Rocket® COBOL

Created On:  21 February 2011 Problem: AcuSort external tool writes all execution information in a log text file called SYSOUT. Is it possible to prevent the creation of this file? Resolution: The only environment variable about SYSOUT file is "dd_SYSOUT". This setting allows changing the default name SYSOUT to a more personalized one.i.e.: set dd_SYSOUT=my-sysout-fileThis variable can be also used to redirect the AcuSort log information to a nul queue, thus avoiding the creation of an undesidered file.This is the syntax to use in any Windows environment: set dd_SYSOUT=nuland this on a Linux/UNIX platform:export dd_SYSOUT=/dev/nullThe dd_SYSOUT is an environment variable and is not recognized when set inside a runtime configuration file.If the AcuSort tool is used within a COBOL program and executed via C$SYSTEM, use this statement before the C$SYSTEM, instead:SET ENVIRONMENT "dd_SYSOUT" TO &quo

Created On:  25 February 2011 Problem: Thin Client fails to launch server program and the error "connection failed, unable to start remote process" is displayed. Resolution: This error is caused by permissions, system resources and other reasons. Ensure that the working directory specified for the Alias exists and that the correct permissions are set. Check the AcuRCL configuration file (acurcl.cfg) to ensure the correct path specification is set for SERVER-RUNTIME. This must be set if the remote runtime is installed in a different directory than AcuRCL. Ensure that the remote runtime has a valid runtime license. If many instances of the server application are running successfully, this indicates a lack of resources on the server. Old KB# 33539

Created On:  25 February 2011 Problem: Inability to launch server application. Resolution: This error indicates a problem with the working directory on a UNIX server. The Change Directory command failed to execute. When the AcuRCL spawns a runtime, it changes to the directory specified as the working directory in the Alias entry. Ensure that the working directory exists that is specified for the Alias and that the correct permissions have been set. Old KB# 33535

Created On:  25 February 2011 Problem: Inability to launch server application. Resolution: This error indicates a permissions problem on the working directory on a UNIX server. The Change Directory command failed to execute. Ensure that the Alias has Execute permissions on the working directory. Ensure that version of the runtime, AcuRCL and Acuthin are the same. Old KB# 33537

Created On:  21 February 2011 Problem: AcuXDBC is successfully installed and a system DSN is created. The first attempt at connecting gives the following error message:[ODBC Driver] DLLLOAD: acuxdbc04, could not find module. Resolution: It is possible that a permissions issue us preventing finding the right AcuXDBC libraries. Add AcuXDBC installation path (i.e.: C:\\Program Files\\Micro Focus\\Acucbl900\\AcuGT\\bin) to the PATH environment variable to solve this problem. Incident #2502867 Old KB# 33409

Created On:  25 February 2011 Problem: AcuRCL fails to start and performing "acurcl -v" returns the error "no entry for product acuRCL". Resolution: This error indicates a licensing problem. Ensure the correct product code and key were entered when using the Activator license utility. Ensure the Activator license utility has created the license file acurcl.alc. Verify that the version of AcuRCL on the server is the same version as Thin Client on the client PC. Old KB# 33538

Created On:  18 January 2011 Problem: When running the 'cobjrun' command, get the following error message:     Sorry unable to load libcobjvm_java2     If libcobjvm_java2 is on shared library PATH, then ensure     'libjava' and 'java' are found on the PATH/Shared Library PATH. Resolution: Run the command:   cobsje -vCompare the values displayed by the 'cobsje -v' command with the values echoed from the environment variables such as COBJVM, JAVA_HOME, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, PATH, CLASSPATH, COBCPY, etc and see if the values are the same or not.E.g:     echo $COBJVMto display the contains of what the environment variable is currently set to.Or run the 'env' command to obtain all the environment variable listings.If not the same as those shown via the 'cobsje' command, then use the 'export' command to manually change the environment variab

