tn3270 allows a Macintosh computer with a TCP/IP network connection to
negotiate a Telnet session emulating an IBM 3270 terminal. Features of the
emulation include color, extended highlighting, APL and 3179-compatible
graphics. When a Macintosh with a large screen is used, different screen
formats are supported. tn3270 will act as an FTP server for file transfer,
and also supports file transfer as part of a terminal session when IBM
VM/CMS is being used on the host computer.
Although primarily a 3270 emulation program, tn3270 also supports line mode
Telnet connections. This support allows tn3270 to operate with hosts which
establish a line mode connection before entering 3270 mode, as well as with
line mode only hosts. When operating in line mode, tn3270 emulates a DEC
VT52 terminal.
Why would I want to use tn3270?
Some computers to which you connect might require tn3270.
Others may not require it but function or appear much nicer with tn3270.
The documentation included with tn3270 2.5b5 is a few years old. Some
things to note:
Version 2.5b5 will work with PPP/SLIP (ethernet is not required)
connections.
The documentation refers to configuring everything before running
tn3270. I just launched the application and it was ready to go (although it
allows one to change the settings and save default connection
configurations from the opening screen).
Tn3270 now runs in native mode on PowerMacs. The tn3270 installer
allows installation of the 68K version, native version, or a combined
universal version. Tn3270's "About" dialog includes the current mode (68K
or Native PPC).
A tn3270 mailing list, macintosh-tn3270, is available for discussing tn3270.
It is also used for announcements of new test and final releases. To join or search the list
archives, go to the macintosh-tn3270
list web page.
Year-2000 Compliance:
Tn3270 version 2.5b5 has been tested and is year-2000 compliant. The tn3270 source code indicates
that all previous versions should also be year-2000 compliant. However, older version have
not been tested for compliance. Note that it is highly-recommended that users upgrade to
2.5b5 in any case.
Brown University distributes two VM/CMS command for use with tn3270: RMAC and WMAC. These
commands provide the ability to upload and download CMS files using the tn3270 session connection.
Until recently, RMAC and WMAC were not year-2000 compliant. However, the versions on the
FTP site as of 12/30/99 have been updated and are compliant. They are located in the
vm_xfer directory. The
read-me file provides
directions for installing the CMS commands.
tn3270 for the Macintosh