Rocket® COBOL

Created On:  21 March 2011 Problem: When deploying a web service you get the following error in a dialog box:<html><head><title>Error - File Not Available</title><meta name="robots" content="noindex"></meta><body><h2>HTTP Error 404 - File Not Available</h2><p>The requested file is not available</p></body></html> Resolution: A 404 error at the beginning of the deployment operation almost certainly means that MFCS was unable to locate either the mfdeploy.exe program or one of its path components, or one of the path components in the PATH_INFO portion of the URL.Once the CAR file has been built and the server's deployment listener has been contacted, the deployment client (here the IMTK) does an HTTP POST operation to send the CAR file to the deployment receiver program, mfdeploy.exe. It uses a URL that specifies the virtual path to mfdeploy.exe and the virtual path to the dep

Problem: How do you specify location of copybooks and include files using Oracle ? Resolution: There are two ways to resolve the location and expansion of copybooks.  One is through the use of Oracle's Pro*COBOL INCLUDE option and the other is by using the CP pre-processor along with setting COBOL's COBCPY environment variable.  The assumption being made is that the copybooks contain either embedded SQL statements or the declaration of host variables used in embedded SQL statements and the copybooks are not located in the source/default directory. (1) Using Oracle's Pro*COBOL INCLUDE option. This solution only works if the copybooks are included with the EXEC SQL INCLUDE statement. (and extension is cob). This is the easiest solution since Pro*COBOL automatically expands files included through the EXEC SQL INCLUDE statement if they can be located.  In order to specify the location, use Pro*COBOL INCLUDE option for

Problem: Don't want to silently install the base release but have the latest service pack installed in the process. Resolution: Currently the only way would be to put the following steps in a bat file, need to create the runtime files to be copied, easiest way is to install lastest service pack on a machine and use this as the basis for files which need to be copied. 1.  copy runtime files and set path (when running a deployed application, will have to ensure that path  is set to point to these runtime files) 2.  set up a new license database     a. Create a directory to contain the new license database, if necessary.     b. Copy into that directory the files prodfile and semfile from application server folder     c. Run the aslmpclocate utility as follows:               aslmpclocate license-db

Problem: Release: 3.1   What you need to do is to go through the internet applicaton wizard again. Resolution: You should select the relevant forms as if he is generating the CGI again from scratch. When this is done you will be prompted to overwrite the existing CGI. You should select NO and then only the relevent copybooks will be changed. Old KB# 6873

Problem: The z'string' is used in place of  'string' & x'00' to create a Null terminated character string. Resolution: A null-terminated string can be created by specifying Z'string' and can be used anywhere a nonnumeric literal is permitted.  The resultant literal is equivalent to concatenating X'00' (a null byte) to the end of the specified string. In other words, the two following lines are equivalent:     Move z"my-literal" to an-item     Move "my-literal" & X"00" to an-item In the following example, the Picture declaration has an extra byte reserved for the zero (null) byte:       01 my-name Pic X(5) Value Z"Jane".   The MOVE for this would be coded as:      Move z"Jane" to my-name Old KB# 6878

Problem: Here are few notes from documentations about migration from old Dialog System to Net Express Resolution: Chapter 8: Dialog System V2.5 This chapter lists some points to note if you're moving to the Dialog System in Net Express compared to Dialog System V2.5. If you've come from 32-bit graphical Dialog System V2.5 on Windows 95 or Windows NT, you should have no migration problems. There is just one minor incompatible change - see the section DSRUN below. The non-graphical versions and some little-used tools have been omitted. Source code templates are provided to enable you to use the new Class Library support for spin buttons, status bars, OCX controls, and a tree view control. You access the definition software from the Tools menu in the IDE. For advice on moving from 16-bit to 32-bit, and from other operating systems such as OS/2, see the chapter Same Screen, Different Platform in the online book Dialog System Guide . DSRUN The Gr

Problem: Performance problems occuring due to locking issue. Resolution: 1. Do not use the compiler directive  set(ansi92entry) with SQL Server 7.0 Using ansi92entry sets the transaction isolation level to serialization from the default of  read committed.  Add COMMIT statements to programs to release locks 2 .SET exec sql set concurrency readonly end-exec exec sql set scrolloption forward end-exec immediately after connection or aternatively, just declare cursors to be forward and read only unless otherwise required, as in exec sql declare x forward readonly cursor for ... end-exec (note default concurrency is lock) Old KB# 6877

Problem: Description: OLESUP method "adviseEvents" gets error 243 - class could not be loaded The class olesup cannot load the event handling class because the case of the event handling class name does not match the case of the class name in the program using olesup. When using the olesup "adviseEvents" method to register an event handler, keep in mind that the class names default to lower case. In this case, you should specify the class name literal in CLASS-CONTROL as lower case in the program where you invoke the "adviseEVents" method of the olesup class: CLASS-CONTROL.     MYEVENTCLASS IS CLASS "eventhandlerclass". If you specify the class name in upper case ("EVENTHANDLERCLASS"), then make sure that you add an entry in CLASS-CONTROL in the event handling class such as: CLASS-ID. EVENTHANDLERCLASS, INHERITS FROM OLEBASE-E.   CLASS-CONTROL.      