Created On:  15 February 2011 Problem: Say that XML GENERATE is being used to create XML for the following:01 XML-DATA.     03 XML-DATA-REC.          05 XML-DATA-DETAIL OCCURS 100.               07 XML-NUMBER PIC X(04).               07 XML-STRING   PIC X(40).When only 3 rows are filled in the table and the following is used:XML GENERATE WS-XML-DATA FROM XML-DATACOUNT IN WS-XML-COUNTWITH XML-DECLARATIONYou will get the following result :0001TEST10002TEST20003TEST3 ...Can XML be generated without the empty fields from the table? Resolution: XML GENERATE General Rule 8 states:If a character value consists only of spaces, one space remains as the value after trimming is finished.In order to remove the blank tags you can use an Occurs Dependi

Created On:  16 February 2011 Problem: How do you check the number of licenses available and/or currently in use in the Visual COBOL runtime? Resolution: You can do this by using the lsmon tool on the machine where the licenses are installed.  You simply open a command prompt and run c:\\Program Files (x86)\\Common Files\\SafenetNet Sentinel\\Sentinel RMS Licnese Manager\\WINNT\\lsmon localhostThis will display the licenses in the server, who is using them and also how many licenses are in use or are left available.A similar GUI utility is c:\\Program Files (x86)\\Common Files\\SafeNet Sentinel\\Sentinel RMS License Manager\\WINNT\\wlmadmin.exe.  Add the localhost to the defined server list and you will be able to see which licenses are installed.For historial analysis you can analyse the lservrc.log file in the directory programdata\\Micro FocusThe license server generates a usage log file with the following format:   Element D

Created On:  17 February 2011 Problem: The Visual COBOL product is governed by SafeNet licensing and, as such, the user of the product will have to insert an authorization code (issued on purchase of product) in order to license the product. If the machine, on which the product is installed, is not connected to the Internet, a license string has to be generated on the back of the authorization code and the ID of the machine in question, and inserted into the appropriate field in the License Management System tool. There appears to be an issue in that the Micro Focus license server generates a license string with empty lines between the various components of the product and an empty line after the last component. So, having applied the license string with these empty lines, the license administration tool within the product is unable to handle the license string. Resolution: Simply edit the license string (see attached LicenseString.txt file) by removing the empty lines betw

Created On:  24 February 2011 Problem: A client encountered RTS error code 163 in a program after writing an Indexed (VSAM/CISAM) record. The program was writing the record and then immediately trying to write a subsequent record, with the only change being a partial increment of the record key. The remainder of the data was to remain the same. However, they found that the data from previous record was not stored in the record buffer after the first WRITE operation of the record, even though they had not specified for the record buffer to be cleared. Based on their description of the problem it would be expected that setting the NOFDCLEAR compiler directive would fix problem. Resolution: The FDCLEAR directive ensures that the record buffer will be cleared after a WRITE operaqtion has been completed.But when they checked their compiler directives file, FDCLEAR was not specified.They then checked the documentation and found that NOFDCLEAR was the default, and so assumed the

Created On:  23 February 2011 Problem: If you have a .Net string that is padded at the end with null (x"00") characters how can you remove these from the string ? Resolution: The .Net method TrimEnd from the System.String class allows you to do this. You need to supply an array of characters to the method that tells it what characters to strip.In Visual COBOL an example piece of code that does this is:- program-id. Program1 as "TrimNulls.Program1". data division. working-storage section. 01 ws-string-with-nulls. 03 filler pic x(4) value "Test". 03 filler pic x(16) value all x"00". 01 ws-string string. *> .Net String Type 01 ws-nulls character occurs 1 value (0). *> Array (1 element) of chars (null). procedure division. set ws-string to ws-string-with-nulls display ws-string " is of length " ws-string::Length *> Display length of string display "Trimming String ....." set ws-string to ws-string::TrimEn

Created On:  23 February 2011 Problem: A general question was asked regarding how to deploy an application to run under Server for COBOL on a server and configure the client machines to run the application in a multi-user environment. They needed to understand the general concept of deploying the application in a server/client configuration. Hence, they asked for a simple explanation of how to deploy the application on a server and configure the client machines to run the application. Resolution: Here are some general thoughts. Firstly, check the the online help. Open the Net Express development environment IDE and go to ‘Help’ and then ‘Help Topics’. Select the ‘Contents’ tab, then select ‘Micro Focus Server’ and look at the chapters on ‘Shipping Applications’ and ‘Deployment Licensing’. Probably the two most common ways of setting up a multi user environment would be: 1) Install Server for COBOL on the server and have each client map to the server across the network.

