Rocket® COBOL

Problem: How do I keep the key combination of Ctrl C or ctrl break from quitting the application? Resolution: If you are using Dialog System character mode screensets, you can move a value of 4 to ds-control-param of the control block. This will keep CtrlC keystrokes from quitting the app. Making a call to X"B0" with function 4 will stop CtrlC from quitting apps that don't use Dialog screensets. Old KB# 6563

Problem: How do I round numeric data? Resolution: See the attached source code example. Attachments: round.cbl Old KB# 6139

Problem: Is there a POP-UP window demo using program and subprogram? Resolution: See the attached source code example. Attachments: windemo.zip Old KB# 6146

Problem: Net Express Dialog System Interrupting loops within Dialog. A Micro Focus COBOL application is using Dialog to display a counter. The Dialog panel displaying the counter has an interrupt button but this does not appear to take effect until the count is complete. The COBOL program executes a Dialog procedure, which refreshes the counter and returns control to the calling program. The interrupt button does not work because Dialog is never given control to process any user events. The loop returns directly to the COBOL program once the Dialog functions have been executed. Resolution: Alter the loop so that Dialog, having updated the counter, is given the opportunity to detect any user events. This is achieved by implementing a TIMEOUT, giving the user 1/100<SUP>th</SUP> of a second to interrupt the loop. When the interrupt button is pressed, the LOOP-INTERRUPTED procedure is executed, disabling the TIMEOUT. This prevents control returnin

Problem: The following message from CCI appears occasionally: Unrecognized CCI session ID - could not disconnect user Stack overflow: PID 64474, proc rts64, addr 0x11f7fdff0 PC 0x3ff800e5d08 /fs_up[5]:64474 Memory fault (coredump) The result is that Fileshare freezes and the session has to be killed and started again. Resolution: The problem seems to be that the fs_up process overflowed its stack, got a SIGSEGV and terminated with a core dump. Increasing the process stack size resource limit may help in resolving the problem. This can be achieved using the ulimit command.  Use 'ulimit -s' to check the current stack size and and 'ulimit -s <size>' to change the size.  This will change the setting of the soft limit for a particular user - i.e. the user who starts Fileshare.  Increasing the soft limit requires root permissions but reducing it does not.  To change the hard limit you would need to edit

Problem: Cannot display list of Windows for screens Resolution: When AUTO RESTART is set to YES (in ds.cfg), Dialog System saves the positions of the Windows list and Controls list in DS configuration file (ds.cfg). If these list windows can't be invoked or displayed on screen: 1. Exit Dialog WB System 2. Edit DS.CFG 3. Delete WindowsList and/or ControlsList lines found in DSINIT section. 4. Save DS.CFG with changes 5. Re-load Dialog WB System When these two lines are deleted, the positions of these windows will be reset to the default positions. Note: When the Windows list is reset to default position (or first time to be set to AUTO RESTART = YES), this window will appear only with the title bar. Just resize to see the whole window... Old KB# 6559

Problem: No Applicaton Server licenses available, but there is an adequate supply of licenses which are not in the "system" (timeout) state. The directory to which COBDIR points is not the actual directory but a soft link to it. Resolution: Although not officially supported, experience has shown that users' COBDIR value may be to a soft link rather than the actual Micro Focus product installation directory.  However, this does not hold true for the license installation via apptrack.  The user who runs apptrack to install the Application Server license(s) must have COBDIR set to the actual directory name, not the name of a soft link. In general, Application Server licenses are bound to the COBDIR-specified directory at the time the licenses are installed.  On systems with multiple product installations, care must be used in the setting of COBDIR relative to the prodoct for which the licenses are intended. &nbsp

Problem: Where to put the Dialog validation error file? Resolution: Here are 2 options for placement of the error file: 1) Do not specify any path with the error file from the resource files for the location error file. This will leave it on the same directory as the screenset -OR- 2) Specify an environment variable with the error file from the resource files for the error file location, save it, then set this environment variable to point to the location of the error file. This is more flexible, since, if the error file is relocated elsewhere, only the value of the environment variable needs to be changed. Example: 1. specify $ENVDserror.err from the resource files options for error file (ENV is an environment variable name which could be any name you choose) 2. save the screenset in runtime format 3. set the environment variable ENV to point to the location of the error file Old KB# 6562

Problem: Tabbing from a numeric entry field that is supposed to become zeros if blanks get reset to blanks only when the application is run outside Net Express. This seems also to occur only on Windows 2000, not on Windows NT or XP. If the application is run within Net Express, the zeros remain in those fields. However, the zeros become blanks once it is run outside Net Express or in an Application Server environment. Resolution: A part of this problem is down to the code. For example, in the window dialog there is a GAINED-FOCUS event that would cause a REFRESH-OBJECT command for a list box. As this event is in the window dialog and does not exist in any of the object dialogs, this event will be called any time the window or any of its objects get the focus. This means that the event is called more than needed causing the problem with the numeric entry field to become blanks even if it should remain zeros. The other part of the problem is related to entry field

