Rocket® COBOL

This article describes an issue in accessing documentation from AcuBench help menu even though extend product documentation has been installed. Problem: After installing AcuBench the help menu item shows the appropriate documentation options, but nothing happens when they are chosen, even though the documentation has been installed on the machine – as can been seen by successfully accessing the documentation via the Windows Start menu. Resolution: This is typically caused by the helpfile.ini file pointing to a location other than where the documentation exists or the helpfile.ini not being present. When this occurs the options in the helpfile.ini need to be modified to point to the correct location for each of the help item options. For example: [MainHelp]AcuBench=C:\\Program Files\\Acucorp\\Acucbl810\\Docs\\acubench\\index.htmACUCOBOL-GT Manual Set=C:\\Program Files\\Acucorp\\Acucbl810\\Docs\\index.htmACUCOBOL-GT Runtime Manual=C:\\Program Fil

This article explains how to avoid having ENTRY-FIELD controls drawn incorrectly in a screen section. Problem: Starting with version 7.2.2 it is possible for ENTRY-FIELDS to be incorrectly displayed without an upper boarder. This behavior is caused by the combination of three events: The upgrade to runtime 7.2.2 from a previous version. A vertical size (LINES property) of the ENTRY-FIELD that is very thin (for example, less than 0,75 pixel or less than 1,10 cells). The ENTRY-FIELD is right justified using RIGHT property or using JUSTIFY_NUM_FIELDS environment variable set to TRUE. Resolution: There are several solutions to avoiding this behavior. One solution is to modify the code by resizing all the involved ENTRY-FIELDs. The amount of work that would be required in some cases may make this a non-viable solution. Another approach depends on whether or not the code can be recompiled. If recompiling is an option then use the -C71 com

This article provides an example of the use of the FUNCTION-ID paragraph with the RDFPATH and REPOSITORY directives. Problem: The FUNCTION-ID paragraph can be used in the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION to name an external function. When a program that uses this function is compiled, the following error message appears: 1304-S Method not found in repository Resolution: The RDFPATH should be used to compile the function program (mydouble.cbl in the example below) if the repository is generated somewhere different to the source folder. It should be used with the program that uses it (mymain.cbl) if the repository has to be searched somewhere different from the source folder or any of the directories in the $COBCPY environment variable (if defined). If both are used, the function and the main program are compiled with the same value in the RDFPATH directive, the 1304-S error message should not occur. The following example runs fine: cob mydouble.cbl -C RDFPATH=. cob c

This article explains an archive library error when running a script on AIX. Problem: A script is employed to build an RTS executable using the cob –x command. The script runs successfully on HP/UX but fails on AIX. On AIX, an error appears saying archive library CLAIMCHK cannot be found. The same cob -x command is used in each case. The archive library is specified on the cob –x using the following syntax: -l:CLAIMCHK.a Resolution: The “-l” option is accepted by the cob command, but cob in turn passes this option to the system linker "ld". The “-l” option is actually a feature of the system linker. For information about the “-l” option, consult the HP/UX and AIX Operating System documentation, and in particular the man pages for "ld”. On HP/UX, the linker "ld" accepts the syntax: -l:library That is, “-l” followed by a colon (:) followed by a library name. The "ld" ma

This article explains how to release a license from a client computer and return it to the Central License Server for Net Express 6.0 Problem: The license from a client machine needs to be added back to the pool of available licenses in the Central License Server. How is this done? Resolution: The license does not need to be revoked, as in previous versions of Net Express. When using the Central License Server, the license that is currently being used is released and returned back to the Central License Server once the product is closed. The license is only in use for as long as the product remains open. You can verify this by opening the License Management System and viewing the list of authorized licenses under the Licenses tab. The License Management System is found by going to Start > Micro Focus Studio Enterprise Edition 6.0 > Configuration > License Management System. The authorized license that was released will not be visible in the list. If you do no

