Rocket® COBOL

Problem: Larger interfaces slow down operations when using the Interface Mapping Tools in the IDE. Some operations (such as canceling changes) can take an increasingly long time to perform as the size and complexity increases. Resolution: This has been accepted as a bug and fixed in the all04n40 wrappack released November 2004. The fix released is contained in the Interface Mapping Fixpack V4.0.005. Old KB# 7105

Problem: If an application creates a .NET dialog box and then tries to make it modal to an unmanaged character-base app built as graphical, it won't seem to be purely modal. This is because the text window runs in its own thread so if the dialog box is created in the main thread each window will be using a different message queue and so the text window will still be able to process messages (such as Close). There is an EnableWindow API on Windows to enable/disable message processing on a window, that could normally be used within a Dialog Box, but there may not be any equivalent in .NET so the C# code would need to access it via a platform invoke to the unmanaged API. The application would call EnableWindow(hwnd, false) when the dialog box is entered (on the Activate event maybe) and EnableWindow(hwnd, true) before the dialog box is removed (on the Closing event). Resolution: If an application creates a .NET dialog box and try to make it modal to an unmanaged

Problem: Is Net Express 4.0 compatible with Windows XP SP2? Resolution: Net Express 4.0 has been tested on SP2 and the results did not show any problems.  Full support will be announced from the WebSync released in November 2004 (ALL04N40.EXE). Old KB# 7113

Problem: Problem with trying to drop/delete a table in XDB and getting error X153 no space for locks Resolution: Increase the sort space size in the XDB Server Configuration Old KB# 7135

Problem: Is it possible to configure how Net Express searches COBDIR to locate programs ? Resolution: The COBOL runtime which is responsible for the loading of programs is configurable using runtime tunables. The locations searched for during the call of a program is configurable using the "program_search_order"  runtime tunable. Old KB# 7117

Problem: How to search for files with a certain extension (e.g. *.cbl) in a directory using a Cobol program. Resolution: Use the X'91' function 69 routine. A loop can be used to retrieve many matched files as shown in the excerpt of code below: [...]    move 'd:\\dir\\*.cbl' to f-filein    move spaces to f-fileout    call x'91' using f-result,                           function-code, *>69                          f-parameters.    move 1 to f-action    perform search-files until f-error = 1 or 2 [...] search-files.    if f-attrout >= 32       display f-fileo

Problem: MQ Series and SQL calls in the same program produce this error: Creating library DEBUG\\MQsqlACD.lib and object DEBUG\\MQsqlACD.exp MQsqlACD.OBJ : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _ODBCRW32 DEBUG\\MQsqlACD.exe : fatal error LNK1120: 1 unresolved externals Rebuild complete with errors Resolution: Normally MQSeries COBOL programs require the LITLINK directive, however when you use sql you cannot use this directive as it causes link errors.  You need to remove the litlink directive and use a procedure pointer to load the mqseries dll like follows: Use the Procedure-Pointer method, which will permit the same program to be run on a machine running MQSeries Client, or the MQSeries Server.   This does not require the addition of MQMCB32.LIB or MQICCB32.LIB when creating EXE or DLL.        IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.        PROGRAM-ID. 'MQODBC

Problem: When installing Net Express 4.0 under XP Professional from a Net Express 4.0 CD dated 2003, the following Internet Explorer display will be presented: The Internet Explorer Titlebar will display the following jump-to-target - Microsoft Internet Expolorer In the body of the Internet Explorer display, a yellow tinted "security report" will appear with this information. To help protect security, Internet Explorer has restricted this file from showing active content that could access your computer. Click here for options... Resolution: Right mouse click on the yellow tinted "security report" and a context menu pops up with these buttons: Allow Blocked Content... What's the Risk? Information Bar Help Click "Allow Blocked Content..." (button) A Windows MessageBox opens with "Yes" and "No" buttons and this message: Allowing active content as script and A

