Rocket® COBOL

Created On:  06 October 2010 Problem: In the Net Express IDE, environment variables can be set within the Project Properties window using the Application button and these environment variables will automatically be set and made available for the application during run-time.How does one accomplish a similar task when using Visual COBOL 2010? Resolution: Environment variables and run-time swicthes can be set in Visual COBOL using the app.config configuration file.Create or open a COBOL solution or project using Visual COBOL 2010.If the Solution Explorer window is not open then go to the View menu and select Solution Explorer, or press Ctrl Alt L to open it.Right click on the project name in Solution Explorer and select Add->New Item and then select Application Configuration file from the list of Managed templates.This will add the file app.config to your project.Right click on app.config in Solution Explorer and select Edit.This will bring up a mini editor where you can ad

Created On:  05 October 2010 Problem: 1007 error is encountered when attempting to install Web-to-Host pro client. Resolution: Typically, this error message is encountered because of the following two conditions: • When attempting to install or upgrade the client computer through a standard user account. This can be resolved by logging in as an administrator.• On a client machine you are loading a pro client session in IE7 or IE 8 browser. This error is encountered if a server which is hosting Web-to-Host application is not listed under trusted sites on the client computer. This can be resolved by adding your Web-to-Host server in the trusted sites.Follow these instructions to add sites to the trusted sites zone in Internet Explorer 7 and 8.1. Click on Internet Options in the Tools menu.2. Click on the Security tab.3. Click on Trusted Sites.4. Click on the Sites button.5. Type the Web address into the textbox and click the Add button.6.&nb

Created On:  10 October 2010 Problem: While a program is running if the user changes the default printer or the print orientation, the program does not recognize the default printer or orientation has been changed. Resolution: In order to be able to “refresh” the printer’s information, it is necessary to reset the printer info already in the program .Immediately after update the printer list or modify the orientation you need to reset your printer info with the following operands:       *    Reset printer info           CALL "WIN$PRINTER" USING WINPRINT-SET-JOB -1. That is the opcode WINPRINT-SET-JOB with a -1 value.After that, user can obtain again the default printer information with:           CALL "WIN$PRINTER"                USI

Created On:  05 October 2010 Problem: InstallShield Tuner is not provided with Rumba 8.0. Resolution: InstallShield Tuner is no longer packaged with Rumba Office. We recommend using a third party authoring tool to customize your installations. Please contact Micro Focus SupportLine if you have any additional questions. Incident #2471441 Old KB# 31832#Rumba

Created On:  30 March 2011 Problem: We are receiving errors when trying to install the base version of EnterpriseLink (v5.0.5) on Windows7, Windows2003 or Windows2008.  The installation may finish, but no icons are created for the EnterpriseLink tools. Resolution: There is a new version of the installer for Windows7, Windows2003 and Windows2008.  It can be found on the EnterpriseLink website at http://www.enterpriselink.com in the Administrators section under "Downloads".The file you need is el50CD2010-07-26bld6736.exe (make sure it is build #6736).Once you installed this version, you can download and install the most recent WebSync.Note:  In order to install this version, you must have a C:\\TEMP directory that exists.  Also, before installing, make sure you have IIS (Internet Information Services) installed on the local machine with the IIS 6 Management Compatiblity Tools selected. Old KB# 31859#EnterpriseLink#Rumba

Created On:  09 October 2010 Problem: How do you copy and paste within grid control? Resolution: To copy:  double-click into a grid-cell (edit-mode), mark the value and hit CTL-INSERT to copy that into the clipboard. To paste:  click into the target cell and hit SHIFT-INSERT. Incident #2443193 Old KB# 31914

Created On:  08 October 2010 Problem: When the user enters a date prior to 1930 into the date entry control the year changes.  For example entering 1929 ends up as 2029. Resolution: When using the SHORT-DATE display format you must use the CENTURY-DATE style.  So adding CENTURY-DATE in the list of properties in the screen section description will resolve the problem.  In AcuBench's Screen Designer, CENTURY-DATE is not on the list of available properties.  It must be added in "Additional Properties". Old KB# 31903

