Rocket® COBOL

Problem: In the documentation the Dialect COBOL370 and OS390 show the compiler option  HOST-NUMCOMPARE To expand on the the meaning of the following associated directives... HOST-NUMCOMPARE"1" HOST-NUMCOMPARE"2" NOHOST-NUMCOMPARE HOST-NUMCOMPARE Resolution: HOST-NUMCOMPARE is actually the same as HOST-NUMCOMPARE"2"... HOST-NUMCOMPARE"1" is an earlier version and is deliberately no longer documented. It is still supported for some customers who came to rely on its semantics, however support for HOST-NUMCOMPARE(1) may be withdrawn in a future product. All new code that wants compatibility with IBM mainframe for comparisons should use HOST-NUMCOMPARE. NO HOST-NUMCOMPARE is the default setting. Old KB# 5328

Problem: Does Application Server support Windows Clustered environments? Resolution: Micro Focus Application Server has no direct support for Clustered Services. Applications written in COBOL however should run on a Windows Server machine that participates in a Windows Cluster. However the application will not be cluster aware. There is a API that applications can use to make themselves cluster aware:- http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/mscs/mscs/windows_clustering.asp?frame=true If you need to make your application cluster aware then you will need to to use these apis. Old KB# 5373

Problem: Gets an exception (java.lang.nullPointerException) only when animating a web application. The same web project runs fine on any other development machines except on one. Resolution: If the web application is using a Java applet, make sure the Java (Sun) setting in the Internet options of your web browser is not set to use the Java Sun JRE. The name of the option is "Use JRE 1.x.x_xx <applet>" Old KB# 5329

Problem: Doing a static link of a ODBC program with Base release of Net Express 4.0 and base release of Application Server for Net Express 4.0. Resolution: Static link is not recommended for ODBC The issue was resolved by linking as Shared Another method would have been to upgrade development and Application Server for Net Express to the currect update levels available on our website. http://supportline.microfocus.com Old KB# 5348

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# 5378#RMCOBOL#ServerExpress#AcuCobol#COBOL#netexpress

Problem: What is the return code of the projmake utility when a project fails to build or open? Resolution: The prokmake utility sets return-code = 1 for any error found.   You cannot specify a return-code for each type of error. Old KB# 5391

Problem: How to search a directory for a given file specification (e.g. *.cbl)? Resolution: The routine x"91" function 69 can be used to search a directory for a given file specification. Another way also is to call to FindFirstNext, a WinAPI function. You will find a demo for each of this routine at the Micro Focus SupportLine site (http://supportline.microfocus.com) in the "Net Express Examples & Utilities" page. The one for x"91" function 69 is called DIRLIST.ZIP while the one for FindFirstNext is called FINDFIRSTNEXT.ZIP. Old KB# 5347

Problem: I want to create a new environment variable in the registry from within a program - how can I do this? Resolution: There is an example of how to do this on the SupportLine website -  look for the cobreg program on the sample programs page. Old KB# 5382

Problem: Clicked on remove and it seemed to uninstall but it is not gone from the add and remove programs list. If NX is clicked on again, it says it is not there although still visisble. Resolution: Clear Unwanted Entries from Add/Remove Programs Intended For Windows XP Windows 2000 Windows Me Windows 98 Windows 95 In Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, a list of installed applications is displayed for the purpose of easy removal. Unfortunately, but there is no obvious method for removing these entries (either to prevent accidental removal, or if the application was removed some other way) without uninstalling the programs. To remove an entry, do the following: Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE). Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\ SOFTWARE\\ Microsoft\\ Windows\\ CurrentVersion\\ Uninstall, and remove any unwanted keys under "Uninstall." Old KB# 5387#netexpress#AcuCobol#COBOL#RMCOBOL#ServerExpress

Problem: What does a status 1 code returned from a WinApi call mean? Resolution: A status 1 returned from a WinApi call means "Error - invalid function". Old KB# 5390

Problem: How can I create a Shortcut on my desktop from my application? Resolution: The simplest way to do this is to use COM Automation objects provided by the Windows Script Host. Attached is an example (Click on the "Related" tab above, and see "wshshortcut.zip" under "Attachments" towards the bottom of the screen.) Attachments: wshshortcut.zip Old KB# 5357

Problem: Found cblcore modules  in many directories.  Can these safely be deleted? Resolution: Cblcore is a debugging tool - it puts out a cblcore dump anytime an abend occurs. By typing in CBLCORED from a command prompt, it will put up a pop up box and you can enable or disable it. If you have already resolved the abends and do have no need to look at the dumps, you can delete them. If this is occurring on your development machine, check the animate options and uncheck core dump to stop using the function. Old KB# 5383

