Rocket® COBOL

Problem: How to assign or determine the client-id that is required for a server-side file in a web application. Resolution: Look under Help>Programming>Distributed Computing>Part 8: CGI-based Applications>Part 32: Server-side programming>Maintaining Application State>The Server-side State Mechanism for a complete overview of this topic. Basically the set of MF_CLIENT_STATE callable routines can be used to manage the state for each client (Browser) session that invokes the CGI program. When the client starts the browser and the HTML page executes the server side CGI program for the first time, the CGI program can use a call to MF_CLIENT_STATE_FILE which will return a unique client-ID and will allocate the state record used by the calls. The client-ID is then stored within a cookie on the form so it will be passed back to the server each time a new form is posted. This information is all stored on the server and it is accessed by the cli

Problem: File systems on different operating systems can use different size addressing. Most current file systems use 32-bit or 64-bit addressing. The operating systems/file systems using these two sizes are listed below. Resolution: The File Handler is configured to work with either 32-bit or 64-bit addressing. It is vital that all applications sharing a file use a File Handler configured the same. Otherwise, data corruption can occur. You can configure the File Handler to use 32-bit addressing in a file system that uses 64-bit addressing. In this case, all files will be safely limited in size (to 32-bit addressing) by the File Handler. 32-bit file systems: - Windows 95 - Windows 98 - Windows Millennium - Windows NT (FAT) - Windows 2000 (FAT) - Windows XP (FAT) - UNIX without large file system enabled 64-bit file systems: - Windows NT (NTFS) - Windows 2000 (NTFS) - Windows XP (NTFS) - UNIX large file system - Linux File syste

Problem: When updating the Net Express 4.0 product where can the various fixpacks be found? Resolution: With Net Express 4.0 fixpacks are now bundled together so only one wrappack module will have to be downloaded and installed. It will start with ALLnn. Download and save this file and then run it while Net Express is closed. Old KB# 5208

Problem: Release: Net Express 4.0. Can an Application Server install silently with Application Server Service Pack only? Resolution: Yes, it is not necessary to install the Application Server directly from the CD. The related Service Pack file aps*a*.exe (e.g. aps05a40.exe)  can be used instead. 1. Prerequisites: - The APS Service Pack needs to know, where the Application Server should be installed.    Set the following registry entry, e.g.:    HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Micro Focus\\Net Express\\4.0\\COBOL\\4.0\\Setup\\apslastfulldir = "C:\\MyApplicationServerDirectory" - The APS Service Pack needs to know, where the License Database should be installed.    Therefore a registry entry must exist similar to:    HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Micro Focus\\ASLMF\\ASLMFDIR = "C:\\mfaslmf"    Please use aslmpclocate.exe to locate the license database, e.g. to C:\\mfaslmf 2.

Problem: Working under Windows XP as a user and received the following message: Failed to create database file. Check that existing file is not locked. Attempted to create file : C:\\Documents and Settings\\All Users\\Application Data\\Micro Focus\\Net Express\\4.0\\SYSTEM.DAT The attempt to create a new system database failed. The original database will be restored. Resolution: Net Express will create an application data file named "system.dat" in the location designated for application data. The location is normally C:\\Documents and Settings \\All Users\\Application Data \\Micro Focus\\Net Express\\4.0 All users running Net Express should have write permissions to that location in order to create/update the file. As this is the recommended location to use for application data you will find that other applications will also be creating/updating files under ".\\AllUsers\\Application Data\\." so the relevant permissions will be

Problem: What is a return code of 128 from STOP RUN/GOBACK? Resolution: If a program simply terminates with a STOP RUN or GOBACK then the value returned to ERRORLEVEL is undefined.  Basically it could be anything from an OS value through to a piece of uninitialized memory. When using ERRORLEVEL with a COBOL program then it is necessary to explicitly control/set it within the program code.  For example:      ...      move 12 to return-code.      stop run. or      ...      stop run returning 12 size 4. or      ...      move 12 to return-code.      goback. or      ...      goback returning 12 size 4. Old KB# 5192

