uni-SPF Product Description

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uni-SPF is a UNIX implementation of IBM's popular mainframe user environment, ISPF – the primary user interface for the information services professional working in the IBM MVS/TSO environment, and VM/CMS. It provides an editor, browser, system utilities, user-defined configuration options, and options for execution of system commands and foreground or background processes. It is a menu-driven panel system which can be extended to provide consistent access to other products and user-written applications through ISPF's Dialog Management Services.

By using uni-SPF with UNIX, mainframe information services personnel making the transition to UNIX systems can avoid the huge learning curve associated with the vi or emacs editors (and other two-letter system utilities), becoming immediately productive in the new environment.

Where ISPF has been used as the front-end to other applications, uni-SPF can be a critical component in porting those applications to UNIX, and can provide end users with a familiar interface in the new environment.

uni-SPF is offered in two versions, Basic and Extended. uni-SPF Basic is the Dialog Management Services-driven utility and text editing system. uni-SPF Extended includes an embedded version of our uni-REXX language processor, allowing the user to customize the uni-SPF system with editor macros and panel programming using Dialog Management Services calls.

Special features have been included to adapt uni-SPF to UNIX. They include

• dynamic screen resize when running in an X window
• a keyboard mapping utility to support a wide variety of terminal types
• a UNIX tape archive utility
• editing of ascii, EBCDIC or binary data and files without normal "line end" terminators
• options to access other editors (such as our uni-XEDIT)
• a recursive string-search utility to locate files containing the specified strings

and much more.

uni-SPF is available on all major commercial UNIX platforms. It includes 90 days free support, and support is available on an annual contract basis thereafter. Support entitles you to telephone and email assistance in installing and using the product, problem resolution services, and product upgrades.