Rocket® COBOL

This article provides information on how to improve the performance of mfsort. Problem: The results from testing mfsort with the same input data over many successive runs shows variance in the sort times. The data records in the test are large, circa 3K. How can the performance be improved and the results stabilised? Resolution: Mfsort works by storing only the key data up to 1K of data in a structure which is then sorted. If SORTSPACE is large enough, this structure is held in memory rather then paged to disk, improving overall perfomance. As sort only stores key data 1K record data, for larger records the original data needs to be accessed when returning data from the sort, resulting in slower performance. More data can be forced into memory by adding an additional key to the sort. As a guide, this additional key must be "record length - 1024 bytes" in size to ensure the whole record is held. The benefit of this approach will

This article explains why an RTS 114 error occurs when running Animator file=dispatch.gnt. Problem: We are receiving the following RTS error: Execution error : file '/opt/microfocus/cobol/dynload/animchr.lbr/dispatch.gnt' error code: 114, pc=0, call=1, seg=0 114 Attempt to access item beyond bounds of memory (Signal 11) Resolution: At this time the Animator under Server Express will not work if the machine has been started with the SMP kernel, it will only work with the normal kernel. Check the kernel with 'uname -a' . You will know that it's been started with the SMP kernel if the result looks like $ uname -a Linux cds-entw 2.4.21-32.ELsmp #1 SMP Fri Apr 15 21:17:59 EDT 2005 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux It should work okay if it looks like: $ uname -a Linux cds-entw 2.4.21-32.EL #1 Fri Apr 15 21:29:19 EDT 2005

This article briefly explains that 9/199 File Status Error means that the runtime system does not understand a status coming in from the operating system. Problem: 9/199 file status or RTS 199 A system call has returned an unexpected errno which is not expected. 9/199 errors are generated when a file handling call fails and the operating system returns an error that does not get translated to a file status value, as it is expected. How can the error number be determined and what does the error indicate? Resolution: Micro Focus COBOL file handle will handle expected values for errnos. The list of errnos is located in /usr/include/sys/errno.h. or /usr/include/errno.h depending on the platform. Errno.h is a table of error numbers and their meaning. Animator can be used to determine what statement is causing the error. File Status Error 9/199 is a legitimate error. It means

This article resolves an error by removing references to a previous product. Problem: We have recompiled an existing OCDS application with Server Express 4.0, and we are getting the following error: Execution error : file '' error code: 115, pc=0, call=1, seg=0 115 Unexpected signal (Signal 6) Resolution: Examination of the environment setting showed that there was still the OCDS product path in PATH, and the library path. Removing all references to the previous product will resolve this error message. Old KB# 13982

This article explains how a Net Express reset key is generated to reactivate the product after a problem. Problem: How can a  Net Express reset key generated to reactivate the product after a problem? Resolution: Within a DOS command window, navigate to the product's \\base\\bin directory. Enter the command PROTCFG /FORCE_RESET. The License Management System Configuration window appears. In the License Management System window, click the appropriate check box to select your product and components. Click REQUEST RESET License. Using the generated license key, go to the Licensing Solution web pages at http://supportline.microfocus.com/licensing/LicensingHome.asp to generate your own product reactivation key. This will provide the ability to reset the product license within 30 days. Use the response key generated from the License Solution web pages to activate the product. Reactivate the product. Old KB# 13968#Licensing#netexpre

This article explains how to resolve the error message "Unable to add licenses to the security key" in License Server 4.0. Problem: When inserting a Response key into the License Server, we received the error message "Unable to add licenses to the security key". How is this resolved? Resolution: A possible reason for this error is that the IUSER_servername (where servername is the actual name of the machine) entry in the server Admin group is not set to Power User (or even better, Administrator).  This is required because Microsoft IIS needs to have at least Power User privileges to be able to add its entries to the registry since Microsoft has tightened up on the registry access in Windows. The steps below should resolve the matter: Log on with full administrator privileges. Go to Control panel. Double click the administrative tools icon. Double click the computer management icon. Expand the "Local users and groups" entry. Expand the us