Problem: How to convert a sequential file to an indexed file using a cmd file. When deploying a Net Express project to a client machine that doesn't have Net Express installed and it is necessary to convert a sequential file into an indexed file before the file can be used in a COBOL program how can this be done using a cmd file? Resolution: Run rebuild from a command prompt. ....\\RebuildProject\\rebuild<Enter> Rebuild will display it's usage on the screen grouped into four categories: Rebuilding; Validation; Recovery; and Converting. Refer to Related tab above for a text copy of the following information. Rebuild command line options, Net Express 4.0, All04n40.exe, 1/26/2004 1) Usage for rebuilding: rebuild in-file[,out-file] [ /option ...] /i[:command]    - rebuild and display information /v[:n]                - display running count ever

Problem: When examining a data record during program animation -  sees X"2020202020" instead of X"09". This happens with Net Express 3.1 base version. Resolution: In all versions of Net Express the answer is to use the EXTFH.CFG file with the following options: [XFH-DEFAULT] EXPANDTAB=OFF and set the environment variable EXTFH to: EXTFH=X:\\directoryname\\extfh.cfg Old KB# 5212#netexpress#ServerExpress#AcuCobol#COBOL#RMCOBOL

Problem: Case: When migrating from Net Express 3.1 to 4.0, there exist 11 .DLL files that are believed created using Net Express 3.1 but it is unsure if the original project or source code still exists. Is it possible to tell if these Dynamic Link Libraries were indeed created by Net Express instead of by a 3rd party compiler such as Microsoft C/C ? Resolution: The answer is yes, there is a way to identify an existing executable (.EXE) or Dynamic Link Library (.DLL) file as being generated by Net Express. Using a binary editor or a program dump utility, open the .DLL file and search it using this tool. If no binary file editor is available then it is also possible to open the file using a standard text editor like Windows Notepad but since the information being displayed is not standard ASCII text it will look very strange. It will however, accomplish the task at hand. After opening the .DLL file within the editor it is necessary to perform a text Fin

Problem: Can a Dialog System .IMP-file be exported / imported from the command-line? ---- Importing the .IMP-file by the GUI-interface to a new screenset, duplicate "ESC and Window-Created-events" are reported. OK, they could be manually deleted from the global dialog and the existing auto-created window. But (how) can this be done automatically by the import? Resolution: Yes, both are possible by using the command-line interface of the DSWIN.exe, e.g. from a Net Express Command Line. The command-line interface offers a possibility to overwrite the existing auto-created content of an "empty" screenset. An export of the screenset can be initialized by: /e screenset-name [output-filename] The IMP-file can be imported by: /i import-filename [screenset-name] which can also be used to add the imp file to an existing screenset. The /i may cause the same problems with ESC and WINDOW-CREATED events when importing by the GUI-interf

Problem: This article provides instruction and a demonstration regarding how one can detect when a program developed with Net Express with .NET 4.0 is running under the control of the CLR (.NET Common Language Runtime). Resolution: Functionally, the method of detection involves two steps: 1. use the MF function CBL_GET_OS_INFO 2. look at the bit 5 of cblte-osi-rts-capabilities When = 1, it means that the program is running under the control of the CLR The demo program showing how this is used follows.   Note: To run this demo, the latest update (ALL04N40.exe) needs to be installed in the Net Express 4.0 product.       $SET SOURCEFORMAT"FREE"        program-id. CLRprogOrNot as "CLRprogOrNot".        environment division.        configuration section.      

