but do realize that they also adhere to a standard) generally
leads to further opportunities