Readme

This readme file provides late-breaking information and other information that supplements the online help for VisualAge PL/I, Refresh V2.1.8.

For more information about VisualAge PL/I Refresh V2.1.8, refer to the IBM PL/I Web site.

IBM PL/I Refresh V2.1.8 Enhancements/Fixes - January 2002

Refresh V2.1.8 combines the enhancements and changes in FixPak #7,FixPak #6, FixPak #5, FixPak #4, FixPak #3, FixPak #2 and CSD #1.

Installation information

Additional components

The following VisualAge PL/I components, which are not included with the product, will be available on an as-is basis from the PL/I Web site for downloading in the near future:

VisualAge PL/I Component Updates

This file provides information about changes made for Version 2.1.8 and Version 2.1.7 of VisualAge PL/I. It also describes changes to prerequisites, and known problems and limitations.

Changes in Version 2.1.8

VisualAge PL/I component Change
Foreign File System (FFS)
  • Migrated data sets will now appear in directory listings. They will have a file extension of <*migrat*>. For example: seq.a00.<*migrat*>
    Note: Only project actions apply to migrated data sets. For instance, you cannot edit, copy, or delete a migrated data set.
  • You can now specify up to 100 qualifiers for each drive letter. The previous limit was 25.
  • Support has been added for accessing data sets that reside in a Librarian subsystem. To use it, you must edit the FFS system definition file, Application Data\IBM\FFS\ffs_sys.xml. For each qualifier that requires a subsystem specification, add <subsys-name> and as many <subsys-parm> as required. For example: 
    <qualifier>
        <qualifier-name> MYID </qualifier-name>
        <qualifier-type> MVS </qualifier-type>
        <directory> MYID </directory>
        <transfer> text </transfer>
        <subsys-name> ZZZZ </subsys-name>
        <subsys-parm> p1 </subsys-parm>
        <subsys-parm> p2 </subsys-parm>
</qualifier>
    Changes that you make directly to the XML file might not be preserved if you later update the information through the MVS Connections Manager.

    Restrictions: Directory information will not be available for a Librarian (subsystem) data set. You cannot write to a Librarian data set. Thus, for example, you cannot include a Librarian data set in a project or look at its member list through Windows Explorer.

Project Window (Workframe)
  • Migrated data sets can be recalled from a Project window. Right-click on the data set, then select Recall.
    Alternatively, from a command prompt, use the command FFSRECALL. For example:
    FFSRECALL M:\HLQ.IBM.PLI
    Enter FFSRECALL with no arguments for more information.
  • File filtering is changed such that filters are applied to the file name only (not to the path), unless the filter contains a drive or directory specification.
Job Monitor
  • Host job return codes are shown correctly as either Sxxx (hex) or Unnnn (decimal).
  • User-defined filters are saved and restored when the Job Monitor window is closed and reopened.
  • Delete filter is now on the menu bar and Filter popup menu.
  • Window size, position, and properties are saved and restored when the Job Monitor window or TSO Command window is closed and reopened.
  • SYSOUT file size limit is saved and restored when the Job Monitor window is closed and reopened.
  • Filtering by job name now works correctly.
  • When both the Job Monitor window and the TSO Command window are open, closing either one does not close the other one.
  • Both the Job Monitor window and the TSO Command window restore the last-used host when they are reopened.

Changes in Version 2.1.7

VisualAge PL/I component Change
Foreign File System (FFS) FFS performance has been improved for systems with a large number of data sets and members.
IBM Distributed Debugger Using the "examine exception and resume" function, the debugger can continue program execution and debugging after detecting (and optionally allowing you to correct) severe or critical errors. For additional details, see DEBUG.HTM.
Job Monitor The reliability of the Job Monitor Server has been improved.

Changes to prerequisites

The following table summarizes the additional or changed requirements for the use of remote edit-compile-debug in Version 2.1.8.
Prerequisite product or component Requirement or change
OS/390 OS/390 Version 2 Release 5 is no longer supported. Version 2 Release 6 or higher is now required.
IBM Enterprise PL/I for z/OS and OS/390 Version 3 Release 1 The PTF for APAR PQ57002
IBM VisualAge PL/I for OS/390 Version 2 Release 2 The PTF for APAR PQ56983
Foreign File System server PTF IP22436 supersedes all previous FFS PTFs.

