Rocket® COBOL

Problem: The  AcuXDBC User's Guide Version 8.0, chapter 5, section 5.5.2, suggests that rather than having to set up system catalogs for each of your companies individually, you can do one of two things: 1) You can use wildcards and substitution characters (defined in the configuration file) to identify which company file to access. 2) You can assign table ownership to the different companies, then issue a single query to access all the data files. Current users of AcuODBC Server that are transitioning to AcuXDBC Server may prefer a method that allows for closer correspondence between the client DSN and filename prefix. Resolution: Current users of  AcuODBC Server are used to having different DSNs to point to particular file paths. This can be similarly accomplished by creating multiple configuration files and creating DSNs on client machines that each pointed to different configuration files. Since all configuration files

Problem: How to change the order of keys in .xfd file? Resolution: Use -Ck compiler flag: This flag causes the compiler to generate key numbers for indexed file alternate keys in a different order. Key numbers are used internally by the compiler and runtime to identify a key. Normally, you do not need to know the key number for a particular key, or care about the order in which they are generated. By default, the compiler sorts the alternate keys in record order before assigning key numbers. This ensures that the keys are given the same number regardless of the ordering in the file's SELECT. Specifying "-Ck" causes the compiler to assign key numbers in the SELECT order. For most applications, the order in which key numbers are assigned is irrelevant. This option provides compatibility with some other COBOL compilers. This could be helpful when you are sharing data files between ACUCOBOL-GT based programs and programs compiled with these other systems. [2008-07-11

Problem: The AcuXDBC DSN was set up with no password so users are prompted for the password when accessing the data. Vision files were added via that DSN to an Access database as linked tables.  That database was then queried using MS Excel but no password prompt was seen and the query failed with the 'connection failed' message. There is no mechanism in AcuXDBC to manage the password prompt through multiple levels as seen in this example. Resolution: There are two solutions: 1. Add the password in the AcuXDBC DSN. 2. Query the AcuXDBC DSN directly from Excel rather than through the MS Access database links. Old KB# 2841

Problem: After a while waiting for the server there comes a timeout message. This time (default=20 seconds) can be changed Resolution: Referring to manual: TC_SERVER_TIMEOUT This variable lets you determine how many seconds (from 0 to 32767) the client waits for a response from the server. If the client receives no response from the server in the specified time period, the following message box appears: The remote host is not responding. Press OK to close this program. Press Cancel to wait another %s seconds. where "%s" is the value of TC_SERVER_TIMEOUT. The default value is "20". Old KB# 2805

Problem: Starting AcuAcuXDBC Server from inittab or crontab fails. Resolution: Add the following to inittab or crontab: export GENESIS_HOME=/usr/acuxdbc export LIBPATH=/usr/acuxdbc/bin:$LIBPATH export PATH=/usr/acuxdbc/bin:$PATH Old KB# 2834

Problem: Using AcuSQL on a Linux machine to access a Postgres database there appears to be a data alignment problem as a query on some fields will return data from a previous field. The data items are defined as follows: 01 data-vars.       05 my-var-1.             07 my-var-1-1                          pic S9(4) COMP-5.             07 my-var-1-2                          pic X(20).       05 my-var-2.             07 my-var-2-1       &nbsp

Problem: Adding an XFD to the system catalog using xdbcutil directly or through the addfile script caused the following error: Error: 'GENESIS_COLUMNS': Duplicate key Resolution: The XFD contained a column entitled "NUMBER" which is a reserved word with some SQL systems so AcuXDBC doesn't allow it as a column or table name. To resolve the error add the NAME directive in the FD to rename the column, then regenerate the XFD and try again. Old KB# 2844

Problem: Using Acu8.0 on Windows, attempting to use C$XML to access XML data over the internet for the first time (previously processed XML files locally). In a program that tries to open the results of an XML query - the return-code is always returned as 0, and the error indicates "Invalid XML file or other parsing error".  Yet, when that exact text (in the XML filename) is entered into Internet Explorer, the expected response is returned. Resolution: This problem will be resolved in version 9.0 by Engineering Change Notice (ECN) 3824. When parsing an XML file using C$XML with a file from a URL, the runtime could fail to read the file from the remote server, thus causing the parse to fail.  This was due to the remote web server not specifying a text length, which was due to C$XML specifying HTTP 1.1. The work-around for the issue is to download the file and parse it locally instead of accessing it remotely.