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# 5354

Problem: You may see that data defined in a VARCHAR host -variable appears as "padded" with spaces when examining the record on the database. Is it possible to stop data from being padded when written out this way? Resolution: To avoid this from happening you can declare your host variables with the new Open ESQL syntax that is now supported in Net Express - CHAR-VARYING, which is a synonym for VARCHAR. The Net Express documentation describe this new syntax as follows: CHAR-VARYING Example: 01 hv-name SQL TYPE IS CHAR-VARYING(n) generates 01 hv-name pic x(n). CHAR-VARYING data is passed to OpenESQL as SQL_VARCHAR. When data is sent to the data source, trailing spaces are trimmed, except for the first space if the value is all spaces, and values fetched from the data source are padded with spaces. Having the ANSI padding checked on the driver should trim off any NULLS. Old KB# 5342

Problem: Problem with websphere deploying application gets error Resolution: Added MFCobol.jar in the PATH.  Now Websphere will report successful application deployment. Old KB# 5363#ServerExpress#COBOL#AcuCobol#RMCOBOL#netexpress

Problem: Can web services built with Net Express be deployed on any other third party servers or does it have to be deployed on Enterprise Server? Resolution: Any web services written in Net Express must be deployed on Enterprise Server no matter what the platform is. Old KB# 5379

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# 5364

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: The following erros may be observed when attempting to start a Fileshare Server:    FS084-I Fileshare Server is starting. (Revision 9243).    FS130-I Reading database reference file, please wait. FS108-I Processing the files specified in the database reference file. FS110-I D:\\ENVIRONMENTS\\V513FILESHARE\\DATA\\FILE01  - ok. FS110-I D:\\ENVIRONMENTS\\V513FILESHARE\\DATA\\FILE02  - ok. FS109-W The file D:\\ENVIRONMENTS\\V513FILESHARE\\DATA\\FILE31 does not exist FS110-I D:\\ENVIRONMENTS\\V513FILESHARE\\DATA\\FILE51  - ok. FS246-I Backing up database files to directory         'd:\\environments\\v513fileshare\\backup'. Please wait. FS250-I Deleting all unwanted log files. FS104-I The log file cannot be found, creating a new recovery log file. FS186-I The Fileshare Server is using the log file         &#

Problem: Program A call Program B, receing error on call to Program B. Works in debug mode, error produced in Release Mode. Resolution: This was corrected by a HOTFIX for  RPI 1057346 - this occurs due to a change to the compiler to accommodate mainframe dialects. the outdd and\\or  indd are the cause and the solutions is as below: Run-time system error COBRT226 ("EXTERNAL data definition        inconsistent") was returned sometimes if programs in a run unit had been compiled with a        mainframe dialect. The error occurs because the        attributes used for the SYSOUT file when using a mainframe dialect        changed in WrapPack V4.0.005.        If you receive this error you should recompile all the programs   &nbsp

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: A COBOL program developed in Net Express 4.0, when run from a command line, is required to read data from a file specified on the command line. How are parameters read from the command line and redirected to an output file? Resolution: 1. To read from a file using the redirection operator "<", there is a COBOL runtime switch 'S5' that, when turned on, allows for input/output from the command line. The ACCEPT statement in the code would be: ACCEPT ... FROM CONSOLE. To turn the 'S5' COBOL switch on, either set the 'cobsw' environment variable on the command line: set cobsw= S5 or turn the S5 switch on, when running the program on the command line: Program1.exe ( S5) < data\\DataIn.dat > data\\DataOut.dat 2. The "ACCEPT ... FROM COMMAND-LINE" statement accepts arguments as strings from the command line. The following will accept '1234' as an argument and redirect the out

Problem: Is Dialog System dsbrowse included in Application Server runtime environment Resolution: DSBROWSE.gnt in included in our application server (version 4.0). The location of the Application Server directory may need to be on the COBDIR directory. The gnt format modules are located via the COBDIR environment variable. Alternatively you could link dsbrowse.obj into the main application exe. Old KB# 5375

Problem: Release 4.0: Keystroke Ctrl C or Ctrl V does not work as expected with the CommonControl demo "TXTENTRY". What has to be programmed to get these keystrokes? Resolution: To get a Ctrl C or Ctrl V as expected, the method "getHighLightArea" is necessary for the Ctrl C  instead of "setHighLightArea" coded in the demo. In the "EfDataKey Section" where the EfDataKey callback event is handled. Please code e.g.:             if K-keyAsNum of Keystroke = 3 *> Ctrl C                INVOKE aTextEntry "getHighLightArea" USING CursorPos                                      &

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