Rocket® COBOL

Problem: How do you apply XP Theming to a Dialog based application? Resolution: The XP Appearance is controlled by the Operating System and needs to be enabled for an application. The simplest way to do this is to have a manifest file in the same directory as the application. This is a file that matches the exe name with a .manifest extension. The customer.zip attached is an example of this method. You need to look in the release directory for the file. The other approach is to build the Manifest into a resource in the EXE. The other attachment is an example of this approach. Edit the RC as text to see what is required. These apps can also be run on pre-xp systems. The manifest ensure that that XP Theming controls library is loaded and used by the operating syste. We would recommend that the customers test their apps with theming applied so ensure that visually they look ok. Attachments: customer.zip Old KB# 5740

Problem: How can I get an error when a REDFINES source/target are different lengths? Resolution: This "error" would return an informational message from the checker and is not reported by default (as you have found).  If you want to see these errors then you will need to specify the WARNING"3" directive on your compilations. Old KB# 5734

Problem: Release 4.0: The knowledge base articles KB: 20942 and KB: 21122 refer to SupportLine Newsletter articles, which show how to use the Windows XP Visual Style controls. The latest version of the sample is now available on the Net Express Examples page. Resolution: The sample demonstrates how to create a Dialog System screenset, which uses the Themed Controls of the XP Visual Style: http://supportline.microfocus.com/examplesandutilities/nesamp.asp#DialogSystem Demo: VisualStyleDemo.zip ---- The method used by the newletter article http://www.microfocus.com/mfnewsletter/technicalarticles/20050701-002.asp mentioned in KB: 20942 shows a purple line in each entry field. The newsletter article http://www.microfocus.com/000/XP-style-21_tcm21-5782.pdf, mentioned in KB: 21122, shows that the NoBorder-method from the class library can be used to get rid of this line. The example VisualStyleDemo.zip from the examples page minimizes the number

Problem: The comp-3 arithmetic should only retain the result equal to the defined pick value not what it can hold.        WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.       *****************************************************************        01  PIC-S9X4-COMP-3         pic S9(4)   COMP-3  value 5001.        01  PIC-S9X9-COMP-3         pic S9(9)   COMP-3  value 5001.        01  WRK-S9X4-COMP-3         pic S9(4)   COMP-3  value 0.        01  WRK-S9X9-COMP-3         pic S9(9)   CO

Problem: Problem: The install of Net Express 4.0 on a Window XP professional  failed because the Setup reported erroneously an installed Application Server for NE 4.0. Resolution: Workaround: 1. Using regedit, rename the key   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall to Uninstall-temp 2. Start the NX setup. 3. At the setup welcome screen, rename the key back to Uninstall. Old KB# 5769

Problem: Problem with websphere deploying application gets error Resolution: Added MFCobol.jar in the PATH.  Now Websphere will report successful application deployment. Old KB# 5732

Problem: To pass a structure like this: 01   LINKVARS.     03  VAR1             PIC X(02).     03  VAR2.        05 VAR3           PIC X(10). from COBOL to Java but to also  send it as a Byte[] type instead of a string.  Is there some way to do this? Resolution: You can't pass a record structure directly from COBOL to a Java method which is expecting a byte array, as there is no mapping for that within the Object COBOL runtime support.  However, we do have a means of creating arrays using the jarray class. If you create a one dimensional byte array using the jarray class, the getData/commitData methods can then be used to copy a COBOL buffer into it.  That jarray can then be passed to the

Problem: Has one form, wants to be able to click on a button and have a different form popup Resolution: 1) Create a new Cobol, windows form, name the project FormPopup 2) Add another form to the project ( Right click on the project in solution explorer, select Add New Item, Select a Windows Form, name it Form2, click OK) 3) Add a button control to the first Form (Form1). 4) Double Click on the button to create the button click event handler 5) In the repository add this line of code: Class form-form2 as "FormPopup.Form2" 6) Go back to the button click event handler that was created (method button1_Click) 7) Add a working storage section with the following code: 01 newForm object reference form-form2. 8) In the procedure division add the following code: set newForm to form-form2::"New"() invoke newForm::"Show"(). 9) Build and Run (Instead of using the form's Show method you could use the ShowDialog method, but then t

Problem: Is it possible to use Telnet in a COBOL system on the .Net platform. Resolution: Neither COBOL or the .Net Framework (V1 or V2.0) has support for the Telnet protocol. There is however many 3rd party .Net libraries that provide support for Telnet on the .Net platform. Old KB# 5776