This article explains how to set directives specifically for individual build types. Problem: Is there a way to set directives specifically for individual build types? In other words, how to set directives specifically for Release and others for Debug? Resolution: Here are the steps to accomplish this: Go to Project | Types of Build... Select Debug under Types. Click on the Change button. Add directives to Build directives field by leaving a space between them. Click on the OK button. Select Release under Types. Repeat steps 3 through 5. Click on the Close button. Note: The above settings are per project. Old KB# 13957

This article explains how to resolve an ASLM semaphore failure 1002 after installing Net Express 5.0 on Vista. Problem: When trying to start an application via Net Express 5.0 IDE installed on a single Vista machine we received the following messages: ASLM: Semaphore failure. It is probable that licensing home location is not correctly set up. If using ASLMFNET check that it is set to a valid path, otherwise check that the location in the registry is valid (run aslmpclocate) and that the location exits and has appropriate access permissions. ASLM: Errno 1002 Resolution: Check the environment variable COBDIR first and to ensure that the installation path ..\\Net Express 5.0\\Base\\bin is included as well. Note: Depending on the application it may also need: ..\\Net Express 5.0\\Unix\\DSCHAR\\BIN or ..\\Net Express 5.0\\DialogSystem\\BIN On a Net Express 5.0 command prompt >set COBDIRwill provide an overview of which paths are included. COBDIR should not point to paths along wi

This article explains how to ensure a Net Express 5.1 deployment environment is licensed properly and ready for installation. Problem: In the 5.1 Release of Net Express, and subsequent releases, deployment licensing is enforced. How can you ensure that the deployment environment is licensed properly and ready for the installation? Resolution: To ensure that the Net Express deployment environment is licensed properly and ready for installation you can run AppTrack to check deployment license usage. The MFLicenseCheck utility will find and report the number and types of installed deployment licenses in Windows. However, MFLicenseCheck is for analyzing deployment license usage in Windows only. (ie: Server for COBOL, Application Server, Server 5.0). Therefore, it will not report on development license usage and is not intended for usage on other operating systems. This program is available at http://supportline.microfocus.com/licensing/MFLicenseCheck.zip. Note: The

This article explains why the error 912-s dictionary invalid may occur when compiling a COBOL program. Problem: We are receiving the error 912-s dictionary invalid when compiling a COBOL program. Why is this? Resolution: This error indicates a fault in the compiler, so first try the latest WebSync. If this does not resolve the problem, then please contact Micro Focus technical support. Old KB# 13959

This article addresses whether there is any effect on a Net Express license after renaming a server post-migration from Windows 2000 to 2003. Problem: We are migrating from Windows 2000 to a Windows 2003 server, and want to know if CLU09ALL is applied, will renaming the server cause the license to be corrupted when it is in evaluation mode or full license mode? Resolution: For development products released before 2006 you need to have CLU09ALL applied before renaming machine. For development products using Microsoft Install shield no updates are required. Old KB# 13960

This article explains what is involved in transferring an Application Server license from one computer to another. Problem: What is involved in transferring an Application Server license from one computer to another? Resolution: Transferring an Application Server license from one computer to another depends on the setup access to runtime and\\or licenses. If the license database is installed on a server, you need to point a client to it, setting ASLMFNET=\\\\server\\sharename pointing to the server where the license resides. If the runtime and license is installed directly on a users machine, then it must be uninstalled from the old machine and reinstalled on the new machine before running APPTRACK to install the license number. However, if you are running static EXEs and just need the license on a client machine, simply create a directory and put the following files in it (these can be copied from the Application Server CD): prodfile semfile apptra

This article explains how to move a Net Express license from one machine to another. Problem: How can a Net Express license be moved from one machine to another machine? Resolution: In order to move a Net Express license from one machine to another, the product license on the old machine must be revoked. This is done automatically when the product is uninstalled. To generate a manual revoke key, follow these steps: From the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Net Express > Configuration > License Management System. The License Management System Configuration window should appear. Check your product and its components. Click Revoke license. Using the generated license key, go to the Licensing Solution web pages at http://supportline.microfocus.com/licensing/LicensingHome.asp to generate your own product revoke/deactivation key. After installing the product on the new machine, the product must be activated using a request key. To generate