Created On:  07 October 2010 Problem: I use scripts on my UNIX system to parse the output of acurcl –info to monitor system usage and operation. This all worked fine in version 7.2.2. However after installing version 8.0 or newer the scripts no longer work properly returning unexpected results. Resolution: Beginning in version 8.0 the output of acurcl –info was modified to include a date field in addition to the time field to produce a timestamp output which provided more complete information. Additionally, the user and the workstation fields have been swapped. With these changes to the acurcl –info output, it is necessary to modify the scripts to obtain the desired results.Sample 7.2.2 output# ./acurcl -info Client                User                PID  Start time  Directory  Commandjoesmith-vista&nb

Created On:  08 October 2010 Problem: The main program starts many threads specifying a handle for each.  For example: CALL THREAD "PROGNAME" HANDLE IN THREAD1-HANDLE.  The handles are used when sending messages between threads.  Some of those threads need to send messages to the main program but it doesn't have a handle.How can the main program's thread handle be determined? Resolution: To obtain the thread handle of the main program first define it in working-storage:01 MAIN-THREAD-HANDLE HANDLE OF THREAD.Then do this in the procedure division before starting any other threads:ACCEPT MAIN-THREAD-HANDLE FROM THREAD HANDLE.Then the child threads can send messages to MAIN-THREAD-HANDLE. Old KB# 31906

Created On:  23 September 2010 Problem: I am currently encountering a problem connecting a COBOL program from Net Express to an Oracle Database in AIX.  The database on AIX is configured in my Windows Oracle Net Manager with SID name (TEST1) specified. Test connections show as being successful. The database has also been added in the Oracle Enterprise Manager where I am able to browse through the tables and schemas.  However, when I attempt to run a COBOL program with environment variable ORACLE_SID=TEST1, connection to the database failed with a TNS Adapter error.SqlerrmcORA-12560: TNS:protocol adapter errorSqlcode-0000012560I also have a local Oracle Database installed on Windows with a SID name of TEST2.  If I change the ORACLE_SID=TEST2, connection to the database from my COBOL program works without problem. Resolution: Oracle classify this as a 'generic protocol adapter error'.  This usually indicates that the Oracle client does not know wha

Created On:  20 September 2010 Problem: While trying to insert a new record using MS Access 2007 with AcuXDBC 8.1 the following error was encountered:NULL not allowed for column(#-nn)The FD for the file contains fields with COMP-3 data, but work fine with AcuODBC. Resolution: The way to work around this error is to insert zero (0) into all COMP-3 data fields that do not already contain a value. This provides an explanation: COBOL does not have a concept that corresponds directly to SQL’s NULL. The closest candidates in COBOL are data items that contain either SPACES or LOW-VALUES. In SQL, NULL is often used to indicate that the data is missing or not applicable.  To maintain the integrity of the source data and to ensure that any data written from your application back to the COBOL source is accurate, you must provide a representational mapping between COBOL’s SPACES and LOW-VALUES and the corresponding SQL column values. Use the NULL_NUMERIC_WRITE variable to indica

Created On:  21 September 2010 Problem: Beginning with version 8, unlike previous versions of the ACUCOBOL-GT Runtime, when the bin directory is copied to another Windows machine or a client PC is mapped to the bin directory on a server one of the following or similar errors may occur."The system cannot execute the specified program"“This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect.”A number of Knowledge Base articles have provided explanations for the cause of the errors and provided resolutions for the Version 8 series of runtime, which included contacting SupportLine or downloading files from the SupportLine website. Please see articles 2731, 14870, and 14931 for further details. Resolution: Starting in version 9.0, Microsoft.VC80.CRT and Microsoft.VC80.MFC will be included with distribution media in a directory named “BIN-REDIST”. However, these files are not installed during the installation process and must be copied to

Created On:  21 September 2010 Problem: When creating a configuration file for use with Net Express and Database Connectors for DB2 what should the option A_DB2_DATASOURCE be set to? Resolution: When creating a configuration file for use with the Database Connectors for DB2 product the A_DB2_DATASOURCE option needs to be set to the name of an existing ODBC DSN for the IBM DB2 ODBC driver.  If you configure the ODBC driver during DB2 setup then this should automatically create an entry called DB2SAMPLE that points to the Sample database that is provided as part of the DB2 install.You can use this entry for running the Database Connectors demo programs or you can create a new DSN for your own database use.  This can be done using the Windows ODBC Manager which can be started from Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC).  The name used as the DSN Name needs to be specified in the configuration file as follows:A_DB2_DATASOURCE     D