Problem: What is the definition of the XML-CODE's that can be returned from XML-PARSE?            XML PARSE WS-XML-DOCUMENT               PROCESSING PROCEDURE 20000-PROCESS-XML               ON EXCEPTION                  DISPLAY 'XML DOCUMENT ERROR ' XML-CODE                  STOP RUN               NOT ON EXCEPTION                  DISPLAY 'XML DOCUMENT PARSED SUCCESSFULLY'           

Problem: Processing text files containing "tab" delimited data. Resolution: Create an "extfh.cfg" File Handler Configuration file with these settings. (TABXMPL.TXT is a text file name that contains "tab" characters.     [XFH-DEFAULT]     BASENAME=ON     [TABXMPL.TXT]     EXPANDTAB=OFF The default setting turns BASENAME ON. The TABXMPL.TXT setting turns EXPANDTAB OFF for a file named "tabxmpl.txt". This will preserve the "tab" characters as each record is read making it possible for a program to detect these characters in a text file record. The following is an example program that will isolate each element of data delimited by a "tab" character.       $ set Ans85 Mf"10" NoOsvs NoVsc2 NoAlter NoQual DefaultByte"00"            select textFile assign 'tabxmpl.txt'    &nbsp

Created On:  02 January 2005 Problem: When a copybook, specified in conjunction with a COPY statement, cannot be found, the compiler will flag it with the following error: "COBCH0008 Unknown COPY file filename specified" Where filename is the name of the missing copybook. Resolution: 1. Make sure the file is available in one of the following locations:    in the same directory as the source code that has has the COPY statement    in one of the directories specified in the COBCPY environment variable, i.e. COBCPY=c:\\copyfiles;c:\\morefiles    in the same location as specified in the COPY statement IF it is fully qualified from the COPY statement, i.e. x:\\dir\\filename.cpy 2. Make sure to specify the extension in the COPYEXT directive if it is not either CPY or CBL, i.e. COPYEXT"src,txt" 3. Make sure to add the COPYEXT directive accordingly:    in a directive file, e.g. COBOL.DIR in the project folder, or &

Problem: Tips on how to use data type 'SQL TYPE is TIMESTAMP' vs. MSSQLSERVER also ORACLE database. Column in MSSQLSERVER is declared as 'DATETIME'. Column in ORACLE is declared as 'DATE'. Both databases reflect a date format 'dd.mm.yyyy hh:mm:ss' which is different to 'yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss' by default. Resolution: A string should be redefined as follows, i.e.: 02  upd-date.     05  upd-dd           pic 99.     05  filler          pic x     value ".".     05  upd-mm          pic 99.     05  filler          pic x    &nbsp

Problem: The generated COBOL Web Service Clients default to PIC X(100) for strings. This can cause issues as more than 100 characters may be returned in a string.  This article will provide an example of amending the WSDL to specify the string size needed and then the COBOL Client is generated within Net Express from the amended WSDL. Resolution: The example: <?xml version="1.0"?> <definitions name="CATrafficService" targetNamespace="http://www.xmethods.net/sd/CATrafficService.wsdl" xmlns:tns="http://www.xmethods.net/sd/CATrafficService.wsdl" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/" xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/" xmlns:new="new"> <types> <schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" targetNamespace="new"> <simpleType name="string2">

Problem: How to code Border select attribute LVS_EX_BORDERSELECT constant in COBOL ? Resolution: In the Microsoft Windows C/C Header files the LVS_EX_BORDERSELECT constant is defined as:- #define LVS_EX_BORDERSELECT     0x00008000 // border selection style instead of highlight 0x denotes hex in C so you could have something like:- 78    LVS-EX-BORDERSELECT      value h"00008000". in a COBOL program. Old KB# 5180

Problem: Error Installing Net Express Service Pack on file MFNXCL31.chm When installing SVP00N31.exe onto a Net Express 3.1 install it is possible for it to fail on the file  MFNXCL31.chm. Resolution: To resolve this issue rename the  MFNXCL31.chm file in the original Net Express install directory and try to install the Service Pack again. If this does not resolve the issue then contact you local SupportLine contact. Old KB# 5178

