From SISCO's HOST Newsletter, Vol 5, No. 1, Fall 1994
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AX-S4: Access For... MMS
A "Window" to the MMS World

What do a 1-2-3 spreadsheet graphically displaying part counts from a MMS
CNC, a Word report on temperature fluctuations from a MMS PLC, and an
In-Touch diagram showing electric current flows from a MMS application
have in common? ... AX-S4 MMS for Windows.

AX-S4 MMS provides real-time data from MMS devices for Microsoft Windows
applications that support DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange). The AX-S4 MMS DDE
interface provides access to a MMS-based Ethernet network for any Windows
DDE Client Application such as Excel and In-Touch. DDE messages are sent
by the DDE Client Application to AX-S4 MMS in order to access the
following MMS services:

- Read
- Write
- InformationReport
- FileGet
- FilePut
- FileRename
- FileDelete
- FileDirectory
- Identify

Software Application Packages that support the DDE Advise command can use
AX-S4 MMS to create "hot links" that update automatically when data in the
MMS device changes. A Check Progress function is also supplied that uses
an advise to follow the progress of a write or file transfer.

AX-S4 MMS is compatible with many Windows DDE Software Application Packages
including:

- M/S Excel, Word, Access
- Lotus 1-2-3, AmiPro
- Wonderware In-Touch
- Borland QuattroPro
- Real-Time VisionPro

AX-S4 MMS also provides MMS server functionality for read and write. Local
variables stored on the AX-S4 MMS PC can be read and written by remote MMS
devices as well as DDE Client Applications. Local variables sent as MMS
InformationReports from MMS devices are also supported.

Using AX-S4 MMS is as easy as clicking on a Windows icon. The easy-to-use
Configuration client simplifies network configuration. Even DDE Command
item strings can be configured by an alias name.
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MMS-EASE Now Available for Windows 3.1

SISCO has recently released a new version of MMS-EASE and a host-based
SICSO OSI Stack for Windows 3.1. This new product complements our existing
PC based software products for Interactive Unix, OS/2 and the AX-S4 MMS
DDE server (see above). Some of the salient features of our new Windows
based product are:

* Runs over low-cost NDIS Ethernet adapters from 3Com, SMC and
  Boca Research
* MMS-EASE interface portable to all SISCO supported platforms
  from PCs to workstations
* Supports multiple MMS-EASE tasks under Windows 3.1
* Uses Microsoft's Visual C++ Professional compiler
* MMS-EASE applications are compatible with and can share the same
  OSI stack used by AX-S4 MMS
* OSI stack supports dual protocols (i.e. TCP/IP or Novell) over
  the same Ethernet adapter
* Development, Run-Time and OEM licenses available

A MMS-EASE development license includes the MMS-EASE libraries and include
files on 3.5" floppies, source code to the MMS-EASE demo program, source
code to a simple file transfer application using the Microsoft Foundation
Class libraries, a complete programmers reference manual, and one full
year of support and maintenance. Please contact SISCO or your local
representative for ordering information.
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Other MMS-EASE News:

In addition to the recent Windows 3.1 release, MMS-EASE has undergone other
substantial enhancements and platform improvements. V6.02 or greater of
MMS-EASE includes support for the following:

* Alternate Access which allows partial access to large data structures and
arrays and allows you to reorder the members of complex data structures.

* New Data Structure Alignment Mechanism which provides virtual machine
support for complex data structures on 32-bit RISC based machines without
any padding elements to ensure proper element alignment on word
boundaries.

* Complete ANSI C compliance for all function and variable declarations to
improve the use of the LINT function to detect programming errors early in
the development cycle.

* New and improved debug logging functions which provide extensive support
to assist in troubleshooting systems and applications.

Additionally, SISCO is working on a number of new releases for MMS-EASE on
various platforms:

* A new OS/2 version is being released with a new OSI stack that
  will support multiple MMS tasks.
* MMS-EASE is now available for the IBM RS/6000
* We plan on porting to the Solaris 2.4 operating system for
  Sun SPARC CPUs in early 1995. SunOS support is currently available.
* Our Interactive UNIX offering has been updated with a new OSI stack.
* A Windows NT version for DEC Alpha CPUs will be available in early
  1995.
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New Electronic BBS for Product Support

SISCO has now added to its technical support by offering a bulletin board
system. The newly added BBS has many features:

File Libraries: With proper privilege and permission, product enhancements
and corrections can be obtained. Also, protocols such as ZMODEM, YMODEM,
XMODEM, Kermit and ASCII are supported.

E-Mail: Messages can be sent and received, including those with data files
attached. A text editor is also supplied.

Forums: The user will be able to conduct interactive conversations on a
particular SISCO topic with other users on the system.

Questionnaires: Occasionally, SISCO will conduct a survey asking our
customers to fill out a questionnaire concerning our products and
services.

Quik Mail: This will allow downloading of E-Mail, product information, and
forum messages in bulk.

Using the BBS is easy. Simply dial the phone number 810-254-1578. You then
need to logon with your user id, which is your first and last name, and
your password. After answering a series of questions, you will be assigned
a privilege level of PROSPECT. To move from the PROSPECT privilege level,
certain conditions must be fulfilled. Current SUPPORT customers, after
verification, will have the ability to upload/download files and
read/write access to forums on their products. PARTNERS will be able to
retrieve the latest information on SISCO products. For more information
regarding the new BBS, contact SISCO Technical Support.
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SISCO
Systems Integration Specialists Company Inc
6605 19 1/2 Mile Road
Sterling Heights, MI 48314
810-254-0020,  fax 810-254-0053

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