screen scraper
<tool> A piece of software used to automate interaction between two
computer systems through the terminal interface (designed for human use) of one
of those systems.
Typically, the screen scraper interacts with terminal emulation software to
generate input to and process output from the "host" system through terminal
screens. Screen scrapers are advantageous when modifications to the host system
are undesireable, when it is desireable to make use of the existing business and
data integrity logic on the host, and when no other (peer-to-peer) interface
method is available.
Some products employ screen scraping combined with additional functionality
which provides a DBMS-like or other specialised interface to the host. The host
system is often called a "legacy system" because it usually the older of the
systems involved and based on older technology.
(1995-04-19)
Nearby terms:
screen reader « screen refresh « screen saver «
screen scraper » screen server » screen sharing
» Screenwrite
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