This article explains how to generate a Net Express product activation key required by the licensing management system for a full license. Problem: You need a product activation key to activate a full license for Net Express. Resolution: From the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Net Express > Configuration > License Management System. Check Net Express and the components you want to activate. Click Generate Full License. Start a browser and go to the Micro Focus Licensing home page at http://supportline.microfocus.com/licensing/LicensingHome.asp. Generate the activation key. Use the generated key to activate Net Express. Old KB# 13966#netexpress#COBOL#Licensing

This article explains what to do if the message "Unable to connect to License Manager" occurs. Problem: When running APPTRACK we encountered the error "Unable to connect to License Manager". Does this type of error only occur in the Windows runtime product server for COBOL version 5.0 WrapPack 5 onwards? Resolution: License Manager runs as a Windows Service. First, check that the Micro Focus License Manager has been started. Run the services menu (services.msc) or access it via the control panel.  Search for Micro Focus License Manager. If it is present, hit the Start option. If not present, from a DOS prompt, enter the command mflmwin -i which will install the service and should also start it. If it doesn't start automatically, then start it using the Services menu. Old KB# 13972#Licensing#netexpress#COBOL

This article explains how a Net Express revoke key is generated to deactivate the product. Problem: How is a Net Express revoke key generated in order to deactivate the product? Resolution: From the Windows Start menu, click ALL Programs > Micro Focus Net Express > Configuration > License Management System. The License Management System Configuration window should appear. Check your product and its components. Click Revoke license. Using the generated license key, go to the Licensing Solution web pages at http://supportline.microfocus.com/licensing/LicensingHome.asp to generate your own product revoke/deactivation key.Old KB# 13967#COBOL#netexpress#Licensing

Problem: Since installing upgrade to Informix 9.4, ESQL 7.25 Animator no longer recognizes any function keys or keystrokes. rts32 is rebuilt by the Informix scripts Using  the original rts32 (shipped with the mfcobol product)  the keys funtion correctly, it seems like the new rts32 generated with informix libraries is causing this problem. Resolution: Informix support confirms this is a problem with ESQL 7.25 and higher. The user is running into the following bug: Bug: 155395 ESQL/COBOL CAUSES ANIMATOR TO FREEZE Description: ESQL/COBOL causes new versions of MF COBOL to freeze when trying to step through the code with animator. HP tech support thinks ESQL/COBOL may be intercepting a poll() call intended for animator. Older versions of MF cobol did not use the poll call. Old KB# 7327

Problem: Customer has a page ASP that accesses a COM Object generated by Net Express. In the Windows environment this works correctly. Now the customer would like to know this solution can be migrated to the UNIX environment. Resolution: There is a company, Mainsoft, that has produced the COM/DCOM support for UNIX. They can be found @ www.mainsoft.com. You can see an article on Microsoft's website on this subject:     http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnvc60/html/msdn_unixcom.asp However, they would need to solve the following issues:     - migrate or find an ASP web server on UNIX (it may be possible to use: Sun's ONE Active Server Pages 4.0.1 -formerly Sun Chili!Soft ASP-)     - migrate the COBOL bits (calls to Microsoft API's, use of non-portable COBOL routines, names of files... )     - Server Express also has no support for COM/DCOM

Problem: You may get the "undefined reference" error message when compiling and linking a program with cob that contains a call to another program and this second program is not included in the cob command line to be included in the resulting executable. For example, if inside mainprog.cbl there is a call to a program prog2.cbl:     call "prog2" using ... the following command     cob -x mainprog.cbl will return an "undefined reference" error message on the symbol "prog2". Resolution: Assuming that you have already compiled prog2.cbl independently because you want it to be loaded dynamically at run time when you run mainprog as a shared object:    cob -z prog2.cbl or as .int code:    cob -i prog2.cbl or as .gnt code:    cob -u prog2.cbl (please have a look to your User's Guide manual to understand the differences and how th