This article explains how to resolve error 93 when accessing a file. Problem: When opening a file an error 93 is encountered saying: File locked by another user Resolution: There are three main causes of this error: Ungraceful exits. If the runtime exits in a manner that doesn't send a message to release the lock, the operating system will hold the lock until rebooted. On Windows Servers you can use the Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Shared Folders > Open Files to try to release locks on shared files. On UNIX/Linux copy the locked file to a different location, rename or delete the locked file and move the copied file back. For example: cp myfile ../myfile rm myfile mv ../myfile myfile Permissions problem. If the user has read-only permissions and the file is opened i-o this can cause the error 93. Other software having the file locked such as anti-virus or backup software. Inciden

This article explains why there is no Application Server license available at COBDIR when running an application with Java on an AIX platform. Problem: We have installed Server Express successfully and COBOL programs are running without any porblems. Java is installed correctly a Java program will run without any problems. However, when trying to do a combination of the two it throws up an error that there is no license available at the $COBDIR location even though it has been proofed that Java does run and COBOL runs as well. Why is this happening? Resolution: Check the user profile and especially 32-bit/64-bit paths as this has to be correct according to the type of license you have for your AIX machine. If you have a 64-bit license and a 64-bit AIX machine but somehow your user profile has a 32-bit path in there it will show the error that there is no license available at the $COBDIR location. Old KB# 14591

Attempting to add a record to a Postgres database table using AcuSQL encounters errors. Problem: Attempting to add a record to a Postgres database table using AcuSQL encounters errors: SQLCODE = -1, SQLSTATE = 42000, SQLERRMC = Attempt to execute nonexistent, unprepared or invalid statement SQLIST. Resolution: With the more recent ODBC drivers for UNIX and Linux the ReadOnly entry in the odbc.ini file needs to be set to NO. Once this is done any of the operations that modify data in the table (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) will work without error. Incident Number: 2220456 Old KB# 14527

This article explains the method for running a COBOL program in the background of Windows. Problem: How do you run a COBOL program in the background when using Windows? Resolution: To run a COBOL program in the background use the –b runtime flag which inhibits the terminal initialization done by wrun32. This can be useful if the program is run in the background because terminal initialization can prevent normal use of the terminal by the operating system. If this flag is used, the behavior of ACCEPT and DISPLAY statements is undefined; therefore use this flag with caution. A program can examine the ACU-NO-TERMINAL field after an ACCEPT FROM TERMINAL-INFO statement to determine whether it was started with "-b". Incident Number: 2350874 Old KB# 14586

This article explains how to add a new service to Enterprise Server from the local command line using and configuring mfdepinst. Problem: If you need to deploy a service to a number of servers, you might want to be able to do from the command line. You can use imtkmake to deploy your application, and this is well documented. imtkmake will pack all your application into a .car file and send it to the remote server, where mfdepinst will: copy the application files (*.int , ...) by unpacking the .car file copy the .idt file to a directory add a Package add a service assign Package and Listener to it do this on the right Enterprise Server do this on the right machine But how can you configure mfdepinst to assign another than the default path of the IDT file and to the service's Package and the right Listener to your Service? Resolution: When you use mfdepinst from the command line, there must always be a .mfdeploy file in the parent directory to the .ca

This article explains how to enable the Transfer option within the Server Express Information Manager Utility infomgr. Problem: If the Transfer option in infomgr is not set up, how do you enable this within Server Express? Resolution: Infomgr is the Server Express Information Manager Utility and is a screen interface to the in product demo collection. Unless you have enabled the Transfer option, when you attempt to compile a demo, a warning is displayed as follows: The data directory has no write permission or is pointing to $COBDIR/demo. To maintain files in their original state, you should set-up the 'Transfer' option to copy the file(s) to a directory of your choice. If the 'Transfer' option is already set-up, the relevant file(s) will be transferred to the designated directory and compiled there on leaving this screen. If the 'Transfer' option is not available, you need to add the 'TRANSDIR' entry to the [mf-infomgr] section of th

This article explains why copybook names with trailing spaces receive message 8-S Unknown COPY file "xyz.cpy" specified. Problem: When a copy statement appears in quotes with trailing spaces, for example: Copy file "xyz.cpy ", the compiler issues an error "Unknown COPY file "xyz.cpy " specified. Once the trailing space is removed, the compile works fine. Because the spaces are within the quotes, the compiler assumes that the spaces are part of the copy file name. This did not occur in previous versions of Server Express, why is it happening now? Resolution: This was a bug in previous releases of Server Express. Compile should never have resolved to the file xyz.cpy. The correct behavior is for the space to be considered part of the file name. The defect has been corrected in Server Express version 5.0 and all future releases. Incident Number: Old KB# 14520

