Tech
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Emulators
Access to Unix/Linux Executables from MS-Windows
Q: How can I run FlagShip application located on Linux/Unix server from MS-Windows?A: You can run it in both textual and GUI mode. To run it in textual mode, compile with -io=t switch and invoke via any terminal emulator. An overview of terminal emulators is available e.g. on http://winfiles.com/apps/nt/terminals.html or http://download.com.com. Read also fsman section REL for environment settings as well as additional hints in general FlagShip FAQs.
To run it in GUI mode, you can access and run the Linux/Unix executable via X11 server redirection or an emulator for MS-Windows which then behaves like usual Windows program. There are many of them available for MS-Windows, see e.g. http://www.rahul.net/kenton/xsites.html. You can compile your application on Linux with FlagShip -io=g switch or use the auto/hybrid mode.
Alternatively, you may mirror your remote server on the local Unix/Linux workstation or to MS-Windows computer by using e.g. NoMachine or similar tools.
All these methods work fine also from remote access via Internet or Intranet. For Web/CGI applications, see the standard Web*() functions available in FlagShip as well as the CGI/Web white paper for general information.
Q: How
can I access data located on Linux/Unix server from MS-Windows?
A: You
either can run the application directly on the Unix/Linux server from MS-Windows
(see previous item) which avoids any data transfer thru the network, or
create native MS-Windows exe by the FlagShip port for MS-Windows and then
simply access the data on the network via NFS or Samba.
Q: Can
I run the executable locally and access common data via NFS?
A: Yes
for Unix/Linux based FlagShip executables. You can mount the remote filesystem
via NFS (using NFS-3 and rw,lock,sync options). But you will get better
performance, when the executable run on the server (because of local HD
access) and "shuffle" only the user i/o through the network. You may execute
the application via ssh, telnet, emulators, X11 redirection or emulator,
CGI, mirroring etc. as decribed above.
Q: Can
I run the executable locally and access common data using Samba?
A: Yes
for MS-Windows based FlagShip executables accessing data on Unix/Linux
server.
Technical note for Linux/Unix based FlagShip users: As opposite to NFS, you cannot run Linux/Unix executable accessing data on mounted Samba file-system and which requires byte-wise locking. This is because the current Samba system (smbfs with smbclient vers. 2.2.x and kernel 2.4.x) does not support Unix-like byte-wise locking, used in FlagShip e.g. for RLOCK() and FLOCK(). This restriction does not apply for MS-Windows applications (i.e. compiled with FlagShip for Windows), since Samba supports by default DOS and MS-Windows locks -- but these are fully incompatible to the standard fcntl() used by Unix/Linux applications. Hopefully later Samba and/or kernel releases will support Unix lockings too. In the meantime, Linux/Unix based applications should use standard NFS mounts or remote access.
Last updated: 15-Dec-2022.