Rocket® COBOL

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:  15 February 2011 Problem: Using XDBC I tried to retrieve and/or update data of a COBOL file and get, when the COBOL file is bigger than 4 gigabytes, this error on the SELECT statement:  17:21:19,995 ERROR [Application] ... scan, sqlState = 07000java.sql.SQLException: executeQuery exception: MFEXTFH: Cannot open 'FileNAme',No space in directory or directory does not exist  at vortex.sql.vortexPreparedStatement.executeQuery(vortexPreparedStatement.java:154) at org.jboss.resource.adapter.jdbc.CachedPreparedStatement.executeQuery(CachedPreparedStatement.java:90) Resolution: You have to set the File Handler option FILEMAXSIZE=8 in an File Handler configuration fileand for convenience set an EXTFH environment variable pointing to the full pathname of the File Handler configuration file.(This is documented in Net Express like Server Express documentation)(File Handling->Chapter 6: File Handler Configuration)Content of File Ha

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:  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:  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:  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:  24 February 2011 Problem: When executing ‘cobrun A progname’ or ‘cobanim progname’ the program runs instead of passing to the animator. For example, let’s assume you’re attempting to use cobanim to animate the demo program ‘tictac’ from the $COBDIR/demo/tictac/ directory. You can activate ‘cobanim’ either directly or via the ‘cobrun A’ commands. For example the command 'cobanim tictac' or 'cobrun A tictac' runs the program (as if 'cobrun tictac' had been entered) instead of opening the animator. Resolution: When you run either of these commands, if you find that instead of activating the animator and allowing you to step through the code it runs the program exactly as if you had entered ‘cobrun tictac’, then one thing to look for is to make sure that you are not attempting to animate from the Server for COBOL (Application Server) runtime environment. You cannot animate programs from the runtime environment, you can only animate from

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:  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:  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: 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:  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:  11 February 2011 Problem: By default, the definition of the figurative constant HIGH-VALUES is hex FF.  Users may want to change this, particularly users of the Native Language Set (NLS) feature.  In native languages, such as Spanish or French, the collating sequence is different and there may be a more appropriate definition for HIGH-VALUES than the default hex FF. Resolution: The following COBOL program sets HIGH-VALUES to the uppercase letter A, which is the 66th character of the ASCII sequence if you begin counting from 1 rather than from 0.   Following the same method as this example, HIGH-VALUES may be set to any character, if the user knows the location of the character in the ASCII sequence starting from 1.   It may even be set to characters beyond the end of the ASCII sequence, up to 255.   The OVERRIDE compiler option does not necessarily have to be specified in a $set statement in the source code.   I

Created On:  11 February 2011 Problem: A large COBOL program compiles and runs fine under Visual COBOL 2010 R3 on a 32-bit Windows XP computer. The program is compiled as managed code with a target of AnyCPU.The same program is run on a 64-bit Windows 7 computer and a .NET StackOverflow Exception occurs on a PERFORM statement in the program.The program has a large number of PERFORM and PERFORM THRU statements.Why does it run fine on a 32-bit computer but fails on a 64-bit computer? Resolution: The amount of stack space used in a 64-bit program is about double that of a 32-bit version. There are two known resolutions to this issue:1.  Using the Configuration Manager, change the target type of the project from AnyCPU to x64.2.  Try adding the compiler directive PERFORMTYPE(VSC2) to the project properties under the COBOL tab. Incident #2499057 Old KB# 33325

Created On:  10 February 2011 Problem: A Visual COBOL solution exists which contains several COBOL managed code projects.The solution build fine when the build is done from within Visual Studio 2010 or when done through the msbuild utility run from a Visual COBOL 2010 32-bit command prompt.However when the same solution is built using Team Foundation Server 2010 (TFS) it fails with errors that reference the assembly 'MicroFocus.COBOL.CompilerUtil. The error shows that MSBuild could not find the above said assembly. The build errors will look like the following:C:\\Program Files (x86)\\MSBuild\\Micro Focus\\Visual COBOL\\v1.0\\MicroFocus.COBOL.targets (533): The "CobolDependencies" task could not be instantiated from "MicroFocus.Cobol.BuildTasks, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=0412c5e0b2aaa8f0".  System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'MicroFocus.COBOL.BuildTasks.BaseTask' threw an exception. ---> System.IO.FileNotFoundExc

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 fails to connect to the server with the error "connection to server refused, error 267". Resolution: Diagnostics: Error 267 in Windows environment means Invalid Directory. An invalid directory path/name or inadequate permissions on one of the directories or sub directories causes this error.Ensure the working directory specified in the Alias entry is correct. Check the permissions for all leading directories to both the runtime and object files. 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. Old KB# 33287

Created On:  11 February 2011 Problem: The NetEvents.ini is a text file with that name and for example this content:C:\\AcuSupport\\FDP\\netdefgenC:\\Program Files\\Acucorp\\Acucbl811\\AcuGT\\sample\\dotnet\\amortcontrol\\eventsIt has to be a text file which contains paths to directories which contains you .net DLLs.  The number of paths is limited to 64.Would using the FILE-PATH statement in the CREATE command and a .xml file be a vaild alternative? Resolution: Yes. However, it is not recommended or tested to use multiple paths (although it may be possible).  FILE-PATH needs the whole path the file name, while NetEvents.ini asked just for the directories paths. Incident #2501150 Old KB# 33334

Created On:  11 February 2011 Problem: A newly-created indexed file containing zero records (or an indexed file from which all previously-existing records have been deleted), will have size zero in the data portion but will occupy at least 3K in the .idx portion.   Why is that? Resolution: The 3K or more of data held in the .idx portion of an empty indexed file is header information necessary to define the file.  The header information includes the primary key position and its length (or the position and length of each of its pieces if it is a split key) and its data type (numeric or character).   It also includes the position, length and type of each of the alternate keys, as well as other defining information about the file.For indexed files of type MF"8" a.k.a  IDXFORMAT"8", the data portion and index portion are held in one disk file.  This one file will show at least 3k even when the file contains zero data records; this 3k

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: 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:  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:  11 February 2011 Problem: The Micro Focus COBOL SORT provides a status indicator capable of returning detailed and meaningful error codes.  It is useful for catching situations like running out of disk space during a SORT operation.   This Knowledge Base article provides example code showing correct usage of the SORT STATUS. Resolution: The SORT STATUS data item operates in much the same way as the FILE STATUS for regular COBOL I/0.  It is a two-byte field where success is indicated if the first byte is zero, but a serious error is indicated if the first byte is 9.  Also, when the first byte is 9, the second byte should be interpreted as a usage COMP-X.You specify the SORT STATUS in the SELECT statement for the sort file, and you can check its value after each SORT operation (such as RELEASE and RETURN).The following sample programs show correct usage of the SORT STATUS, and can serve as a template for writing SORTs with input proc

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

Created On:  01 February 2010 Problem: Enterprise Server is trying to connect to a database via XA.  The following error message appears:CASXO0002S Switch Load Module for resource UDB failed to loadThis occurs even though a valid ESDB2XA.dll was generated and does exist.  Resolution: After stopping the service named MFDS, the customer was entering:casstart /r in a Net Express Command Prompt.  The console log showed a successful start.The trouble was caused by MFDS not having sufficient authority to run the Enterprise Server.The solution in such cases is to modify the properties of the service named MFDS, assigning it to an administrator account. Incident #2285214 Old KB# 33119#VisualCOBOL#StudioEnterpriseEdition#netexpress#COBOL#Enterprise