Rocket® COBOL

Problem: Which version and which Acucorp products are for Windows 64-bit platforms? Resolution: Windows 64-bit Products are supported in 8.x as of 08/29/2007 Acucorp offers 64-bit versions of many (see list below) of its products, which run on the Windows x64 platform. These 64-bit product versions install from a CD that is separate and unique from the standard 32-bit Windows version of Acucorp software.   Note that the 64-bit CD also installs 32-bit versions of those products that do not have 64-bit equivalents. This includes certain program executables such as AcuBench as well as non-executables such as sample programs and tools. When selecting products to install on Windows x64 platforms the 32-bit products will be installed into a special Windows folder reserved for 32-bit programs called "Program Files (x86)". The Windows Start menu items will use these 32-bit versions. Some of the 32-bit products have 64-bit equivalents

Problem: Opening a table with Microsoft Access caused the following error: [TOD][ODBC][GENESIS]VISION: Too many columns 291 (max: 256) Resolution: Increase the MAXIMUM_COLUMNS setting on the Advanced tab of the DSN. The default value is 256. The allowable range is from 1 to 1024. Old KB# 2845

Problem: When shutting down the AcuConnect service the user receives the following prompt to the kill command: unix1:/opt/acucorp/800/bin # ./acurcl -kill Shutting down AcuConnect on: unix1 There are 0 child processes on: unix1 Do you really want to shutdown AcuConnect ? This is not a issue when running interactively, but when running from a script the prompt can be problematic. How can the prompt be avoided when running a script? Resolution: AcuConnect User's Guide Version 8.0 Chapter 8: Managing the System > 8.2 Managing the System: UNIX > 8.2.1 The acurcl Command > 8.2.1.6 acurcl -kill Unless the "-f" option is specified, AcuConnect prompts for confirmation before the halt action is executed. The following is an example of using the "-f" option to halt AcuConnect. Example: unix1:/opt/acucorp/800/bin # ./acurcl -kill -f Shutting down AcuConnect on: unix1 There are 0 child processes on: unix1 Ac

Problem: When the ampersand ( & ) is displayed using the graphical label control, it is rendered as underscore ( _ ) which is not expected. This behavior occurred when converting a character-based screen to a simple graphical user interface (GUI) that utilizes labels and entry-fields. Resolution: ACUCOBOL-GT User Interface Programming Version 8.0 Chapter 5: Control Types Reference > 5.12 Label > 5.12.1 Label: Common Properties NO-KEY-LETTER This style suppresses the interpretation of "&" as a key prefix. This is useful in cases where you are assigning user-entered data to a label and want to allow values that include the ampersand ("&") character (such as "AT&T"). Alternatively, and a bit more complicated, the data string can be parsed programmatically and when an ampersand is encountered the string can be modified to add a second ampersand, e.g.: AT&T to: AT&&a

Problem: Trying to import a VISION file through a DTS package and error is being encountered: ------------------------ Actual error from DTS package -------------- Step Error Source: Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers Step Error Description:[AcuCorp, Inc.][AcuODBC Driver]Assignment error Step Error code: 80074005 Step Error Help File: Step Error Help Context ID:0 Resolution: This error, "Assignment error", is caused by non-numeric data in a numeric field.  Their are two solutions: 1) fix the data in the file correcting or removing the invalid data 2) On the Advanced tab of the DSN change the specification of  the Invalid Numeric Data option from Error to Zero or Null. Old KB# 2813

Problem: Using the supplied script, acuxdbcs.bat (acuxdbcs.sh on UNIX), AcuXDBC Server won't start on a non-default port. The start command used is: acuxdbcs.bat -start -p 20225 But it always starts on the default port, 20222. Resolution: Refer to the comments inside the script for proper usage:   rem =  Usage:   rem =      acuxdbcs -help   rem =      acuxdbcs -info [-n port] [server]   rem =      acuxdbcs -kill [-n port] [server]   rem =      acuxdbcs -start [-n port] [-l] Note that the AcuXDBC Server scripts accept -n to specify an alternate port, rather than -p. This command will work:  acuxdbcs.bat -start -n 20225 Old KB# 2840

Problem: C$SOCKET with AGS-WRITE works with the Microsoft FTP Service but not when used with Serv-U FTP Server v6.4 for WinSock. The problem is in the command-string, as you can see in the example below, it describes that the string should end with the line feed character x"0A". Example coding: - if parse-command-code = "220"    initialize unix-send-command    move 1 to unix-send-cmd-length    string "USER " delimited by size              unix-username delimited by spaces              x"0A" delimited by size              into unix-send-command with pointer              unix-send-cmd-length    subtract 1 from unix-send-cm

