BEA and SofTouch Systems have seamlessly integrated the recently announced BEA WebLogic Java Adapter for Mainframe 4.1, a bi-directional, real-time, integration solution, with CrossPlex. When the two products are used together, Web-enabling any IBM 3270 legacy application is extremely fast, requiring no programming on the mainframe side.

“e-Business has increased the demand for IT to Web-enable IBM 3270 applications, yet many of these systems can only be integrated by so-called ‘screen-scraping’ methods,” said Barbara Britton, president of the BEA e-commerce integration division. “Together, BEA WebLogic Java Adapter for Mainframe and SofTouch’s CrossPlex address the need for fast, reliable and powerful, yet easy to implement, solutions for extending proven and tested 3270 applications to the Web.”

As part of the alliance, BEA WebLogic Java Adapter for Mainframe 4.1 and CrossPlex have been designed to permit the two products to work together seamlessly. Essentially, CrossPlex output scripts become input to the WebLogic Java Adapter for Mainframe 4.1 eGen COBOL facility, a component that automatically generates Java source code in the form of EJBs, servlets, or simple classes. Furthermore, because CrossPlex’s session management and data extraction logic resides on the mainframe and not on the Web server, only a minimal amount of data needs to be transmitted between server and mainframe, providing an extremely efficient, high performance solution.

“Our combined Web-enablement solution is one of simplicity,” said Rick Jones, CEO of SofTouch Systems. “Unlike IBM’s own host access offerings, BEA WebLogic Java Adapter for Mainframe plus CrossPlex is extremely easy to use and doesn’t require any additional products – plus it’s faster, scalable, and more reliable.”