Scenario 5. Automation

An application can provide all the keystrokes for another application or can intersperse keystrokes to the target destination with those from the keyboard. Sometimes, to do this, the application must lock out other sources of keystroke input that might be destined for a target application or presentation space (using the Reserve (11) function) and the later unlock it (using the Release (12) function).

The origin of keystrokes presented to any application is determined by the design of the application. Keystrokes can originate from:
  • The keyboard
  • Data integrated into the source application
  • Secondary storage retrieved through the DOS interface
  • The Z and I Emulator for Windows interface

In all cases the keystrokes that are provided to the target application are indistinguishable from the ordinary operator input.