Problem: A COBOL program that is built with Oracle Procobol precompiler fails with an RTS114 Error on a SQL SELECT statement. Resolution: This error was caused by a mismatch of Oracle versions. Using the correct version of Oracle client software for the Oracle Server version resolved the problem. Old KB# 5747

Problem: Client was getting error COBCH0250S status field is missing or illegal on every compile. This was occurring for every field specified as a FILE  STATUS in their SELECT clause. The file status field had been set as follows: pic xx comp-5 Resolution: The first character of the file status field cannot be defined as a comp field. Only the 2nd character can be defined as comp. For example: 01  file-stat.      05  fs-1     pic x.      05  fs-2     pic x comp-x. This format will allow for the extended Micro Focus file status codes to be retrieved. Old KB# 5723

Problem: Receving a not found error when doing a invoke such as:-                invoke wordserver "GetSpellingSuggestions"                        using       ws-work                        returning   ws-suggestion Resolution: The problem here is in the method name "GetSpellingSuggestions". This has "get" as the first 3 characters so the COBOL OLE runtime thinks you want to get a property "SpellingSuggestions" rather than do a method call. You can fix this by making a "setdispatchtype" call to tell the runtime that the next call is actually a method c

Problem: The cookie.js file was correctly deployed to the web server but the cookie used on the page was being passed between the browser and server. Resolution: This issue was caused by the Virus checker that was installed on the webserver machine. The virus checker was preventing the javascript from functioning correctly. Old KB# 5766

Problem: Release 4.0: Creating and maintaining toolbars in Net Express, Dialog system is preferred. Where to find examples and tips? Resolution: (1)  A demo can be found in the Net Express product installation itself: ..\\DialogSystem\\Demo\\Commoncontrols\\Toolbar (2)  Additional, there is a programming tutorial "Adding and Customizing a Menu Bar and Toolbar". It can be found here: Net Express -> Help -> Help Topics -> Content -> Programming -> Dialog System -> Dialog System Guide -> Part 3 Programming Tutorials -> Chapter 21 Old KB# 5779

Problem: Is there any set of specific directives recommend whent converting from mainframe COBOL370 programs to Microfocus COBOL Net Express? Resolution: The list of directives should match the mainframe compiler version currently being used. Micro Focus creates a standard for that Dialect, but that does not mean it will match the specific environment completely. Look at Net Express Help > Start Here, Migration Cookbook, Chapter 6 Directives and Dialects for the directives associated with each Dialect. Obtain the list of directives that are used when compiling on the mainframe and match them to one of the dialects and then add/remove additional directives as needed. There is no list other than using the DIALECT(XXX) directive where XXX indicates a specific dialect. There are simply too many combinations of language elements that would enable a simple list of directives to work in all cases. This being understood the only generic list would be that provid

Problem: How to uninstall Net Express 4.0's All WebSync WrapPack? Resolution: To uninstall the Net Express 4.0's All WebSync WrapPack, you just need to follow the steps below: 1. Go to "Add/Remove Programs" 2. Select "Micro Focus Net Express 4.0" from the list 3. Click on the Remove button 4. Check the "All WebSync WrapPack" option 5. Click on the Uninstall button As results, Net Express will be back at its original version. That is, it is without any patches at all. If you want to apply any previous version of WrapPack, you can download them from the Micro Focus SupportLine site at http://supportline.microfocus.com. There is a link for "Net Express 4.0 All WebSync WrapPack Archive" from the "Net Express 4.0, Net Express with .NET and Mainframe Transaction Option" download page However, we highly recommend to apply the latest WrapPack. If you experience any problems with the latest WrapPa

Problem: Are there any further documentations on how to use INCLUDE or OMIT control statements in MFSORT? Resolution: Here is the description of the INCLUDE/OMIT control statements in the Net Express Help: ----------------------------------------- INCLUDE/OMIT Specifies conditions in which records will be included or omitted from the sort process. For details, see the IBM documentation to be found at Using DFSORT Program Control Statements. INCLUDE and OMIT are mutually exclusive. ----------------------------------------- You will note there is a link (http://www.microfocus.com/docs/links.asp?nx=dfs2) for details on how to use them. If you click on the link, it will take you to the documentations on DFSORT Program control statements. You will find from that site all the details about how to use INCLUDE/OMIT control statements. Old KB# 5733#AcuCobol#ServerExpress#COBOL#RMCOBOL#netexpress