Problem: Connecting to AcuXDBC server resulted in one of the following errors: SQLState: 28000 EXECFAIL: Exec 'acuxdbc04' failed on host 'my_server' (errno: 2) Connection failed: SQL State: 28000 [TOD] [ODBC Driver] EXECFAIL: Exec 'acuxdbc04' failed on host '192.100.1.1' (errno: 0) Resolution: The typical reasons for this problem are related to permissions, e.g. which user started AcuXDBC Server and/or what the permissions are for the files AcuXDBC Server needs. This may be resolved by adding "export PATH=$PATH:/opt/acucorp/nnn/bin" (where 'nnn' is replaced by the correct directory, e.g.: 740 or 800) at the beginning of the acuxdbcs.sh script, that way regardless of which user starts AcuXDBC Server the correct environment settings will be in place. Old KB# 2833

Problem: Is there a way to see what version of an ACUCOBOL-GT object is when cblutil is not available? Resolution: If the Unix operating system being used has a magic file then it is possible to add an entry to display the version of the ACUCOBOL-GT object. First locate the magic file ie. $whereis magic $magic: /usr/share/magic.mgc /usr/share/magic /usr/share/magic.mime /usr/share/magic.save /usr/share/man/man5/magic.5.gz In this instance the /usr/share/magic file would be edited to include the following code. # Magic numbers for ACUCOBOL-GT object file #0   string      \\020\\022\\024\\040    ACUCOBOL-GT object file data 0       belong          &nbsp ; 0x10121420      ACUCOBOL-GT >4      beshort     

Problem: Performance problems are encountered with some computers with Network Interface Cards set to Auto-Detect for both 10M Ethernet & 100M when using Thin Client. Resolution: Configuring the network interface cards to use 100M only and the performance issues are resolved. Old KB# 2803

Problem: How do we access an Informix database on Windows using Acu4GL? Resolution: On our line of products Acu4GL we have a version for Informix. This version is available on most of our Unix/Linux platforms. However when we are on Windows we have to use Acu4GL for ODBC and a ODBC driver for Informix to access the database. Old KB# 2830

Problem: When using the version 8.x AcuSQL precompiler a syntax error is generated that did not occur in earlier versions when the embedded SQL code uses the "COALESCE" function. An example of this code:            exec sql                select                  coalesce(c_info,'')                  into :the-c-info                  from customer                 where c_number = :c-number            end-exec.     

Problem: A C# program using ADO.NET to connect to Vision ISAM data through AcuODBC executed the following SQL statement: SELECT MY_FIRST FROM MEMBER WHERE MEMBER.MY_CLUB=481 AND MEMBER.MY_NUMB='D148687     ' This resulted in the following error: System.Data.Odbc.OdbcException: ERROR [S0000] [AcuCorp, Inc.][AcuODBC Driver]Invalid operand for operator: = Resolution: Although the COBOL FD has both MY_CLUB and MY_NUMB defined as PIC 9(3), they have to be passed as string data types  instead of numeric values from the C# program to avoid the error. Old KB# 2817

Problem: When running AcuConnect Thin Client on a Windows Server sometimes the number of client connections is limited to say 26 even though the license allows significantly more users.  The 27th attempt will receive an error "connection refused". Resolution: The Windows Desktop Heap configuration on the server is probably limiting the number of connections.   Here is the link to the Microsoft article with the info on Desktop Heap: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/q184/8/02.asp&NoWebContent=1 The pertinent information is under "Cause 2". The Heap management is complex and some customers have resolved the issue by increasing one parameter while others decreased another parameter. Testing different settings will be required. Remember to make a backup of the registry prior to making any changes. Old KB# 2794

Problem: Application runs against a MSSQL 2005 database.  It moves high-values to the key, or part of a key, does a START NOT GREATER, then a READ PREVIOUS.  The wrong row is being returned. If run against Vision files containing the same data the expected record is found. For example when the entire key is set to high-values the very last record in the Vision file is returned.  However, with Acu4GL for MSSQL, it returns a row somewhere near the end of the table or even the second to last row, never the last row. Resolution: The problem is that the database collating sequence is not binary. The server's default collating sequence is chosen on installation of MSSQL, however a different collating sequence for individual databases using the alter SQL command can be specified by issuing the follow SQL command: alter database databasename collate SQL_Latin1_General_CP850P_Bin It can also be modified by using the Microsoft

Problem: Does C$XML support UTF-16? Resolution: C$XML (and AcuXML) don't support UTF-16. You can use only UTF-8. Old KB# 2788

Problem: Program makes calls to C$XML to read an XML file, it comes out mostly ok but the attribute data is missing.  Is there a sample program demonstrating how to do this? Resolution: The attached sample program, readxml.cbl, reads any XML file using C$XML. It displays the contents in a two-column list-box.  Column one contains the name of the tag or attribute and column two contains the corresponding data. Use this sample program as a model for parsing most XML files. Attachments: readxml.cbl Old KB# 2773

Problem: Installing an update from Microsoft has impacted Acucorp's Thin Client performance. What can be done? Resolution: It is possible that the patch installed changed the TCP/IP settings. Software such as Dr.TCP or TCPOptimizer can be used to tune TCP/IP settings. Setting the TCPReceiveWindow to 1500 on WinXP SP2 and Win2000 SP4 has proven to improve Thin Client speed when working with a Aix 5.2 5L PowerV host, along with other Unix boxes. This setting is not intended to be the "definitive" answer, but just a start from where to begin tuning TCP (and Thin Client) performance.  After any change a reboot is needed in order to see the effects. Using these settings can also solve other performance issues after installing SP2 on WinXP. Old KB# 2793