Created On:  14 February 2011 Problem: What fixes are included in the InstantSQL v12.05 (Websync 1) Patch available on the Product Updates page of the SupportLine Web Portal? Resolution: The InstantSQL v12.05 (Websync 1) Patch specifically addresses RPI 1073475.  The problem symptom was a crash that could happen almost anytime but usually happened when an InstantSQL statement specified a large number of parameters.  Such statements are ones like the SQL BIND COLUMN or SQL BIND PARAMETER statements that bound a large number of columns or parameters. This patch is recommended for all users, whether or not, you are encountering the described behavior. Old KB# 33364

Created On:  14 February 2011 Problem: What fixes are included in the XML Extensions v12.05 (Websync 1) Patch available on the Product Updates page of the SupportLine Web Portal? Resolution: The XML Extensions v12.05 (Websync 1) Patch provides a fix for RPI 1074421.  The problem symptom was failure to fully export values when the source data structure being exported contained nested OCCURS clauses and the first item of the group in the OCCURS was “empty” (value of spaces for non-numeric or zero for numeric).This patch is recommended for all users, whether or not, you are encountering the described behavior. Old KB# 33365

Created On:  08 February 2011 Problem: Thin Client fails to connect to the server with the error "connection failed" or "connection to server undefined". Resolution: This message is seen when AcuRCL is not started correctly or when the client has not specified the correct port. If you are not using the default port, ensure the port is specified in the acuthin command (e.g. "acuthin server:port alias"). Verify that you are using the correct IP address or server name. Ensure that the Windows service or UNIX daemon is executing on the server by performing "acurcl -info". On Windows servers, ensure the service is installed by performing "acurcl -query servername". Verify that the client can communicate with the server by doing "ping servername" or "acuthin -p servername:port". If this fails, it would indicate a network configuration problem. Verify that the client can communicate with AcuRCL by performing &qu

Created On:  08 February 2011 Problem: This process needs to be done in the case where a user has a 32 bit COBOL program, on which a service interface was based, and it was decided that the program would be recompiled as a 64-bit program instead. The program was originally 32-bit and now it has been moved to 64-bit. Resolution: The following procedure describes what needs to be done to get the service interface metadata to recognize that the end user COBOL program is now a 64-bit program.  To change all programs in a solution or project: 1. Open the Visual Studio solution that contains one or more service interfaces based on 32-bit COBOL programs.2. From the Solution Explorer, right-click the solution name; then click Configuration Manager from the context menu.3. Do one of the following: To change the COBOL programs in all projects in the solution from 32-bit to 64-bit,    change the value in the Active Solution Platform field by selecting x64 from the drop-

Created On:  10 February 2011 Problem: When compiling a COBOL program that uses the DB2 directive on a Windows 7 computer, the following error occurs:         COBDB0006S Required DB software: 'db2agapi' could not be found.This occurs even though the location of db2agapi.dll, C:\\program files (x86)\\IBM\\SQLLIB\\BIN is specified in the system PATH.  The same program works fine on a Windows XP computer. Resolution: This problem occurs when the Net Express project file resides on a mapped network drive instead of on the local drive.  Try the following:1. Open the project in the Net Express IDE and select Project > Properties and click the IDE button2. Add the environment variable PATH with the following value:        c:\\program files (x86)\\ibm\\sqllib\\bin;%PATH%3. Do not place quotes around the value4. Try to rebuild againNote: If your DB2 installation is in a different fol