Problem: How can access the Vtable from a COM DLL? The VTable is the low level interface  that a COM Object Object exposes. Its structure is similiar to a C Object. Resolution: If you already have a COBOL OLE Domain object you could use the COM Class library IUnknown "fromDomainObject" class method and QueryInterface to get the COM Interface (vtable) you want. Alternatively you could CoCreateInstance and QueryInterface COM API calls. If possible its far better to use a automation object so you can invoke on it. Thats far more forgiving and simpler from COBOL. Old KB# 5727

Problem:   Is Visual Studio 2005 supported in Net Express 4.0? Resolution: Currently the Net Express 4.0 product works with Visual Studio 2003. The Net Express  5.0 version works with VS 2005. Old KB# 5768

Problem: You may have a character based screen application that you want to run inder Windows as a full screen display. However, when you run it the screen display may be much smaller than required and you may want to extend the screen to be a full screen making the screen a 25 lines by 80 column screen. Resolution: COBOL doesn't set a 25x80 screen as default for console based applications. Instead, the screen characteristics are set by Windows. When you originally developed your app, 25x80 was probably the standard screen size, although there were some exceptions where 43 and 50 line screens were used. (These subsequently led to the intorduction of the C4 and C5 runtime switches). The only way to get a full screen is by clicking the top left corner of the application screen and selecting 'Properties'. One of the options then available is 'Full Screen'. However this only expands the display to cover the full screen and does not necess

Problem: Ther screenset uses the Datepicker component and the screenset needs to be informed back of any update which occured in the component comment below used with the demo delivered in Netx: [Net Express]\\DialogSystem\\DEMO\\COMMONCONTROLS\\DATETIME Resolution: 1) set a CALLBACK on the p2ce-losefocus event           MOVE '"' & ProgramID & z'p2ce-losefocus"' TO MessageName           INVOKE EntryCallBack "new" USING MessageName                                  RETURNING aCallback           MOVE p2ce-losefocus TO i           INVOKE aDatePicker "Set

Problem: Enabling a cobol program to recognize a printer plugged into a usb port Resolution:   The way to print via a USB-port and not the 'normal' LPT1/2 etc is to use the printer_redirection run-time tuneable. This redirects output on a file defined as ASSIGN TO PRINTER to whatever your default printer is. So, if that is connected via USB it should work. The printer_redirection tuneable causes ASSIGN TO PRINTER statements to go to the print spooler rather than LPTn. Therefore, provided the printer attached to the USB has been installed properly there should be no problem printing to it. There is no way to access ports directly in our product because the operating system APIs used for file handling do not handle USB port names. The printer_redirection mechanism is the only way that accessing a printer connected via USB can be done. To set the printer_redirection runtime tuneable you need to create a runtime configuration file and

Problem: The system has a limit of 100 GDI objects (brushes, colours, fonts, etc.), and this limit can be reached when the same GDI object (e.g. font) is being created repeatedly, leading to the error message "Cannot map any more GDI objects - Internal Limit Reached" Resolution: If you are working with List View, and this error is occurring. This may have been a result of creating the font object over and over. The problem appears to be with the wmgadgetnotify method in the control program. It is actually creating a new font for every prepaint message. You will need to make a small change in the SetFont method of the ...LVIEWITEM.CBL program. You will note there is only one single statement in that method, which is      invoke lnkfont "deepcopy" returning itemfont Please comment that statement out, and add instead:      move lnkfont to itemfont Old KB# 5789

Problem: When we try to run our application on the Net Express development machine we get the following error: ASLM: Semaphore failure. ASLM: Errno 1000 Why is this? Resolution: This indicates that the Net Express runtime license cannot be found.  On the development machine please ensure that your application is linked with the dynamic option and/or that PATH/COBDIR are set to point to the location of Net Express. Old KB# 5720

Problem: Method to open a large data file with Net Express to view the contents. Resolution: Have the following section setup in the extfh.cfg file: [XFH-DEFAULT] FILEMAXSIZE=8 Where the FILEMAXSIZE parameter specifies the number of bytes used internally to store file offsets. This also affects internal locking mechanisms: programs sharing the same file all need to use the same FILEMAXSIZE settings to ensure semaphores and record locks are handled correctly, thereby avoiding potential file corruption in shared files. FILEMAXSIZE={4|8} Default: 4 4 Limits file addressibility to 32 bit values which is compatible with earlier versions of Micro Focus products. 8    Allows up to 64 bit values for file addressing on Windows NT platforms when accessing the NTFS file system, but changes the underlying record locking mechanism. Therefore, if you are sharing very large files, that is files greater than 1Gb in size, all programs