Problem: Unable to call a Microsoft C from a COBOL program.  The call never went into the C function. Resolution: This was caused bythe C functon not being exported as an entry point in the DLL.  The simplest mechanism is to add the __declspec( dllexport ) declaration to before the C function.  This specifies that the function is to be made visible in the DLL. Old KB# 7127

Problem: How can I autoconnect to an Oracle database when using procob /  COBSQL ? In OpenESQL.ODBC you can by using the SQL(INIT) directive to connect to a database. How can you do this using Oracle and the COBOL Precompiler (procob) ? Resolution: Procob has the AUTO_CONNECT configuration option. Old KB# 7074

Problem: A non-COBOL program will be passing parameters to a COBOL program, and some of the parameters will be floating point items. Resolution: COMP-1 and COMP-2 are "floating point" numeric USAGE data items. They are defined as follows:        77  single usage comp-1.        77  double usage comp-2. COMP-1 is a "single precision" floating point item. COMP-2 is a "double precision" floating point item. COMP-1 items use four (4) bytes of storage. COMP-2 items use eight (8) bytes of storage. The COMP-2 item's greater precision is a consquence of the additional memory that allows support of larger numbers. These items can be initialized with a "floating point" literal. The literal format is unique.              [sign] mantissa E [sign] exponent The "sig

Problem: When running the dfconv utility I am getting an DFC507 error. Resolution: For numbers above 500, subtract 500 and then look for that number in the RTS Error Messages topic. (9/007) COBRT007 Disk space exhausted (Fatal) The disk is full. Resolution: This error can be trapped, but once it has been reported you must do a STOP RUN immediately to terminate your program's run. When your program has terminated, delete any files that you no longer need. Alternatively, if your operating system supports this, put a new disk in a floppy disk drive and redirect your program's file operations to this. ################################### Check that you have the correct drive, also whether you are pointing to a folder that is read-only Old KB# 7085

Problem: How to use the data file editor for files with non DAT extensions? Resolution: The extensions must be added before the file is added to the project. If you have a data file with an extension of XYZ that you would like to use the data file editor within a Net Express project you will need to set the extension XYZ to data. PROJECT menu      Extensions           Add               XYZ                Data Select the OK button and then the Close button Now, by adding the file to the project, it will be setup as a data file. Old KB# 7090

Problem: I'm getting a return File Status code of 35 with a spacey directory/file name:      MOVE 'C:\\PROGRAM FILES\\SAMPLEFILE.TXT' TO WS-FILE.                                                     Resolution: When using dynamic file assignment, you need to use double quotes for spacey paths. If you were using static file assignment it isn't necessary- Because of the spacey path you need to change this move statement       MOVE 'C:\\PROGRAM FILES\\SAMPLEFILE.TXT' TO WS-FILE to add " s around the file path and name (i.e. single quote double quote)       MOVE '"C:\\PROGRAM F

Problem: Session Recorder enables the recording of all keystrokes and screen images during the execution of a COBOL program. This was available in the old Micro Focus Workbench. Resolution: Session Recorder is not available in Net Express. Note: this feature is however available in the Micro Focus Object Cobol or Micro Focus Server Express on Unix. Old KB# 7123

Problem: Making a change to an existing form,  and trying to Save, gives an error that the form.cpf cannot be saved. Resolution: Has the project been moved ? alternatively Check whether the Working Directory field is filled in in the Project Properties. Old KB# 7079

Problem: This error may be encountered when compiling a COBOL program from a project. Resolution: This error is caused by the fact that the "message files" cannot be located.  These files are found in mflang*.lbr.  In order to solve the problem, the PATH environment variable should be changed so that it can locate these files. Old KB# 7128

Problem: What functions are supplied with Net Express that allow an application to establsih if a file exists within a given path and then also what functions allow you to delete it? Resolution: There are 2 routines supplied with Net Express that can check\\delete files in given paths - including paths that contains spaces. Please note that these functions do not work against paths that contain wildcard characters. The first function is CBL_CHECK_FILE_EXIST - this checks whether a file exists and returns details if it does. The other is CBL_DELETE_FILE Both routines are fully documented in the Net Express help. It is recommended when specifying the path concerned that it is enclosed in quotes so as to ensure that the spaces in the folder names are accepted. Old KB# 7114

