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Deploy Visual COBOL

  • October 3, 2013
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D

I am trialling Visual COBOL.  I've successfully converted my Net Express project to Visual COBOL, and it runs on my PC.  How do I deploy it to another machine?  (We have COBOL Server available and installed).

I've found good instructions at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/k3bb4tfd(v=vs.80).aspx which says I have to create a deployment project but there are no "Setup and deployment projects" showing in the "Other Project Types" pane, which is empty.  I am using Visual Studio 2010 Shell - maybe it is not available in the Shell?

To create a deployment project

  1. On the File menu, point to Add, and then click New Project.

  2. In the Add New Project dialog box, in the Project Types pane, open the Other Project Types node, click Setup and Deployment Projects, then click Setup Project in the Templates pane. In the Name box, type My Notepad Installer.

  3. Click OK to close the dialog box.

    The project is added to Solution Explorer, and the File System Editor opens.

  4. Select the My Notepad Installer project in Solution Explorer. In the Properties window, select the ProductName property and type My Notepad.

    3 replies

    Chris Glazier
    Forum|alt.badge.img+2

    I am trialling Visual COBOL.  I've successfully converted my Net Express project to Visual COBOL, and it runs on my PC.  How do I deploy it to another machine?  (We have COBOL Server available and installed).

    I've found good instructions at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/k3bb4tfd(v=vs.80).aspx which says I have to create a deployment project but there are no "Setup and deployment projects" showing in the "Other Project Types" pane, which is empty.  I am using Visual Studio 2010 Shell - maybe it is not available in the Shell?

    To create a deployment project

    1. On the File menu, point to Add, and then click New Project.

    2. In the Add New Project dialog box, in the Project Types pane, open the Other Project Types node, click Setup and Deployment Projects, then click Setup Project in the Templates pane. In the Name box, type My Notepad Installer.

    3. Click OK to close the dialog box.

      The project is added to Solution Explorer, and the File System Editor opens.

    4. Select the My Notepad Installer project in Solution Explorer. In the Properties window, select the ProductName property and type My Notepad.

    You are correct.

    The deployment project templates are not available in the Visual Studio 2010 Shell version.

    You will need Visual Studio 2010 Professional or higher to get these.

    It is not a requirement to create  a deployment package in order to test your application on a production computer. You can just use an xcopy approach to copy the content of your project output folders to the production computer.

    In Visual Studio 2012, Microsoft has dropped support for the .msi type Setup projects.

    They recommend using Installshield or WiX installer technology instead.

    Thanks.

    D

    I am trialling Visual COBOL.  I've successfully converted my Net Express project to Visual COBOL, and it runs on my PC.  How do I deploy it to another machine?  (We have COBOL Server available and installed).

    I've found good instructions at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/k3bb4tfd(v=vs.80).aspx which says I have to create a deployment project but there are no "Setup and deployment projects" showing in the "Other Project Types" pane, which is empty.  I am using Visual Studio 2010 Shell - maybe it is not available in the Shell?

    To create a deployment project

    1. On the File menu, point to Add, and then click New Project.

    2. In the Add New Project dialog box, in the Project Types pane, open the Other Project Types node, click Setup and Deployment Projects, then click Setup Project in the Templates pane. In the Name box, type My Notepad Installer.

    3. Click OK to close the dialog box.

      The project is added to Solution Explorer, and the File System Editor opens.

    4. Select the My Notepad Installer project in Solution Explorer. In the Properties window, select the ProductName property and type My Notepad.

    Thank you.  I think my problem now is that the PC doesn't see the COBOL Server on a different, central, machine.
     
    I’ve tried, on 3 different projects – but fail on all.
     
    1)    A new Visual COBOL project, so Managed COBOL?:
    Not knowing which are the “project output folders” 1 copied the whole project with subdirectories.  I’ve tried to run all of the EXEs:
    C:\\TempPhil\\Test1\\Test1\\bin\\release\\test1.exe
    C:\\TempPhil\\Test1\\Test1\\obj\\Release\\test1.exe
    C:\\TempPhil\\Test1\\Test1\\obj\\Debug\\test1.exe
    Presumably I could just copy one of these 3 directories – but which is the correct 1?  And why doesn’t it work?  I get:
     
    2)    A Net Express project with Dialog System imported in to Visual COBOL – is this now Managed COBOL. or is it still Native COBOL?
    I get:
     
    3)    A Net Express project:
    On trying to run the executable I get :
     
     – but it is running, on a different server.  Do I need to do something to tell the PC or app to look for the License Server on the other machine, other than adding the path:
    PATH=\\\\MFLicenseServer\\Micro Focus\\COBOL Server;%PATH%  Is there an easy way to prove it is working and seen from the test PC?  Am I missing a step?
     
     
    The documentation only talks of how to deploy Native COBOL applications, not Managed applications:
     
    We’ve installed COBOL Server, on a same server, and it is running:
     
    Chris Glazier
    Forum|alt.badge.img+2

    I am trialling Visual COBOL.  I've successfully converted my Net Express project to Visual COBOL, and it runs on my PC.  How do I deploy it to another machine?  (We have COBOL Server available and installed).

    I've found good instructions at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/k3bb4tfd(v=vs.80).aspx which says I have to create a deployment project but there are no "Setup and deployment projects" showing in the "Other Project Types" pane, which is empty.  I am using Visual Studio 2010 Shell - maybe it is not available in the Shell?

    To create a deployment project

    1. On the File menu, point to Add, and then click New Project.

    2. In the Add New Project dialog box, in the Project Types pane, open the Other Project Types node, click Setup and Deployment Projects, then click Setup Project in the Templates pane. In the Name box, type My Notepad Installer.

    3. Click OK to close the dialog box.

      The project is added to Solution Explorer, and the File System Editor opens.

    4. Select the My Notepad Installer project in Solution Explorer. In the Properties window, select the ProductName property and type My Notepad.

    The correct output folder depends upon the build configuration type that you are using with your project.
    By default, the debug configuration is used and this will generate extra code for debugging your executable but they can be run standalone as well.
    The version in the release folder is generated from the release build and the etra debugging information is not included.

    Managed code projects generate .NET managed code assemblies which run under the Common Language Run-time (CLR) of the .NET Framework.

    Native code projects generate standard Windows .obj files that are linked into .EXEs/.DLLS by the Microsoft  linker.

    You can create a new project as either a managed type or a native type.

    If you are using the Net Express project converter then it will generate native projects as this is the same type of project that was used in Net Express.

    Regardless of whether you are using native code or managed code, they both require access to certain run-time files that are installed with the COBOL Server product and they also require that a license be installed and available.

    The easiest method of deployment is to install COBOL Server directly on the machine where you will be running the application.
    You can also run your applications using COBOL Server installed on a centralized server but this requires additional setup.

    Please look at the following two kb articles as they cover this in detail:

    Set up network licensing for native code applications

    Set up a Visual COBOL managed code application to run from network server

    Thanks.

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