Problem: Using Sybase with Net Express may return RTS114 error Variables defined in Sybase-provided copyfiles, cobpub.cbl and sybhesql.cbl, are defined as USAGE COMP. This does not match the byte ordering expected by Sybase. Resolution: In the Sybase-supplied copyfiles cobpub.cbl and sybhesql.cbl, change all data items defined as USAGE COMP to USAGE COMP-5. Old KB# 6882

Problem: Using an ISAM file you get a run time error 9/018 for .exe or .lbr: 'Read part record error: EOF before EOR or file open in wrong mode' for a READ NEXT statement after OPEN I-O  successfully. What should I do to avoid this because as an .int or .gnt the application does run as well? Resolution: This ISAM file was built using data compression, you should take a look at DATACOMPRESS compiler directive first. There are two values regarding a data compression environment supported at run time: 1 or 3. Using value 1 you have to link additional CBLDC001.obj from ..\\base\\lib into .exe otherwise using value 3 you have to link CBLDC003.obj. Old KB# 6893

Problem: COBRT199 Operating System error code lies outside expected range (Fatal) Error This error may be encountered when attempting to output a sequential file greater than 4 gigabytes even though the EXTFH.CFG extended filehandler configuration file has the option FILEMAXSIZE set to 8. This error will only occur on certain Windows operating system levels - in particular NT and 2000. Resolution: Make certain the Windows operating system patch Service Pack 4 is applied to the development machine. You must recompile the application/program. You must also make certain the production machines are also upgraded to the same O/S patch level. Old KB# 6937#RMCOBOL#netexpress#ServerExpress#AcuCobol#COBOL

Problem: When using the Help screens, clicking on a link may get the error An Error Has Occurred in the Script on This Page Error: Object doesn't support this property or method This is a Microsoft error. Resolution: Go into Regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE   SOFTWARE     Microsoft       Internet Explorer          ActiveX Compatibility and delete the key labeled {ADB880A6-D8FF-11CF-9377-00AA003B7A11} Close down Help, start up Help, and the links will now likely work. Old KB# 6895

Problem: After adding an external reference (e.g. Microsoft Visual Basic . NET DLL), you might want to find out what classes, structures, properties, or methods are available in that external component. Resolution: Use the Object Browser. You will need to do few things before you can actually see the details about the external component since it will not be shown automatically: 1. click on the Customize that is just next to the Browse drop-down list 2. click on the Add button 3. click on the Browse button to find the component 4. click on the Open button 5. click on the OK button Old KB# 6934

Problem: Procedure has been migrated from SQLServer 7.0 (where it ran correctly) to Oracle 8.1.7.  The compiler directives are the same as those used for OpenESQL.  However, the problem appears on fields defined as:      s9(9)v9(6) comp-3 Using this type of field in a SELECT works fine.  Using the same field with an INSERT or UPDATE generates an 'SQL error 1722 Invalid Number'. Displayed in animate the contents of the field is correct.  The problem does not occur if the field is defined as s9(9) comp. The version of driver is Oracle 8.1.7.00 Resolution: This was an issue with the Oracle 8.1.7 ODBC driver. Old KB# 6890

Problem: Does the SET OPTION QUERYTIME option affect all queries executed on a connection or only those in the same COBOL module? What is the minimum value that can be used? Resolution: If SET OPTION QUERYTIME is specified, it is used for all subsequent SQL operations within that thread, hence any subprograms will effectively inherit that setting. This is also true if you have multiple connections within a single application thread. The option passed to QUERYTIME specifies the number of seconds that the program waits for a response to an OpenESQL statement. According to SQL Server documentation, the minimum value is 0, which means no timeout, but the lowest timeout is 1 second. Old KB# 6919

Problem: Can Net Express Application Server be run on a clustered server? Resolution: We are not aware of any issues with running Net Express Application Server in a clustered environment.  The only thing to be aware of is licencing.  As licencing is local to each machine, each PC in the cluster would have to have its own licence definition/database. Old KB# 6941