With Version 3.0.2 and before, FFS required that the environment variable FFSPATH be added to the .envvars file of the HTTP server. With Version 3.0.3 and later, this requirement is lifted.

Known problems and limitations

There are known problems and limitations for the following components: foreign file system (FFS), MVS connections manager, debugger, program editor, project environment, PL/I projects, SOM compiler, and Information Center.

Foreign file system (FFS)

Problem or limitation Solution (if applicable)
You may need more information if you encounter problems while trying to access MVS files. For additional information about a problem, view the ffsuser.log file in WINNT\Profiles\userid\Application Data\IBM\FFS, where userid is your Windows user ID.
During system startup, an error may occur when your system tries to restore a network connection to the FFS server. Click OK and connect to the FFS server after system startup has finished.

MVS connections manager

Problem or limitation Solution (if applicable)
When you connect your MVS drives using the MVS connections manager, you will not see an error message if your password is incorrect. Instead, the password prompt will be redisplayed. Type the correct password on the second prompt.
If you are using a version of Netscape earlier than 4.7 and you have opened the Information Center, and you attempt to open the Information Center again from the MVS connections manager, the following error may occur: Smart Browsing was unable to match your request. Click the X button at the far right of the title bar to close the second browser window, and use the first browser window instead. Or, you can download and install Netscape 4.7 to avoid the problem.

Distributed Debugger

Problem or limitation Solution (if applicable)
When you remotely debug an OS/390 PL/I program that contains graphic variables, an error may occur when you try to change the value of the variable in the Program Monitor. To change the value of a graphic variable for debugging, do the following:

1. Double-click the graphics variable in the Source pane. Right-click the variable and select Add to Program Monitor.

2. Double-click the value in the Monitors pane.

3. Remove the old value completely and then enter the new one.

4. Add a G in front of the first single quote (for example, G'X Y Z ') to indicate that this is a graphic value. Press Enter.
You may see some unexpected behavior if your program contains unprintable data. An unprintable character appears in the debugger as a box. Here are some examples of unexpected behavior: 

- If a statement in the program contains a literal string with unprintable characters, you may not be able to highlight variables in that statement.

- If you try to edit the value of a variable that contains unprintable data, the boxes are replaced by the tilde character. 

- You may not be able to see the end of a long string.

 None
The Distributed Debugger shipped with VisualAge PL/I does not support debugging AS/400 applications. None
When you install products (such as VisualAge PL/I) that install the Distributed Debugger on your workstation, and then you uninstall those products, the Distributed Debugger does not uninstall. Check your workstation registry to ensure no products that use the Distributed Debugger are installed. Next, change the RefCount number in your workstation registry to 1. Finally, uninstall the Distributed Debugger. 

To check your workstation registry to ensure that no parent products are installed, do these steps: 

  1. Click Start -> Run, type regedit, and click OK. The Registry Editor opens.
  2. Double-click the following folders:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
    SOFTWARE
    IBM
    IBM Distributed Debugger
    CurrentVersion
    install
    ParentProducts
  3. Check for parent products. If no parent product is installed, proceed to the next step. If a parent product is installed, do not uninstall the Distributed Debugger.
To decrement the RefCount in the workstation registry, do these steps:
  1. Double-click the install folder again.
  2. Right-click RefCount and select Modify.
  3. Change the number to 1 and click OK.
To uninstall the Distributed Debugger, do these steps: 
  1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel.
  2. Click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
  3. On the Install/Uninstall page, click IBM Distributed Debugger in the list of installed products, then click OK.
  4. Shut down and reboot your workstation.

Program editor

Problem or limitation Solution (if applicable)
You may need more information if you encounter problems while using the program editor (LPEX). For additional information about a problem, view the editor's macro log. To get to the macro log, click Windows -> Macro log.
If you use Notepad and Wordpad to edit an MVS file, the file is not locked during the edit session. Similarly, if you invoke the program editor (LPEX) from the start menu, or in any way other than selecting MVS Edit from a project, the file is not locked during the edit session. To lock (ISPF style) an MVS file during an edit session, right-click the file in the project window and then select MVS edit. 
If you installed VisualAge PL/I as a client connected to a network server, you may not be able to change key behavior in the program editor. To correct this problem, do these steps:

1. Right-click the My Computer icon and select Properties. 

2. Click the Environment tab.

3. In the User Variables section, add the variable PLILPATH4 and give it a value that includes the client's MACROS directory for VisualAge PL/I. For example, if the VisualAge PL/I client portion is installed in c:\Ibmpliw, then the value of the new PLILPATH4 variable would be C:\IBMPLIW\MACROS;%PLILPATH4%.

