Rocket® COBOL

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:  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:  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:  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:  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:  04 February 2011 Problem: When using Net Express 6.0 in Studio Enterprise Edition 6.0, Net Express crashes when trying to use the options (Get, Check Out, Check In, Undo Check Out, Add to Source Control, and Remove from Source Control) listed under the ‘Source Safe’ menu. Resolution: Turn off the multi-threading option for Source Control. This is accomplished by going to Options > Source Control > and deselecting ‘Use multi-threading’ checkbox. Incident #2498853 Old KB# 33162#Studio#Enterprise#COBOL#AccessViolation#netexpress#StudioEnterpriseEdition

Problem: When requesting a license from Micro Focus License Server 4.0, a prompt to download the TM1.TMP file.  Once downloaded, the license is not installed on the product that requested it. Resolution: The license server may be installed on a Windows Server 2008 environment with IIS 7.5 or 7.0 installed.  In order to resolve the issue, please perform the following: Log into the License Server machine as a local administrator. Navigate to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. Within the IIS Manager, navigate to alias created for the License Server and double click on the "Compression" icon. Make sure that "Enable dynamic content compression" is unchecked. Open a command line and type "iisreset" to reset the IIS.   Old KB# 33079#Windows2008#7.0#TM1.TMP#IIS#LicenseServer#7.5

Created On:  31 January 2011 Problem: Uninstalling a pre-GA version of Visual COBOL R3 does not remove the Visual COBOL R3 online documentation and prevents the online documentation from being updated by subsequent installations of Visual COBOL R3. As a result, if you perform the following steps: 1. Install a pre-GA version of Visual COBOL R3. 2. Uninstall the pre-GA version of Visual COBOL R3. 3. Install the GA version of Visual COBOL R3. The online documentation for Visual COBOL is as it was after you performed step 1. Resolution: To resolve this issue you need to manually remove the online documentation for the pre-GA version of Visual COBOL R3 then update the GA version of Visual COBOL R3 to include the correct online documentation. Note: The following steps are for Windows 7 and will differ slightly for other versions of the Windows operating system. To manually remove the online documentation for the pre-GA version of Visual COBOL R3: 1. Use the Run as administrator

Created On:  03 February 2011 Problem: Cannot install Visual COBOL / Net Express products due to Orphaned Registry entries, this issue usually occurs in Windows Vista or Windows 7. For example, the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Wow6432Node\\Micro Focus exists but you cannot change permissions or do anything with those keys, access is denied. Even when logging on with the local Administrator account you cannot see these keys or even change the permissions. This key could already exist due to other or older products but where removed. Resolution: 1. Download and install SubInACL: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=e8ba3e56-d8fe-4a91-93cf-ed6985e3927b&displaylang=en2. From an Administrators command prompt, run:>cd /d “c:\\program files (x86)\\Windows Resource Kits\\Tools”>subinacl.exe /subkeyreg “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Wow6432Node\\Micro Focus” /grant=administrators=f3. On 64 bit machines using regedit, check that the key

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

Created On:  01 February 2011 Problem: COBOL source modules that originally worked successfully in a different environment, would not work under Server Express and Oracle 10g.   Characters in columns 69 through 72 were being ignored, whereas the COBOL compiler from the original environment would see and parse these characters. Resolution: SupportLine wrote a COBOL program capable of scanning source files and reporting lines having characters (other than space characters) in columns 69 - 72.   The problem was solved when the customer used this program to identify, and then modify, those lines of code.  The program, named "check69-72", as well as a Readme.txt file, is attached to this Knowledgebase article. Incident #2196977 Attachments Readme.txtcheck69-72.cbl Old KB# 33118#netexpress#ServerExpress#COBOL#EnterpriseServer#StudioEnterpriseEdition#VisualCOBOL#Enterprise

Created On:  31 January 2011 Problem: Uninstalling Visual COBOL R3 does not remove the Visual COBOL R3 online documentation. If you continue to use Visual Studio, the online documentation for Visual COBOL R3 is still displayed even though Visual COBOL R3 is no longer installed. Resolution: To resolve this issue you need to manually remove the online documentation for Visual COBOL R3.Note: The following steps are for Windows 7 and will differ slightly for other versions of the Windows operating system.To manually remove the online documentation for Visual COBOL R3:1. Use the Run as administrator option to run Start > All Programs > Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 > Visual Studio Tools > Manage Help Settings - ENU.        The Help Library Manager is displayed.2. Click Remove content.    3. Click Remove in the Actions column of the Visual COBOL R3 row, then click the Remove button.   &nbsp

Created On:  20 January 2011 Problem: We are unable to start animating our program in Net Express.  What should we do? Resolution: This problem is due to permissions set in the registry. These have to be checked and compared with the following:In Windows 7 run REGEDIT and navigate to:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Wow6432Node\\Micro Focus\\NetExpress\\5.1\\COBOLThe permissions should be by default:CREATOR OWNER: Allow - Special PermissionsSYSTEM: Allow - Full Control and ReadADMINISTRATORS: Allow - Full Control and ReadUSERS: ReadIn Windows XP run REGEDIT and navigate to:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Micro Focus\\NetExpress\\5.1\\COBOLThe permissions should be by default:CREATOR OWNER: Allow - Special PermissionsSYSTEM: Allow - Full Control and ReadADMINISTRATORS: Allow - Full Control and ReadUSERS: Read Incident #2494468 Old KB# 33036

Created On:  19 January 2011 Problem: The extfh.cfg looks like this:[/mf/MicroFocus/data/FILE]Striping=onMaxStripeSize=2000000000MaxStripeFiles= 30[/mf/MicroFocus/data/FILEStriping=onMaxStripeSize=2000000000MaxStripeFiles= 30 Resolution: As you can see in the extfh.cfg there is a space in between the '=' sign and value after ( 30) in MaxStripeFiles. Removing this space will result in the correct behavior. Old KB# 33020