Problem: When attempting to apply the clu01all.exe licensing fix can cause the installation process to hang. Resolution: Occasionally this happens when attempting to apply the fixes from the Net Express 4.0 CD-ROM.  Downloading and running the fix from the Micro Focus Supportline web site (http://supportline.microfocus.com) avoids this problem. Old KB# 7144

Problem: How can ORA_ROWSCN be accessed from Net Express? Net Express 4.0 Oracle 10g OpenESQL/ODBC Oracle ODBC driver 9.02.00.63 Resolution: It is possible to access ORA_ROWSCN by defining a TIMESTAMP host variable: ... 01  my-rowscn-hvar            sql type is timestamp. ...     ...         exec sql         select ora_rowscn, last_name into :my-rowscn-hvar, :my-last-name         from employees         where employee_id = 188     end-exec     ... Please note that Oracle's documentation would indicate that this is an Oracle 10g feature only. Old KB# 7129

Problem: Is it possible to load multiple COBOL source files in to the same instance of the Net Express IDE by double clicking on files in Explorer? Resolution: It is not possible to configure the Net Express IDE in this manner.  It would require Micro Focus to add a DDE/OLE interface layer and this is something that is not currently present. Alas, it is not the sort of functionality that will be added given our strategy of further Visual Studio integration in the future. Old KB# 7121

Problem: Trying to use Net Express 4.0 Help via IDE returns an error similar to: "Internet Explorer script failure" or "object does not support methods and properties" It is completely impossible to run the Net Express 4.0 Help via IDE. Resolution: There is a related Microsoft Knowledgebase article to resolve this problem if you have included some additional cumulative patches for Internet Explorer after Feb 2003: HTML Help Update to Limit Functionality When It Is Invoked with the window.showHelp( ) Method Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q811630: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811630 Old KB# 7106

Problem: These two errors occur because the programs are linked with different threading models. Runtime DLL 'CBLRTSM', version 3.1, entry point mF_ld_dynlnk_lib_check not recorded in registry, not found or incompatible with requirements of dynamically bound COBOL program. Dynamic binding of RTS requires: Runtime DLL 'CBLRTSS', at least Version 3.1 Runtime DLL 'CBLRTSS', version 3.1, entry point mF_ld_dynlnk_lib_check not recorded in registry, not found or incompatible with requirements of dynamically bound COBOL program. Dynamic binding of RTS requires: Runtime DLL 'CBLRTSM', at least Version 3.1 The version numbers and entry point name will vary depending on the application. Resolution: These errors occur when a calling program has been created with one threading model and the called  DLL has been created with a different threading model. The fix is to rebuild the application programs and use a consistent th

Problem: I can use the following if I know the table name,  but need something when tablename is not known at compile time -            exec sql                declare ccurs cursor for                    query odbc columns tablename 'table'            end-exec Resolution: You need to use dynamic sql: 1.  declare the cursor to be used to fetch the column information            EXEC SQL                declare vcurs cursor for dynamic_sql            END-EXEC 2. &n

Problem: The documentations state the following suggestions: "Provide a login on the UNIX system, and configure the .rhosts file to enable transparent login without requiring a password. See your UNIX documentation for details on how to do this." Resolution: Look at the "Alternative Security Mechanism: SCP Daemon Method" to enhance security. This topic can be found from the Net Express Help at Contents\\Using Net Express\\UNIX Option\\UNIX Option Guide\\A: Installing Samba and SCP\\Configuring SCP\\Alternative Security Mechanism: SCP Daemon Method This will force the user to key in valid user id and password in order to deploy on Unix. It is important that the user who starts the daemon from the Unix side has a root access. Old KB# 7132