[nos-bbs] agwpe/flexnet interfaces, JNOS for Windows, and so on ..

[Maiko Langelaar]

Hi Bill,

> it would be useful to have client and server support for
> the AGWPE TCP interface in JNOS ....

Question : How many people would run AGWPE on one PC and JNOS on an
            other PC (in linux) ? Unless that other PC was running in
            a virtual box environment (even more unlikely).

  I have run a rudamentary WINMOR interface that allows JNOS on a linux
  box to interface via IP to a WINMOR modem on a windows PC. I have never
  received any feedback from anyone about even trying it or using it. So
  one may conclude I would run into a similar situation with AGWPE.

> We can use it now with BPQ32 as a shim on the windows machine

Question: Can you explain how JNOS talks with BPQ32 at this time ?

> like WINMOR, is another situation where the modem is available
> only on Windows...

And I have written an API for JNOS (linux) to talk to WINMOR. Like
I said earlier, I've gotten no feedback or indications that people
are using it or trying to use it.

The big *problem* I guess is that JNOS for windows is not available
like it is for DOS and Linux, and Mac some time ago.

I have written a WIN32 version of JNOS (very stripped down with no
device drivers and hardly any *services*) that actually works. I really
would like to port JNOS to native windows in it's entirety (I have wanted
to do this for some time, using the FlexNet and AGWPE api libraries, which
if you think about it would save me the trouble of having to write ANY
device drivers, since no doubt the 3rd party packages probably could do
a much better job then I could ever do in the time I have). Curses is
not mandatory for JNOS to work, technically a windows version of JNOS
could very well have just a browser interface for any consoles.

So what does one do ? You really think people would want a native windows
version of JNOS ? What would it offer to the windows user that they don't 
have already ?

I would do it just for the sake of it being a worthwhile *coding* challenge,
which was the original motivation for my prototype a few years ago. I like
very much the idea of using APIs like FlexNet (which I used when I did my
KLMproxy project quite a few years ago). I so like the idea of not having
to worry about writing TNC and other drivers when these APIs do it for me,
and they do such a great job.

I'll take it further. It would be a dream come true almost to have the 
flexnet guys tell me they want someone to maintain the API, and that would
give me alot more flexibility in bringing out a version of JNOS for 
windows. But I digress ..

Regards,

Maiko Langelaar / VE4KLM