Problem: Is there a POP-UP window example? Resolution: See the attached source code example. Attachments: window.cbl Old KB# 6147

Problem: Dialog System: Use of the Vocabulary features: using "EMBEDDED DIALOG SYSTEM functions " in a COBOL program Resolution: DS online help: ____________________________________________________________________________ 1) Generate the Vocabulary Copybook. ( DS online help: Dialog System Vocabulary-> Using the vocabulary ) From the Dialog System main window, load a screenset, using the Open option from the File menu. Select the Generate option from the File menu, and then select Vocabulary Copybook. This will generate a .cpy file with the same name as the loaded screenset. The vocabulary copybook contains a list of all of the objects within a screenset. Each variable in the copybook is given the same name as the object in the screenset that it represents. ... ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Add dslang.cpy to the program using the vocabulary. The file dslang.cpy is provided in the sou

Problem: How do I compensate for different printer's printable area's? Resolution: See attached example (POffset.zip) Attachments: POffset.zip Old KB# 6128

Problem: If you are trying to control the licensing errors that your application may return in a shell script, you may have realized that, for example, the following license error ASLM: License database has been moved returns a return code of 4. Resolution: The codes for the ASLM error messages that are in the documentation - Application Server > Help Topics > Licensing Error messages - should correspond to the return codes. Not all possible messages are documented here so for the complete list please see below. Messages 17, 23 and 24 are appended by text from the multipart message, whose numbers are 48, 49,50, giving a user level summary of what this means (so you should get a return code of 17, 23 or 24). In the same way, when you get a return code 28, messages 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 are shown... 0001 "ASLM: License database does not exist" 0002 "ASLM: No license database header" 0003 "ASLM: Error opening Li

Problem: Dialog System Error 3, 52, 55 on RETC. Error 4/007 on a read. Resolution: This error occurs as a result of application processing which causes a change of directory for the current process. Unless Control bit 3 is set (DS-NO-NAME-INFO) then each RETC will result in the screenset being reloaded to retrieve the name details for the currently active object when the RETC occurs. If the screenset is not on COBDIR or the full screenset file path name is not specified, then the file open will fail as a result of the change in directory. This subsequently causes the file read fail 47. Old KB# 6565

Problem: This is a result of using the wrong program for the List View. Resolution: Make sure the assosiated program for the List View is actually the generated program for it.  Just verify the properties of the List View control from the screenset to know the exact program name. Old KB# 6552

Problem: Fileshare is performing about 10 times slower on Net Express 4.0 than on Net Express 3.0. Resolution: The reason why Fileshare is slower in performance is while running with asynchronous comms, the process gets dropped by CCI, if no messages are waiting.  The fix for this is to switch the comms to synchronous using the /sc option in FS but that requires a password file to be used. When you are using synchronous comms, it is quite tricky to shutdown the FS server, because it can take quite a while to respond to the screen.  If the FS server is idle, then it will only be checking the keyboard once every two minutes ( by default ) and so a user hitting escape will likely not get the response from it, that he expects. In the product is an API FSMGR, which provides ways of controlling FS remotely but there is no program provided.  You have to create your own or use something like the FSVIEW addpack. The solution to the per

Problem: How can I prevent or terminate disconnected WOW Thin Client Server process? Resolution: Use the Server configuration option under the [ServerConfig] section of the Server rpcplus.ini file: InactiveLimit This option specifies the maximum amount of time a server will wait for an already connected client to make another remote program call. Also, try UseKeepAlive, also in the [ServerConfig] section of the Server rpcplus.ini file. This option checks for connection terminations at the TCP/IP level. For it to work, the TCP/IP parameters KeepAliveTime and KeepAliveInterval must be set in the Windows system registry or the UNIX/Linux kernel. The Windows default is 2 hours. If you want to set a shorter time period, use regedit and go to: HKLM\\System\\CurrentControlSet\\Services\\Tcpip\\Parameters Add two DWORD Parameters named "KeepAliveTime" and "KeepAliveInterval". The values depend on what time you'd like. For example: if you use 600000 (ms