This article describes a work around to help Rumba users open a URL on a green screen. Problem: Rumba doesn’t open URL on an AS/400 display screen. Is there a way to do this? Resolution: Yes, there is a workaround to help you open a URL on a green screen. Follow these steps: Download and save the attached script to a desired location. On a Rumba AS/400 display click on Options > API and enter session short name “A” and press the OK button. Now click on Tools > Edit Power Pad to bring up the Power Pad editor. Click on the New button to create a new key. Under the caption section enter text for the new key. For example: “Open URL”. Change size and color as per your requirements. Under the When clicked section, select the Play Script option and click on the browse button to select the script. Browse to the location where you saved the attached script. Select the script and press Open. Then press OK and then press Save. Click on the T

This article explains how you can write a COBOL .NET class that inherits from a C# .NET class. Problem: You need to create a COBOL .NET class that inherits from a C# .NET class. Resolution: You create a COBOL .NET class that inherits from a C# .NET class in the same way as you do it for a VB .NET class. The .zip file attached to this article includes a MS Visual Studio 2008 solution, CsharpAndCOBOLinherit.sln, that demonstrates how you can do that. The solution consists of the following 3 projects: ConsoleApplicationCsharp - a C# Console Application project ClassLibrarycSharp - a C# Class Library project ClassLibrary1Cobol - a COBOL Class Library project The C# Console Application, ConsoleApplicationCsharp, invokes the COBOL Class Library, ClassLibrary1Cobol, which inherits from the C# Class Library, ClassLibrarycSharp. Open the COBOL program, Class1.cbl, in the code editor and see that it defines the COBOL class, Class1. Class1: inherits from a C# class sets in its constructor

This article explains how the Server Express licensing works when using a clustered file system. Problem: Within a clustered file system, when the host falls over, will the Server Express runtime license broker (aslmf) automatically recover? Resolution: At the time this article was written (March 2009) Server Express is not cluster aware so if you fail-over to another machine, some interaction is required to ensure the licence database (mflmfdb) is licensed. This can be automated to a point by using aslmdbrecover, then apptrack in batch mode to populate the database. Note: Micro Focus does not test on clustered systems. Old KB# 14580

This article provides a solution for the device name not displaying in the status bar of an OnWeb Web-to-Host 5.3.1 pro client session. Problem: The associated device name is not displayed in the status bar when an OnWeb Web-to-Host 5.3.1 pro client session is launched in the browser. How is this resolved? Resolution: An OnWeb Web-to-Host session can be configured to use a specific device name or a system variable from which a device name can be generated. This device name is then displayed in the status bar after the session is established with the host. However, an OnWeb Web-to-Host 5.3.1 pro client session does not display the device name in the status bar after the session is connected. This has been fixed in OnWeb Web-to-Host version 5.3.2. We recommend that customers upgrade to version 5.3.2 if they have a need to display the device name in the status bar. Note: The device name may also be referred to as an LU name, a session name, or a user locator name in y

This article describes the steps to add a macro to the OnWeb Web-to-Host toolbar. Problem: Web-to-Host doesn’t have options to add a macro to the toolbar as Rumba does. How is this accomplished? Resolution: It is possible to add macros to the Web-to-Host toolbar. The trick is to add a button on the toolbar and assign a macro to it. The following are the steps to add a macro to the toolbar: On a Web-to-Host session click on View > Toolbars > Customize to open Customize window. Click the New button to display the New Toolbar window. Enter the desired name for the new toolbar and press OK. The Customize Toolbar window will appear Click the New button to bring up the Button properties window. Select Macro from the Button Type pull down. Click on the Browse button and navigate to the location where you saved your macro. Select the macro and press the Open button. You will notice that the macro path is entered for you. Enter the Description an

