Genie is a Profound UI module that transforms 5250 interfaces to a browser-based HTML5 format on-the-fly. Genie allows users to start an interactive 5250 session directly within a browser. But beyond presenting 5250 information, Genie can also integrate directly with RPG OA Rich Display programs and Node.js modules.
Many features within the Profound.js Connector rely on Genie in order to facilitate a seamless transition between IBM i / 5250 functionality and Node.js. Genie provides a simple way to connect your Profound.js modules to IBM i. More information about Genie is available here.
To start a Genie session, users have to navigate to the following URL:
http://puihost:port/profoundui/genie
Where puihost is the sever or host name for where Profound UI is installed and port is the port number used by Profound UI. Please note, this is not the same as the Profound.js server host name and port number.
Genie authenticates users by prompting for an IBM i user id and password by presenting the standard IBM i Sign On screen. Once a user is signed in and an interactive session is established, calls can be made to Profound.js modules either by using the PJSCALL command or by using a Proxy Program. In order for this to happen, Genie must be able to make a connection to the Profound.js server. Because it is possible to configure multiple Profound.js instances, Genie must use environment variables to control which server to connect to.
The environment variable PROFOUNDJS_COMM_HOST specifies the Profound.js host name or IP address to connect to. The environment variable PROFOUNDJS_COMM_PORT specifies the port number to connect to. Both environment variables are automatically set at the system level when you first install Profound.js. Each interactive Genie session inherits the system environment values, which then become the initial job environment variable values. You can view your current environment variable settings using the following 5250 command:
WRKENVVAR