Created On:  01 January 2011 Problem: The large file support has been enabled by the configuration setting:USE_LARGE_FILE_API 1When running the program and the large file is accessed a file error 30,22 occurs.  On HP-UX error 22 means "invalid argument", which doesn't make sense. Resolution: The issue occurs on systems that do not support full 64-bit file addressing on some file system types (HP-UX is an example).  The problem is that by default Vision places file locks at the end of the file address space, and on those systems that address may be invalid.  The resolution is to add the follwing setting to the Runtime configuration file:LARGE_FILE_LIMIT_2TB 1,This forces the file access locks that Vision usually places at the end of the file address space to be placed within the 2TB boundary.  If this does not resolve the error then the boundary for locks must be further limited.  Do that by adding:LARGE_FILE_LIMIT_1TB 1

Created On:  21 January 2011 Problem: When the "acurcl -start" command is performed on a Windows server, the error "AcuRCL Service Error: 3" is displayed and AcuRCL fails to start. Resolution: This error is encountered when upgrading to a newer version of AcuRCL without removing the prior service. Perform "acurcl -remove" to remove Windows service from memory and then start the new version "acurcl -start". If not using the default port, indicate the port number when removing and starting the service: "acurcl -remove -n portnumber" and "acurcl -start -n portnumber". Incident #2183038 Old KB# 33057

Created On:  14 January 2011 Problem: We are trying to find the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Office\\14.0\\Excel\\InstallRoot in a Windows7 64 bit environment.On page 3 in “When I’m 64” it says (the example with AcmeSoft) that software in 32 bit versions was located in KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\AcmeSoft is now located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Wow6432Node\\AcmeSoftUnder 32 bit programs he searches for an Excel installation in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Office\\14.0\\Excel\\InstallRoot – that works fine.So based on the “When I’m 64” article, we should be able to find the same information on 64 bit Windows in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Wow6432Node\\Microsoft\\Office\\14.0\\Excel\\InstallRoot – but can’t cause the entry doesn’t exist in the registration DB.What needs to be done? Resolution: When you accesses the registry, you should not worry about the WOW6432Node, Windows will apply this automatically if the application is 32 b

Created On:  20 January 2011 Problem: Web.config files can be greater than 250kb when creating web projects in Visual Cobol but IIS shows an error indicating that it cannot read a config file beyond 250kb. Resolution: The link below provides information on how to chage the default size of a web.config file:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954864By applying the changes indicated in the Microsoft forum you will be able to run your web application with web.config files greater than 250kb. Incident #2487425 Old KB# 33037

Created On:  28 February 2011 Problem: Is it possible to change the orientation and docking behaviour of the tool box? Resolution: It is possible to change the orientation and docking behaviour of the tool box.   The following shows you how to undock a landscape tool box then redock it with a portrait orientation.First if it’s docked then you need to undock it, double click the toolbar as shown here:The toolbox will then be floating, simply drag it’s frame to change it's size.Then you can redock it, drag it to the right hand side of the screen so that part of it protrudes from the edge of the WOW window, it will auto dock: Old KB# 32915#WOWDesignerToolbar

Created On:  24 December 2010 Problem: My COBOL program retrieves the command-line:       working-storage section.       01 CMDline pic x(128) value spaces.       ...       procedure division.       accept   CMDline from command-line       ....To launch a program I like to debug this way: anim program.int command-line and receive no command-line in the animated program.It works fine when I test in run mode:  cobrun program.int command-lineWhat am I doing wrong? Resolution: Use in anim mode this command:anim program.int END command-line The END added is a directive for Animator Server Express 5.1 Bookshelf Debugging Guide Chapter 4: Directives for Animator:END End directives to Animator and begin directives for user program Old KB# 32747

Created On:  30 December 2010 Problem: After trying to run a program after an upgrade of Server Express, a 211 error occurs:Load error : file 'pi'error code: 211, pc=0, call=1, seg=0211     Program not executable by Run-Time SystemWhy is this happening? Resolution: This can occur if the program was not recompiled after the upgrade. It is recommended that all programs be recompiled after upgrades of Server Express to avoid issues such as this one. This error can also occur if the program was compiled under one cobmode and then execution is attempted under a different cobmode. Merely changing the cobmode at the time of execution using the following may clear this.       export COBMODE={desired bitmode} Old KB# 32759

Created On:  06 January 2010 Problem: Is there a routine that automatically calculates the number of days between two dates in Net Express? Resolution: The FUNCTION INTEGER-OF-DATE is a simple date-to-number conversion.Once the dates has been converted to numeric values comparable to a base date, one can then be subtracted from the other.Have a look at the following:WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.01  INPUT-DATE-1                PIC 9(8).01  INPUT-DATE-2                PIC 9(8).01  NUM-DATE-1                  PIC 9(8).01  NUM-DATE-2                  PIC 9(8).01  NO-OF-DAYS         &nb

Created On:  31 December 2010 Problem: The secondary error 90 means in Vision Version 4 or 5, on open, an index segment's internal revision number does not match the internal revision number stored in the header of the first data segment. Normally the error code 98,90 is returned by the runtime when it finds that the user count in the header record of a Vision file has a negative value.  This normally arises when a runtime has crashed and has not had the chance to correctly update the header record that normally occurs during a normal shutdown. Resolution: Try fixing this by Resetting the Internal Revision Number. This option resets the internal revision number of all segments in the specified Vision file to the revision number of the first data segment. It does this without rebuilding the entire file. To use this option, you must have exclusive access to the file. The command is: Vutil32 -fixvers  [ -q ]  [ file ] The files can be listed on the command