Problem: Acu4GL for Oracle has been running on one server with no errors.  On a new server with Oracle 10g an Oracle error 600 occurs on various inserts. Resolution: ORA-00600 is a catch-all for Oracle meaning the error doesn't fit in any other specific error code.  The exact meaning of the error is determined by Oracle support personnel who examine the parameters within square brackets that follow the ORA-00600.   If the first parameter is [kpofdr-long] this is an error other Acu4GL users have encountered.  It is caused by bug #3612581 in Oracle 10g. Oracle has a patch that can be downloaded to fix it. If that first parameter is something other than [kpofdr-long] send the information to Oracle for interpretation. Old KB# 2832

Problem: When trying to kill acuxdbcs with the batch file acuxdbcs.bat on a non-default port.  The message displays: C:\\Program Files\\Acucorp\\Acucbl800\\AcuGT\\bin>acuxdbcs -kill -n 20111 Sending 'vtxnetd suicide request' to '-n'. ERROR: HOSTNOTFOUND: Host '-n' not found, gethostbyname returned 11004 Sending 'vtxnetd suicide request' to '20111'. ERROR: SERVNOTFOUND: Service/Protocol 'vtxnet/tcp' not found (errno: 0) Sending 'vtxnetd suicide request' to 'jeeves'. ERROR: SERVNOTFOUND: Service/Protocol 'vtxnet/tcp' not found (errno: 0) The same is true when attempting to use -info on a non-default port.  The following message displays: C:\\Program Files\\Acucorp\\Acucbl800\\AcuGT\\bin>acuxdbcs -info -n 20111 Pinging '-n'.... SORRY: HOSTNOTFOUND: Host '-n' not found, gethostbyname returned 11004 Pinging '20111'.... SORRY: SERVNO

Problem: In what version did Acucorp begin to support Windows Vista?? Resolution: Microsoft Vista support begins with Version 7.2.2 and includes all extend® products that run on Windows clients.  Since Vista is a desktop operating system, server-oriented products such as AcuConnect, AcuServer, and AcuXDBC Server are not supported. Vista has introduced new features and mechanisms that can impact programs in various ways. For instance, the User Account Control (UAC), a new security method, can send an error message to the user when attempting to open a program for the first time. Many of these features replace methodologies used in other versions of Windows and therefore may require application changes or configuration changes to adapt to Vista's methodologies. Consult Microsoft® product information source for more on developing and deploying applications in the Vista environment. Old KB# 2791

Problem: Running acuserve and attempt to kill with     acuserve -kill -nf (port number) The following message appears: Socket error: 10102 Resolution: There is typically an issue with the host name on the server.  Open the host file in etc directory ie more /etc/hosts and verify that the information is correct. Alternatively specify which hostname/IP Address that the acurcl daemon should listen on by setting the AcuConnect configuration variables SERVER_IP and/or SERVER_NAME. For further information about them see the AcuConnect documentation. It is also possible to specify which hostname the -info or -kill command should be sent to by specifying the hostname on the command line.  For example: acurcl -info {servername} acurcl -kill {servername} Old KB# 2804

Problem: During the installation of AcuXDBC or AcuXDBC Server if a "SYSTEM%DUAL not found" error is encountered how can this be corrected? Resolution: Instead of uninstalling AcuXDBC and reinstalling it is easier to remove several directories and rerun a batch file that is provided with AcuXDBC on Windows machines. Navigate to the AcuGT\\bin directory.   1. delete the syscat directory 2. delete the data directory 3. ensure GENESIS_HOME is correctly set 4. delete acuxdbc.cfg 5. run genxconf.bat in the AcuGT\\bin directory 6. Run demo.bat 7. Then run the following query in asql "select * from pets;" Please note that the genxconf.bat is specific to Windows and is not provided with non-Windows ports of AcuXDBC.  When not running on a Windows based platform and this error is encountered, the resolution is to uninstall and reinstall the product. Old KB# 2836

Problem: Is there a way to create a socks level trace when using Acurcl? Resolution: Instructions for performing a socket level trace with Acurcl. On the client side: Depending on how the application is started, add "-t7" to the command line that invokes acuthin;  Ex.      Acuthin.exe -t7 <server-name> <alias-name> This will produce two files on the client.  The first is called "displog" that contains tracing information specific to when controls are created, modified or destroyed, the second is a socket level communication trace named "socks<pid#>.trc". These files will be created in either the current directory, the location specified in the "start in" property of the icon or on the desktop. On the server side kill Acuconnect and restart it adding "-t 16535" at the end of the command string.  Ex.     &nbs