The RM/COBOL binding for PDFlib, included in the distribution of RM/COBOL, may be used to create highly complex PDF documents through a CALL interface. Problem: Modern applications are often required to produce PDF documents, for example as replacements for traditional printed reports or as a standardized mechanism to distribute documents via email. Simple solutions, such as printer drivers or external conversion tools, often lack the ability to control fonts or take advantage of intra-document linking and other advanced features of Portable Document Format (PDF), resulting in PDF documents that fail to meet user expectations for modern ‘look and feel.’ Many solutions also lack the platform portability required by RM/COBOL applications. Resolution: RM/COBOL includes a binding for the PDFlib API in the standard RM/COBOL distribution. PDFlib is a product of PDFlib GmbH; more information can be found on the PDFlib GmbH web site (see Related Lin

This article explains how to specify a cataloged filename in extfh.cfg. Problem: How do you specify a cataloged filename in extfh.cfg? Resolution: Rather than map the physical filename, which may change from run to run, you can specify the unmapped filename in extfh.cfg using the internal keyword. To map SYSOUT for example: [internal:SYSOUT] INSERTNULL=OFF Old KB# 14579

This article describes how you can write constructors with different signatures in COBOL .NET classes. Problem: You need to define different constructors in a COBOL .NET class that have different signatures. Resolution: The following code gives an example of a COBOL .NET class that has different constructors: class-id. Class1 as "ClassLibrary1Cobol.Class1". environment division. configuration section. repository. static. working-storage section. end static. object. working-storage section. method-id. NEW. procedure division. display "ClassLibraryCOBOL.Class1 Constructor()" goback. end method NEW. method-id. NEW. procedure division using aStr as String. display "ClassLibraryCOBOL.Class1 Constructor(String)" goback. end method NEW. method-id. NEW. proced

This article explains what to do if a dictionary invalid error occurs when compiling a large program. Problem: When compiling a large program with a simple cob –u we get the followiong error: 912-S Internal error - Dictionary invalid r/w MULTISCREEN@ Inform Technical Support. Resolution: Check that there is sufficient space in /tmp. If /tmp has lots of cob* files directories, delete those and then try again. Old KB# 14590

This article explains how to import business XML documents containing an unknown number of repeating items. Problem: Business oriented XML documents often contain an unknown number of repetitions of complex elements. For example, a web service based credit application processing system may return any number of credit acceptances, with each credit acceptance structure being complex. Another example would be a document representing a series of purchase orders, with each purchase order including any number of line items. If such a document is imported in its entirety, the COBOL data structure must use an OCCURS to describe the group data item that represents the top level repeating element. However, the OCCURS clause requires a fixed upper bound, and most XML documents of this type do not have a specified maximum number of repeating elements, thereby almost guaranteeing that some document will be presented that exceeds the maximum of the OCCURS clause. Resolution: Version

This article explains what to do if you receive an error -119 during installation. Problem: During installation, an error -119 indicates that the installer was unable to register a control or process necessary for the product to function properly. Resolution: Most frequently, this occurs when a virus protection program determines that a process is trying to alter the registry of the machine when it should not be doing so. The solution is to temporarily disable the virus protection program for the duration of time it takes to install the product. Remember to reactivate the virus protection software once the product is properly installed. Old KB# 14534

This article explains what to do when you get this error when loading support module librmterm.so. Problem: On Linux, the run-time reports:<install path>/librmterm.so: undefined symbol : TCSETATTRNOWRM/COBOL : Error loading support module. Resolution: Extract the attached fixed librmtc.so into the RM/COBOL installation directory. Also copy it to librmterm.so, that is: cp librmtc.so librmterm.so Incident Number: 2352024 Old KB# 14536

The ACUCOBOL-GT runtime can manage different character sets other than the common Western European. Problem: Is it possible to use different character sets other than Western European in a COBOL graphical environment? Resolution: Yes, the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime enables you to change the locale of an application at runtime. When changing the character set, it is possible to accept and write into a Vision file characters that belong to different languages, such as Russian (Cyrillic), Greek, Turkish, Arabic and Hebrew. The attached program shows how to do this. Incident Number: 2351489 Attachments http://community.microfocus.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-wikis-components-files/00-00-00-01-22/0755.International.zip  Old KB# 14588