Problem: Is there a way to access a Microsoft SQL Server table with AcuSQL using a variable to set the table name? Resolution: This can be done using dynamic SQL.  The following link to an article by Nigel Rivett has an example of how to do this: http://www.nigelrivett.net/SQLTsql/TableNameAsVariable.html Excerpts from the article provide a detailed explanation: This is a simple problem to solve but has a number of consequences. It is often because you wish to pass a table name to a stored procedure perhaps processing all tables in a database. Of course select * from @TableName will not work as the variable will not be resolved as containing the name of a table. The method used here is dynamic SQL - executing a built string. Create procedure s_ProcTable @TableName varchar(128) as declare @sql varchar(4000)             select @sql = 'select rows = count(*) from

Problem: Using Thin Client is there a way to cause the runtime on the server to exit when the network connection is lost? When this happens orphan runtimes are left and hold 1 license seat that is not released until the runtime is killed. Resolution: In some circumstances, in a Thin Client environment, the client can be unexpectedly disconnected from the server.  In order to capture this event, the TC_QUIT_MODE server runtime configuration variable was introduced. TC_QUIT_MODE passes a numeric value to stdout when a client PC is unexpectedly disconnected.  This information can then be used by the operating system to perform any needed additional tasks. Here is how it is implemented:        IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.        PROGRAM-ID. CLIENT-DISCONNECT.        REMARKS.    This program demonstrates TC_QUIT_MODE

Problem: After upgrading the server OS from AIX 5.2 to AIX 5.3 the screen display performance with Thin Client was seriously impacted. No changes had been made to the COBOL side of the equation so an AIX support consultant was called in to check networking parameters, but could find no serious problems. Are there any known performance issues with Thin Client and AIX 5.3? Resolution: The resolution to this particular problem was changing the network interface setting "large_send" to "no". The "large_send" network interface setting is new in AIX 5.3 (did not exist in AIX 5.2). A Google search of "aix large_send slow" turned up the following information links: This article from Symantec support site is dated March 2004: http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/266020.htm and this article from the "IBM AIX Discussion List" is dated April 2004: http://unix.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/AIX-L/2004-04/02

Problem: When executing a "vutil -load" command  to load a sequential file into a Vision file, any records which would create a duplicate key condition are put into a file named filename.rej (Users Guide 3.3.10) What format is the filename.rej created in and how can the records be loaded into a Vision file? Resolution: The filename.rej file that contains the duplicate key records is in sequential file format and may be loaded into a similar empty vision file. Old KB# 2792

Problem: An application running on Linux attempts to open a large binary sequential file (> 3GB) and receives a file status 30,27. Resolution: An error 30 indicates the issue is on the operating system side.  The secondary error 27 indicates the file is too large, as defined in the errno.h file for the system (/usr/include/asm/errno.h in this particular case): #define EFBIG           27      /* File too large */ The standard file API has a limit of 2 GB. The solution is to add "USE_LARGE_FILE_API ON" to the Runtime configuration file or set it in the environment. Old KB# 2776

Problem: After an upgrade to a new server the DISPLAYs are no longer written to the log file.  Programs are executed in the background with: runcbl -b programname > output.log On the old server the DISPLAY statements were written to the log file but now the log file is empty after running the program. Resolution: The programs must be compiled with the -Ca option.Old KB# 2784

Problem: In some instances it is desirable to be able to use the file command to determine the version of a Vision file.   Resolution: If the Unix operating system is being used has a magic file then it is possible to add an entry to display the version of the Vision file. First locate your 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. # Vision 2 file 0       ulong          0x10121416     Vision >4      ushort         2              2 data file # Vision 3 file 0       ubelong  

Problem: Is it possible to get runtime configuration file name from within a cobol program? Resolution: There's no library that does this automatically. The easiest way is to declare an environment variable in the same config file that indicates the name of the file, such as: CONFIG_FILE_NAME C:\\etc\\cblconfi Then you can accept this variable form cobol with the statement: ACCEPT dest-item FROM {CONFIGURATION}                        {ENVIRONMENT  }                       "CONFIG_FILE_NAME" Old KB# 2769

Problem: We usualy show a Message Box with the error message when our products finds a problem. This message box requires the user to click okay or use enter and many clients do not want this box to appear or to have a human interaction. Resolution: This can be very easily done if we use a runtime configuration variable called SHUTDOWN_MESSAGE_BOX. The default value of this variable is 1. If we don't want this message box to appear we just have to set it up at 0 (Zero) and everything will work as wanted. An remember, this variable is easily set up in the runtime configuration file. Old KB# 2746

Problem: If you have a directory shared between two Win Vista, it's possible to have locked records and clients that hangs up waiting for the records to be released. This is the scenario: - The server is locking a file, while it's reading it. - the client tries to read the same file, with LOCK function, and it hungs, waiting for an answer from the server. Resolution: It seems there's a bug in Win Vista itself (strange thing, isn't it?) http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1259708&SiteID=1 (in google "disable smb2 vista" ) The bug is in protocol SMB2, that is automatically turned on when there's only Vistas in the network. In the URL you will find how to disable SMB2. Run REGEDIT on the server. - Navigate to find the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services\\LanmanServer\\Parameters. create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value called SMB2 with value = 0. Exit REGEDIT and rebo