Problem: The use of 3D objects (radio buttons etc.) in Dialog System 2.5 and later has caused confusion with some of our Customers. This article documents how the 3D support in Panels 2 works and what code is required in your Micro Focus COBOL/Dialog System applications. We will be looking at the following Micro Focus products: Workbench/Object COBOL 3.4 (16 bit). Dialog System 2.5 (16 bit). Workbench/Object COBOL 4.0 (32 bit). Dialog System 2.5 (32 bit). Net Express 2.0 with Dialog System 3.0 (32 bit). Resolution: The following notes are split by operating system and then by Micro Focus product. The information is presented in the form of bulleted items so that it can be used as a checklist in the event of problems. [General Points of Interest] Panels 2 (16 bit) uses a DLL written by Microsoft called CTL3DV2.DLL or CTL3D.DLL. These are available from the Microsoft web site. There is also a 32 bit DLL available from Microsoft called CTL3D32.DLL. 32 bit

Problem: What is the correct way to configure/debug WOW Thin Client on a UNIX system? Resolution: First, make sure that you are using the version of WOW Thin Client on the Windows system that matches the version of the runtime. You cannot mix versions. Next, make sure you are using a Runtime Plus version or Development version of the runtime on the UNIX/Linux system. The Runtime Plus and Development versions support Thin Client, while the regular Runtime does not. If unsure, contact Support and give us the serial number; we can check for you. For normal execution: 1. Make sure the rpcstart script has execute permissions. For this example, it is located in the /usr/rmcobol directory and should look like this: #!/bin/sh # TERM=dumb; export TERM RM_LOAD_WOW_CLIENT=yes; export RM_LOAD_WOW_CLIENT cd /usr/rmcobol && runcobol ./helowrld.cob k (You can locate the rpcstart script anywhere, but make sure the rpcplus.ini file is in the same directory, and have the script change to th

Problem: What are High-Values and Low-Values? Resolution: COBOL programmers sometimes use the figurative constants HIGH-VALUES and LOW-VALUES as if these constants will have a numeric meaning when moved to or compared with a numeric data item. Unfortunately, this intuitive understanding conflicts with the definition given by COBOL. Worse yet, COBOL explicitly allows the combination of alphanumeric and numeric data in MOVE statements and relation conditions. Therefore, past RM/COBOL compilers have not diagnosed programming problems that may result. Modern versions of the RM/COBOL compiler will warn you when HIGH-VALUES or LOW-VALUES are moved to a numeric data item and the result is not well defined. The following paragraphs help clarify the actual meaning of HIGH-VALUES and LOW-VALUES. HIGH-VALUES and LOW-VALUES are defined in COBOL as always being alphanumeric. This contrasts with the figurative constant ZEROES, which is numeric when associated with a numeric data item a

Problem: If you have applied IBM FixPak 10 to DB2 UDB V8.1 / V8.2, a SYSIBM:CLI:-805 error trying to access SYSIBM.SQLTABLES may occur when attempting to connect to the DB2 database to retrieve the list of tables from within the ESQL Assistant. Resolution: Per the IBM FixPak Readme for FP 10, you will need to manually re-bind to the database. See the IBM Support Alert at http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=71&context=SSEPGG&dc=D600&uid=swg21215626&loc=en_US&cs=UTF-8&lang=en for information on how to solve this. As documented in the IBM FixPak Readme file for DB2 Version 8.1 FixPak 10, you will need to bind the db2schema.bnd file against each database, as follows: At a command prompt: db2 terminate db2 connect to <database-name> db2 bind <path>/db2schema.bnd blocking all grant public sqlerror continue db2 terminate ...where <database-name> represents the name of a database to which the utilities sh

Problem: Release 4.0: Using the XML GENERATE statement from IBM mainframe COBOL in Net Express. Resolution: Use Net Express 4.0 with the WrapPack all06n40 or later. Old KB# 5806

Problem: Does Micro Focus have an OFX server? Resolution: Micro Focus has no direct support for OFX within its products.  However, it may be possible to integrate with this technology via XML, web services etc. You can find out more information on the Open Financial Exchange specification (OFX) at: http://www.ofx.net/ofx/pressget.asp?id=44 Old KB# 5801

Problem: Data entry field should display as blank until a new value is keyed into field. Resolution: This is an ADIS configuration option that can be set up with ADISCF and saved in a modified ADISCTRL file. Since you are migrating from an older version of Micro Focs COBOL to the current version, search the system where the older version is installed for an ADISCTRL file and copy it to the new system. The ADISCTRL file should be in the folder where the application programs are executing.                                                                                 

Problem: Das Modify Data Tag (MDT) soll als Eigenschaft eines Feldes im Editor gesetzt werden. Kann üblicherweise bereits für ein BMS Feld eingestellt werden, nicht erst im SEND MAP Aufruf. Wo ist der Schalter im Net Express BMS Editor ? Resolution: Das MDT Bit wird  durch den Schalter FSET in den Feldattributen gesetzt (Field Properties / General). Old KB# 5790