Or, if you have administrator authority on the client workstation, you can add the client's MACROS directory path in front of the existing value for the PLILPATH4 variable in the System Variables section.

4. Click Apply and then click OK.
If you installed VisualAge PL/I as a client connected to a network server, F1 help will not be available in the program editor. None

Project environment

Problem or limitation Solution (if applicable)
When you add a new tool using Actions -> Tools Setup in the IBM VisualAge PL/I Projects window, you cannot specify the ToolGroup to which the new tool belongs. Without a ToolGroup, the tool will not be available to the project. To specify a ToolGroup for a newly added tool (making the tool available to a project), look in the project's definition file for the ToolGroup that is associated with the project. Add that ToolGroup to the tool definition in the solution configuration file. For detailed instructions, follow these steps:

1. Click Start -> Programs -> IBM VisualAge PL/I -> IBM VisualAge PL/I Projects.

2. In the list of projects, find the project that you want to make the new tool available to. Write down the entire directory path, followed by the project name, followed by .iwp. For example, c:\winnt\profiles\longwell\application data\ibm\vapli\projects\test.iwp, where test is the project name and test.iwp is the name of the project definition file.

3. Click Start -> Programs -> IBM VisualAge PL/I -> Tools -> Program Editor. In the Editor window, open the definition file for the project, using the information that you wrote down in the previous step.

4. In the project definition file, find the +toolGroup= key and its value (for example, +toolGroup=mvs). This value is the name of the ToolGroup to which the new tool must belong if it is to be available to the project.

5. In the Editor window, open the solution configuration file VAPLIV3.IWS, which is typically in the c:\WINNT\Profiles\username\Application Data\IBM\VAPLI\MainPrj folder.

6. Make a copy of VAPLIV3.IWS to safeguard against errors.

7. In VAPLIV3.IWS, find the definition of the tool that you added (the +title= key will match the name you gave the tool).

8. Add a line in the body of the tool definition, and enter the +toolGroup=  key and the value that you found in step 4 above (for example, +toolGroup=mvs). Save and close the file. If a +toolGroup statement already exists but the value does not match the value you found in step 4 above, you can add your value after the existing value, separating the values with a blank (for example, +toolGroup=ws mvs).

9. Close the IBM VisualAge PL/I Projects window, if it is still open.

PL/I projects

Problem or limitation Solution (if applicable)
When you click Start -> Programs -> IBM VisualAge PL/I -> IBM VisualAge PL/I Projects, your monitor screen may appear to flicker or lose its vertical synchronization. Change either the color palette or refresh frequency settings for your monitor. To change these settings, do these steps:

1. Right-click your desktop. Click Properties.

2. Click the Settings tab. 

3. Decrease the number of colors or the refresh frequency. Click OK.
The PLI_Projects folder is not automatically created on your desktop when you create a project, contrary to several places in the online help that describe the creation of a PLI_Projects folder on the desktop as the default behavior. If you prefer, you can access your PL/I projects from your desktop rather than from the Start menu. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Click Start -> IBM VisualAge PL/I -> IBM VisualAge PL/I Projects.

2. Click the Create New Project tab.

3. Enter the information requested until you are prompted to specify the location and name of the folder that will hold your project definition files.

4. Click the Browse button to the right of the input field.

5. Click c:\WINNT\Profiles\<user name>\Desktop.

6. Click the Create a new folder icon in the upper right corner of the Browse for a Project Definition File Folder window.

7. Enter PLI_Projects as the name of the new folder and press Enter. Click OK to close the window. Click Yes if prompted to create the folder. Click OK when prompted to accept the new default path.

8. Click Finish. The PLI_Projects folder is created on your desktop.

Job Monitor

Problem or limitation Solution (if applicable)
If you close the JobMonitor without having moved the split-bar, you may find that the next time JobMonitor is opened, the split-bar has moved to the far left. None