Problem: The data compression module cbldc001.obj has been linked into the .dll program. When the program is run a file status 9/173 is returned on the write. Resolution: Linking the module cbldc001.obj into the .exe instead of the .dll resolved the problem. Old KB# 5186#RMCOBOL#netexpress#COBOL#AcuCobol#ServerExpress

Problem: Is it possible to <show copyfile> in the editor? It works fine for the copy member but not for the include files. Is the environment variable COBCPY not correct here? Resolution: The IDE uses these environment variables to look for copyfiles and called subprograms if they are not in the project directory. However, they cannot be set in the IDE. They should be set outside of Net Express, for example in the autoexec.bat file. Old KB# 5184

Problem: How do I resolve "Error invoking unauthorized copy..." on Windows 2003? (Loc 508) Resolution: If the administrator account can run, the most likely cause of this error is insufficient privileges to create the needed key in the registry entry: [HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Liant Software Corporation\\Common The runtime requires a user ID with appropriate permissions to access HKLM, or at the very least, that allow the user access to that registry entry.  A Power User normally has sufficient permissions to write to HKLM, so an Administrator user ID is not required. The HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Liant Software Corporation\\Common portion of the registry is used to make the runtime start faster, so it is advantageous to allow this access. Another possible cause that affects Citrix and Terminal Services users of RM/COBOL is the "Create Global Object" privilege implemented in Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000. This privilege also affects all subsequent Win

Problem: Net Express Release 4.0: Fileshare is being used with a direct port connection, e.g. according to the doc files: set CCITCPS_server_name=MFPORT:3000 set CCITCPT_server_name=MFNODE:server_hostname,MFPORT:3000 The CCITCP2 environment variable has not been set. The CCI and MFDS services have not been set on the computer. This works fast and starts in one second up to Net Express 3.1 If I use Net Express 4.0, Fileshare starts with a 120 seconds delay. Resolution: Do not set CCITCPT_server_name on the Fileshare server, only on  Fileshare clients. Be aware: server_hostname is the network name of the computer server_name is the name of the fileshare server specified by the /s parameter of FS.EXE or in fs.cfg Old KB# 5183#RMCOBOL#netexpress#COBOL#AcuCobol#ServerExpress

Problem: Set the focus on an item of a Selection-Box | set an item of a Selection-Box as Selected The Dialog System function SET-LIST-ITEM-STATE is not available for a SELECTION-BOX. To set the focus on an item of a SELECTION-BOX, the Net Express Class Library must be used, ........11) creating an instance of the class selectionbox [selectionbox is class "selnbox" ], using the ..............class method fromHandle herited from the class Guibase; ..............The class method fromHandle uses a parameter which is the OBJECT's handle, in this case ...............the SELECTION-BOX's handle, retrieved with the DS function MOVE-OBJECT-HANDLE . ........12) use the instance method SetSelected of the class selectionbox ............... This method uses one parameter which is the item number to be selected ............... ( method SetSelected: Set the listbox item determined by the index to be selected ) NOTE the Netx CLASS LIBRARY can be invoked i

Problem: When I apply a wrappack against my Net Express product where I have already installed Micro Focus Net Express with .NET, it reinstalls the .NET piece.  Is this suppose to happen and if so why? Resolution: Yes, this is done by design. The All WrapPack installs the .NET piece if it finds it installed on a users machine.  It will always install the .NET piece, even if the same version is found.  This helps to fix broken installs of .NET. Old KB# 5179

Problem: Net Express Release 4.0: A runtime error 114 occurs when running a program compiled with the directive DIALECT"BS2000" after the all04n40 WrapPack has been installed. Resolution: There is a bug in utils.lbr which will be fixed in the next official WrapPack and this error should not occur after applying all05n40 or later versions. Meanwhile, the all04n40 Wrappack can be uninstalled and the all03n40 WrapPack can be used. Old KB# 5185