Created On:  16 September 2010 Problem: The RM/COBOL Runtime can be configured using the RM/COBOL Registry Configuration Utility (rmconfig.exe).  This utility stores the RM/COBOL configuration options in the Windows registry.  In order to move these configuration settings to a new machine, you will need to locate and export the proper registry entries. Resolution: The RM/COBOL Runtime can be configured using the RM/COBOL Registry Configuration Utility (rmconfig.exe).  You can choose to configure the Runtime for a "All Users" or "This User".  Below are the RM/COBOL configuration registry locations:32-bit WindowsAll Users = HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Liant Software Corporation\\RM/COBOL\\CurrentVersionThis User = HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Liant Software Corporation\\RM/COBOL\\CurrentVersion64-bit WindowsAll Users = HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Wow6432Node\\Liant Software Corporation\\RM/COBOL\\CurrentVersionThis User = HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWA

Created On:  21 September 2010 Problem: The application is deployed with a copy of the ACUCOBOL-GT bin directory included, or the Runtime was installed on a server and the client PCs map a drive to the bin directory to execute it. This can result in an error when the client PC is missing the Microsoft C Redistributables. With version 8.1.2.1,  adding the two assemblies, Microsoft.VC80.CRT and Microsoft.VC80.MFC enabled the Runtime to execute in this fashion without error. However those same assemblies do not work with newly released Version 8.1.3 and 8.1.3.1. Resolution: Attached is an archive, 813-redist-32.zip, containing the two assemblies for use with Version 8.1.3 and 8.1.3.1. Download the archive and extract to the 8.1.3 or 8.1.3.1 bin directory (or wherever the bin directory contents were copied). After extracting, that target directory will contain two sub directories, Microsoft.VC80.CRT and Microsoft.VC80.MFC.Alternately, the archive may be obtained from the

Created On:  23 September 2010 Problem: The AcuConnect User's Guide version 8.1, Section 7.2.1 Copying Files Between the Client and Server discusses access to files on the display host that may be accomplished via a set of directory specifiers.  It provides the following code sample that does not compile.C$COPY "@[DISPLAY]:"/filename Resolution: The placement of the second double quote caused the compile error to occur. The correct syntax should be:C$COPY "@[DISPLAY]:/filename"When the corrected syntax is used in a program it may look like the following.call "C$COPY" using "My_Image.bmp"            "@[DISPLAY]:\\My_Image.bmp" Incident #2468981 Old KB# 31771

Created On:  13 September 2010 Problem: When trying to compile a COBOL program the following error is being returned:cob32 environment variable not set? Resolution: The cause of this error is if you modify the $COBDIR/lang/C/cob.msg file trying to get the gcc, GNU compiler to work with Server Express. The gcc is not supported using AIX, Sun or HP/UX RISC. Once the modification is removed, you will be able to compile. Incident #2449289 Old KB# 31712

Created On:  16 September 2010 Problem: Visual COBOL documentation covers the use of the cobol.exe command to compile native code unmanaged programs but it does not cover .NET managed code programs.How does one compile and generate a .NET managed code assembly from COBOL source code from the command line outside of Visual Studio? Resolution: Although the Visual Studio IDE is the recommended method of compiling and building managed code assemblies the cobol.exe utility can be used to compile COBOL source and generate managed code assemblies as well as native code objects from a Visual COBOL command prompt.To do this you use the -ilgen or -ilgen(sub) directives with the cobol command.See the documentation in the section under General Reference > Compiler Directives > .NET COBOL command line compiler directives for a complete list of the directives that can be used to create managed code assemblies.You can use this from a Visual COBOL command prompt which is av