Problem: PCB-S-00106, Unable to open INCLUDE file returned during precompile of Pro*COBOL application. Resolution: Ensure that the directory containing the copybook is specified within the setting of the Pro*COBOL INCLUDE option. Refer to the Oracle documentation for further details. Alternatively, if using the Cobsql precompiler, specify the p(cp) compiler directive, and ensure that the directory containing the copybook is specified within the COBCPY environment variable setting. Old KB# 6908

Problem: Is there a way to set the SQL ODBC Query Timeout using OpenESQL ? Resolution: Yes, You can use the SET OPTION statement. EXEC SQL SET OPTION QUERYTIME value END-EXEC Where value is the number of seconds the program will wait for a response, the default is 0 which means it will wait forever. NOTE: This option may not be supported by all ODBC drivers. In addition, you can use a signed comp-5 host variable for the numeric value. Old KB# 6879

Problem: In some cases it is necessary to run cblcored -i to modify the desktop security to be able to start animator with CBL_DEBUGBREAK. But the desktop security is restored each time the PC is restarted. Resolution: The easiest thing to do it would be to create a new shortcut in the Startup folder of that user that would have     Net ExpressPath\\Base\\bin\\cblcored.exe -i To create a new shortcut in the startup folder: Start / Settings / Task Bar & Star Menu / Advanced tab / Click on Add - Browse for cblcored.exe in the Net Express base\\bin subdirectory. add the -i option after the name of the file. Click on Next. - Find the Startup folder to place the shortcut in. Click on Next. - Give any name you wish to the shortcut. Click on Next. Old KB# 6912

Problem: Can you connect to a database using ODBC without configuring a Data Source Name (DSN) ? Can I connect to SQL Server without using a DSN? Can I connect to Oracle without using a DSN? How do you use ODBC connection strings? Using an ODBC connection string, a -19703 error occurs on the CONNECT statement. Resolution: Yes, by using a connection string, this doesn't require a datasource name  (DSN) to be set up on the target workstation. The connection string and parameters differ for each driver. For the driver name, use the name that appears in the left-most column of the drivers tab in the ODBC control panel. For other connect string options, look up "SQLDriverConnect"  or "Connection String" in the help file for the driver. You access the help file by starting to set up a DSN and then clicking the help button. There may be other options tha you set up through the configuration of a data source that yo

Problem: You may be using the COM interface to access to some data in a Excel Sheet that may have some column with data in Unicode (cyrillic letters for example) and you may want to process that data in your program and finally show some results using Dialog System. Resolution: There is support for Unicode in Net Express 4.0 (only UTF-7 and UTF-16, UTF-8 is variable length and it hasn't been implemented yet) so you can define something like           01 my-unicode-variable pic N(10) usage is national. But there is no support for Unicode in the COM interface at the moment, so when receiving a Unicode value from the COM interface, it will be converted to a USAGE DISPLAY character. This conversion follows the same rules that the DISPLAY-OF function follows, so if your code page doesn't contain that character, the "?" character is chosen instead. So at the moment, to be able to receive a Unico

Problem: WINDOWS scripting ( .wsf) to update registries for Application Server 3.1 or 4.0  and Application Server KEYS DataBase on a computer where Application Server  and Application Server KEYS DataBase are not installed. ( The aim is to use an Application Server and an Application Server KEYS DataBase available on the network ) . Updating registries -> you'll be able to run on a PC where Application Server not installed .EXE application linked as shared DYNAMIC ( dynamic meaning i find in registries the location of the Application Server ) Resolution: ====== Modify csetas40env.bat so parameters AS40InstDir et AS40LMFDIR  conform to your environment Modify: ASLMF=ASLMF ( and not ASLMFx )   AS40RegistryEntry=Net Express\\4.0\\COBOL\\4.0\\Environment launch in a DOS prompt: csetas40env.bat ====================================

Problem: 173 ON MFEXTMAP.DLE Resolution: Release: 3.0   Advised:     remove ".dle" extension from call;     use the assign"external" compiler directive;     set Mfextmap environment variable in Project Properties, IDE. Old KB# 6814

Problem: The Source Control menu does not show Resolution: Release: 3.1   If PVCS is already installed and the PVCS portion for Net Express and the Source Control menu from Net Express, uninstall the PVCS portion and reinstall it. Old KB# 6817

Problem: Unable to apply filehandler FixPack Resolution: Release: 3.1   Create c:\\temp and have environment variables tmp and temp point to this folder. Old KB# 6836