Created On:  09 February 2011 Problem: A particular file in the AcuXDBC database can be accessed without error from MS SQL Server but with MS Access there is an error "Record is too large". Resolution: Microsoft Access has a limitation of 255 columns and the file in question has more than that. You may work around that limitation in two ways:1. Create views in AcuXDBC which are 255 columns or less, and then query those views.2. Execute queries that return 255 columns or less. Old KB# 33312

Created On:  08 February 2011 Problem: Thin Client fails to connect to the server with the error "connection to server refused". Resolution: This error is generated on all platforms for a variety of reasons, including setup, permissions and firewall issues. On UNIX servers, check that the server name is specified in the hosts file, located in the /etc/hosts directory. The UNIX command "uname -a" will identify the server name (e.g. AIX rs6000 3 4 000168871000) and the hosts file should contain an entry for "rs6000". Ensure that version of the runtime, AcuRCL and Acuthin are the same. Follow the diagnostic steps outlined in the Connection Failed Error. If you suspect a firewall problem, refer to the General Socket Error. Old KB# 33297

Created On:  08 February 2011 Problem: Unable to start a server runtime and are receiving the warning message "exceeded licensed number of users". Resolution: Diagnostics: This error indicates a licensing restriction or an orphan runtime condition.To determine the maximum number of licensed AcuRCL users, perform "acurcl -v". To determine the maximum number of licensed runtime users, perform "wrun32 -v" in Windows environments or "runcbl -v" in UNIX environments. On UNIX, AcuShare will identify the number of runtime users currently on the system. AcuRCL handles its user count internally. Suppose you own a license for 35 users of the runtime and 15 users of AcuRCL. If you reach the AcuRCL limit with Thin Client connections and perform an "acushare -info" you will see 15 users. In this situation, you are correctly receiving this error due to reaching AcuRCL's license limit, although 20 runtime instances are still available.

Created On:  08 February 2011 Problem: Thin Client is unable to launch a server program and receives the error "connection failure, Alias does not exist". Resolution: This error indicates a problem with the Alias file (acurcl.ini).Verify that the Alias exists by performing an "acurcl -alias". Ensure that the Alias file that is created is the same one that AcuRCL is using. If the file does not reside in the default directory, set the AcuRCL server configuration variable SERVER_ALIAS_FILE to the correct location. Old KB# 33294

Created On:  14 February 2011 Problem: The key codes can be set in the cblconfig file. How can this be set directly in the program via the command "set configuration"? Resolution: Here is a programing sample:           set environment "KEYSTROKE" to "exception=2001 ^x".           set environment "KEYSTROKE" to "exception=2002 ^c".           set environment "KEYSTROKE" to "exception=2003 ^v".           set environment "KEYSTROKE" to "exception=2004 ^z".           set environment "KEYSTROKE" to "exception=2005 ^a".           Set exception value 2001 to cut-selection. 

Created On:  08 February 2011 Problem: Is Server Express certified on AIX 7? Resolution: There is a UNIX/Linux product matrix but AIX 7 is new and so does not feature: http://supportline.microfocus.com/productreleaselevels/unix.asp.  When installing Server Express 5.1 on AIX 7, you will receive a message stating that it is not supported. Micro Focus has in fact tested this version and does indeed certify Server Express 5.1 WrapPack 5 on AIX 7. We are currently repacking the product so as to remove the message during installation. Incident #2500847 Old KB# 33282

Created On:  09 February 2011 Problem: The OPEN I-O statement results in a file status 35, file not found, if the file does not exist.  The expectation is that OPEN I-O should create the file if it does not exist. Resolution: OPEN I-O will create a file only if the File Control entry for that file (the SELECT statement) includes the OPTIONAL phrase, or if the IO_CREATES Runtime Configuration is turned on. Adding the following in the Runtime configuration file should resolve the error:IO_CREATES ON Old KB# 33311