Problem: When executing code that utilizes format 2 of the STOP statement STOP "literal statement" The debugger is invoked at the STOP, but no source code is visible even though the program had been compiled for source level debugging using the "-Ga" or "-GD" switches. Resolution: ACUCOBOL-GT Reference Manual Version 8.0 Chapter 6: Procedure Division > 6.6 Procedure Division Statements > STOP statement A Format 2 STOP literal statement suspends execution of the program and passes control to the ACUCOBOL-GT debugger. The debugger prints the literal on the screen before accepting debugging commands. Note, however, that you cannot do source level debugging unless you compiled with the "-Zd" option and run with the "-d" option.   Old KB# 2743

Problem: Setting up 8.1 Beta environment on a new test machine.  When moving the runtime to a new box and performing a -vv an error is generated saying: The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Does Extend 8.1 require the install CD always to be used when setting up the runtime on a new server? Resolution: The issue is one that will be seen with 8.0.0 and later.  The reason for the error is that the required Microsoft Foundation Class DLL's that the runtime depends on are not found. The following link is to a Knowledgebase item that explains the situation and has an attachment that should resolve the problem: http://supportline.microfocus.com/mf_kb_display.asp?kbnumber=25406 Alternatively using the CD to install instead of copying the products to the other server will resolve the problem as well. Old KB# 2770

Problem: Can a single Grig cell be changed in height etc? Resolution: A single cell cannot be changed only all cells Old KB# 2744

Problem: When a bitmap is used on a push button, it does not care for the cells. The size of the PB seems to be fixed and cannot be changed via Acubench. It is not possible to get the "lines 20 CELLS" in the source. Resolution: From manual: ACUCOBOL-GT User Interface Programming  Version 7.2 Chapter 5: Control Types Reference > 5.15 Push Button > 5.15.1 Push Button: Common Properties ........... When the BITMAP style is used, the LINES and SIZE values have a different meaning. The values are the number of pixels in the height and width of the bitmap image (see section 3.7, "Bitmap Buttons," for details). If omitted, the default values depend on the host system. Under Windows, the default LINES value is "15" and the default SIZE value is "16". These correspond to the size of buttons typically found on a toolbar. Old KB# 2749

Problem: Using the library routine WIN$PRINTER with the op-code WINPRINT-SETUP does not work on Windows Vista. Resolution: Microsoft has changed a configuration flag to now be obsolete.  Here is documentation from Microsoft's website: "PSD_DISABLEPRINTER Obsolete.  Microsoft Windows XP and earlier: Disables the Printer button, preventing the user from invoking a dialog box that contains additional printer setup information." This configuration flag, which was never implemented by ACUCOBOL-GT, is now obsolete.  The documentation from Microsoft does not state what happens when PSD_DISABLEPRINTER is not used, however it appears to be always "on" which inhibits being able to pick a printer. To work around this behavior with Vista use the WINPRINT-SETUP-OLD or WINPRINT-SETUP-EX (available in version 8.0.0 and later) options of WIN$PRINTER. Old KB# 2754

Problem: After installing the product and activating the product codes and keys provided with the distribution, there are file names that end in an exclamation point (!). Resolution: License files with an extension ending in an exclamation point (!), are back-up copies of old license files. During installation, if the Activator utility detects the presence of an existing license file, the extension of the existing file is changed before a new license file is created. For example, "runcbl.alc" is renamed "runcbl.al!".   Old KB# 2751

Problem: When a program has code like this: move abc(x:y) to xxx and y's value is 0, it generates the following error: Reference modifier range error; start = 31, length = 0 Reference modifier range error; start = 31, length = 0 Reference modifier range error; start = 32, length = 0 Is there a way to turn off this error message? Resolution: The configuration variable WARNINGS can be used to supress these types of messages (see ACUCOBOL-GT Appendices > Appendix H: Configuration Variables > H.2 Configuration variables > WARNINGS. There are 3 possible settings.  An excerpt of the documentation is here: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- WARNINGS can take the following values: 0  (off, false, no) No warning is printed. 1  (on, true, yes) A warning is printed. This is the default. 2  A warning is prin

Problem: How can the version of existing Vision indexed files be determined? Resolution: The Vision file utility "vutil" (vutil32 on Windows) can be used to obtain this information by executing vutil using the following command format: vutil -info file_name Here is an example of the vutil command and output for a file named "accounts": usr1l@unix1:~>vutil -info accounts accounts  [vision version 5] # of records:                10 # of deleted records:         0 (0 0) file size:                 1536 (accounts) file size:                 1024 (accounts.vix) total file size:      &nbsp