Created On:  20 August 2010 Problem: Is it possible to identify the version of the Operating System from an ACUCOBOL-GT program? Resolution: ACUCUBL-GT offers a native library called WIN$VERSION.  This routine returns version information for Windows and Windows NT host platforms. However, this routine does not recognize the latest Windows Operating Systems recently introduced on the market.While WIN$VERSION will be updated, it is possible to obtain this information using a Windows function called GetVersionExA.The related documentation can be found at this URL:http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724833(VS.85).aspxA sample program is provided attached to this article. Incident #2450426 Attachments GetVersionEx.cbl Old KB# 31635

Created On:  30 August 2010 Problem: When debugging a program, it may be helpful to set breakpoints and have them held between debugger sessions. The breakpoints are usually stored in a file named for the user and with a .adb extension that is created during the initial debugger session. For example, if the user's login is rsmith, the file containing the breakpoints would be named rsmith.adb. However, in this particular case, no .adb file was being created and therefore no breakpoints were being held. Resolution: If you define the ACUCOBOL variable twice, each pointing to a different version directory, this creates a conflict. Due to this conflict, no .adb file was being created. Removing one of the ACUCOBOL definitions will allow the .adb file to be created. Incident #2454075 Old KB# 31658

Created On:  30 August 2010 Problem: Acu4GL for MSSQL version 8.1.0 is installed properly on Windows XP with no errors. However, while attempting to connect to a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database the program encounters an error: 9d,17. Resolution: Verify that the argument for configuration variable A_MSSQL_DEFAULT_CONNECTION is a valid server name or its IP address rather than the name of a database. Incident #2453785 Old KB# 31659

Created On:  9 September 2010 Problem: When converting an application from Net Express 3.1 to a later release of Net Express, running the application under Server fror COBOL results in the following error message being displayed:"Procedure entry point mF_PALETTE could not be located in the dll cblrtss.dll" Resolution: The mf_palette entry point was something that was present in Net Express 3.1 but not in later product releases.It sounds as if one or more of your application files did not compile successfully in the newer Net Express version so the 3.1 version is being picked up incorrectly.Try the following:1.  Check the timestamp of the executable files in the application and make note of any that have an older timestamp than you expect.2.  Make sure that the PATH and COBDIR environment variables do not reference a location that contains an older 3.1 compiled version of any of the application files or the Net Express run-time files.3.&nbs

Created On:  06 September 2010 Problem: If you have more than one type of runtime, differentiated by the suffixes used when compiling them, and one type is spaces, you may run into trouble when trying to call a subroutine suffixed by spaces from a routine which is not suffixed by spaces.If you are working with an Operating System that allows your runtimes to be formatted as:Progname. (with a fullstop but no suffix)...you may experience the following problem.Problem DefinitionYou have two types of runtimes, one is suffixed *.COB (compiled as –o @.COB) and the other is suffixed *.CB2 (compiled as –o @.CB2).  Thus:Type 1 :  progname.COBType 2 :  progname.CB2Your config file has the following variable set:CODE_SUFFIX     COBIf you were running a COBOL program of Type 1, how would you call a COBOL program of Type 2 from within your Type 1 program?  Resolution: To change the CODE_SUFFIX variable from within your cobol program, add the

Created On:  17 August 2010 Problem: OpenOffice is a popular alternative to Microsoft Office. Is it is possible to automate OpenOffice applications from COBOL ? Resolution: OpenOffice has a programming interface for control called UNO. Also available is a UNO COM automation bridge that allows client applications that support COM Automation (IDispatch) to access openoffice applications.Net Express COBOL supports COM Automation and can therefore be used to control OpenOffice.Attached is a working example of this.  This demo has been tested with OpenOffice V3.2.1. Attachments OpenOffice.zip Old KB# 31617

Created On:  16 August 2010 Problem: In a Linux graphical environment, if an alphabetic character is edited in a numeric entry-field, runtime shows error message ACCEPT REQUIRED.  After that, runtime freezes and it's impossible to work with the application. Resolution: This message is quite common and it's usually caused by the working storage variable the entry-field has associated with it.  Check the version of the runtime using "runcbl -vv". If it shows that release is 8.1.2, the best thing to start with is to upgrade to release 8.1.2.1. Incident #2450328 Old KB# 31611