Problem: Customer uses ServerExpress's cobjrun to start IBM WebSphere 5.1. Customer wrapped a COBOL application with Java. The Java Wrapper is called by EJBs in an J2EE application running on IBM WebSphere 5.1. In a typical J2EE application running on WebSphere, the memory usage increases during daytime (peak) and decreases during night time (off-peak) due to Java's garbage collection. However, customer noticed that after running with cobjrun the memory usage increases during daytime, but stays the same during the night, and the next day it increases again. Resolution: This way of working it is not the way we recommend. When a java EJB needs to call COBOL, the recommended way of working is to run your COBOL program under Enterprise Server as a service and use the Interface Mapping Toolkit and the Resource Adapters technology to communicate the java EJB with the COBOL Service. We don't think that these memory problems have anything to do wi

Problem: If an entry-point stored in .a archive is called from main COBOL program using the ON OVERFLOW or ON EXCEPTION clause, even if the program is linked with the .a archive, the call fails and the ON OVERFLOW clause is executed. If in the same program the same entry-point is called using a simple CALL, it will succeed but the call with the ON OVERFLOW clause will still fail. To reproduce it: $ cat test1.cbl        PROCEDURE DIVISION.            CALL "HF-TEST02" ON OVERFLOW                DISPLAY "OVERFLOW." END-CALL.            DISPLAY "Back to the main program.".            CALL "HF-TEST02".         &nb

Problem: If you have an output file defined as             SELECT myoutfile ASSIGN TO "OUTFILE"... and when you run your program you need to print the output, you define it as follows:   export dd_OUTFILE=">lp -s -dmyprinter" or   export dd_OUTFILE="|lp -s -dmyprinter If instead you need the file on disk, you define it as follows:   export dd_OUTFILE="mypath/myfile" But what if you want to direct a file to another file AND print it at the same time? Resolution: If you need both, to get the output to a file and also to print it at the same time, what you need is to duplicate your output. So what you need is a command that is capable of duplicate what it gets from the standard input to the standard output and to a file. I think that the UNIX tee command is what you need. This is an extract of man from HP-UX: " NAME

Problem: How to create an archive that includes a COBOL .o module and statically link it to another COBOL executable. Resolution: First you compile your program to .o (the -c cob flag stops the process at .o and doesn't create the executable that the -x option would require): $ cob -cx hf-test.cbl Then you create the archive with the ar system tool: $ ar -r libtst.a test.o To statically link the code corresponding to the entry "test" inside the libtst.a archive (assuming that the archive is in the current directory, otherwise -L should be use to point to the directory where libtst is): $ cob -x testmain.cbl -L. -ltss -Itest The -I cob flag may not be necessary if the program is calling the entry-point directly using LITLINK and the clauses ON OVERFLOW or ON EXCEPTION are not used, but it is always better to be safe by using the -I flag to ensure that the code represented by that symbol is pulled in by the linker. Old KB# 728

Problem: How can I use Altova MapForce to generate import and export stylesheets? Resolution: Start a new Mapforce project. Add the Schema (XSD) document that describes the input XML document. For the import (to COBOL) stylesheet, this was the XSD document you obtain from the external standard or specification. As you add this Schema document, Mapforce asks if you would like to add an XML instance document.  If you have a sample XML document that complies with the schema, add it here. Add the schema that describes the output XML document. For the import (to COBOL) this is .xsd file created by the cobtoxml utility. As you add this Schema document, Mapforce asks if you would like to add an XML instance document, to which you respond 'No' since this is the output schema. (Notice that Mapforce does not distinguish between the input and output schema as you add the schema documents. Instead, it relies on the direction in which you connect the documents in the

Problem: Is RM/COBOL supported on virtual machines? Resolution: Micro Focus uses some virtual machine technology in its quality assurance testing.  Specifically, VMware is used to emulate some Unix and Linux environments.  However, none of the RM/COBOL family of products is subjected to a complete quality assurance test on any virtual machine environment, nor is any attempt made to emulate Windows environments on Unix. Customers that choose to use virtual machine technology are relying on the claims made by the vendors of such technology.  As always, Micro Focus will attempt to support our customers who choose to use virtual machine technology subject to its capacity to demonstrate product issues on 'native' systems.     Old KB# 7504