Technical Notes

1. Create a library called VERASTREAM.

To prevent permission problems, you must also change the ownership of the installed files and directories to the new user and verify that your applications and data files are accessible to the new user.

When you uninstall Verastream, only the originally installed files are removed. None of the files created or modified when Verastream runs, such as snregtab.dat, vscsx.cfg, or log files, are removed.

If you subsequently install the new version of Verastream in the same location, any files still present in the Verastream directory may cause errors or unexpected results. Remove these files to prevent these errors.

On Itanium, the native float or double format is IEEE; on Alpha, the native float or double format is F_FLOAT/G_FLOAT. By default, the RMS COBOL, RMS, and Datatrieve adapters use the native format. However, when VIB tries to access a table from a platform other than the one on which it was created, an option is necessary to indicate the difference. The table and database object option DOUBLE_FORMAT=[IEEE_T_FLOATING|G_FLOATING] can be specified for this purpose.

Example:

There is a new RMS and RMS COBOL option: UPD_UNLOCK=[yes|no], default yes. By default, UPD unlocks the current record, even if it was not originally set by UPD. A lock set by function LOCK would also be removed. Now, when UPD_UNLOCK=no is specified, the lock can only be removed if it was set by UPD.

There is a new option called AUTO_ORDER (AUTO_ORDER=[yes|no], default no). This option is only valid for SQL-oriented databases. When AUTO_ORDER is set to yes, an ORDER is forced on each SQL statement, created as a result of FIRST, and so on, when no explicit ORDER is set. This option replaces variable MSQLNOAUTOORDER. See also the information about AUTO_ORDER in the description of TRUNCATE, below.

This function deletes all records from the current one until the end of the file. When available, an RDBMS specific function is used to accomplish this. For example, 'DELETE FROM <table> [WHERE <clause>]' for SQL based databases or sys$truncate() for RMS tables on OpenVMS. Without specific RDBMS functionality, NEXT/DEL is executed internally.

Sequential files do not support the deletion of an individual record (VSL function DEL). It is possible, however, to delete all records from the current record until the end of the file. The function TRUNCATE was created for that purpose.

For SQL-oriented databases only: when an ORDER is available (either set explicitly or by setting AUTO_ORDER to 'yes'), the SQL statement for TRUNCATE will use a WHERE clause that is able to delete records from the current one through the end of the table.

When option AUTO_ORDER is set to no and there is no specific ORDER set, TRUNCATE executes 'DELETE FROM <table>'. This deletes all records in the table. If no exact WHERE clause is possible to select the records from the current one until the end of the table, records will be deleted one by one. The function TRUNCATE cannot be executed in combination with an active SELECT. In that case the function will fail with an EMPARAM error message.

There is a new option called dbsetlogintime(). The option dbsettime() is intended for setting the timeout for SQL statements. A failing connection has a default timeout of 60 seconds, but with new option dbsetlogintime(n) it is now possible to alter the login response timeout value to 'n' seconds.

Example:

By default, the RMS and RMS COBOL adapter creates indexed sequential files. Now, there is a new RMS and COBOL database and table option called ORGANIZATION (ORGANIZATION=[INDEXED|SEQUENTIAL|RELATIVE], with INDEXED as default), which allows users to create another type of RMS file.

When you use the option ORGANIZATION, you must set it before the table is created, because the option will have no effect on a pre-existing table (the table already has a type and that type is detected automatically by the adapter).

The option VARIABLE_LENGTH (VARIABLE_LENGTH=[yes|no], default no) is valid for indexed, sequential, and variable files. In this case, too, the option must be set before the table is created.

In sequential file organization, records are arranged one after the other, in the order in which they are stored. New records created with the VSL function ADD are added to the current end of the file.

A relative file consists of a series of fixed-length record positions (or cells) numbered consecutively from 1 to n. This enables RMS to calculate the record's physical position on the disk. The number, referred to as the relative record number, indicates the record cell's position relative to the beginning of the file.

The adapter can access all types of RMS file organizations and also supports all possible access modes. The tables that follow describe the possibilities.

*Permitted with fixed-length record format only.

Most of the access modes are invisible and are automatically used as a result of VSL functions such as FIRST, SELECT, etc.

Random access by relative record number is possible using the new RRN option and the VSL function POSITION. Random access by record file address is possible using the new RFA option and the VSL function POSITION. Both for RRN and RFA refer to the detailed description in this release note.

Sequential files do not support the deletion of an individual record (VSL function DEL). It is possible, however, to delete all records from the current record until the end of the file. Function TRUNCATE is created for that purpose. Refer to its descrption in these Release Notes.

There is a new table and database option called RRN (RRN=[yes|no], default no). When this option is set, the first column must be an integer. It will receive the RRN for relative files and sequential files with fixed length records. POSITION with RRN is possible.

Example:

When this option is set, one column must be added as the first column in the table (not as part of KEY).

Notes:

There is a new table and database option called RFA (RFA=[yes|no], default no). When set, the first three columns must be of type integer and will receive the RFA. If RRN is also enabled, the RFA columns are 2, 3, and 4.

The RFA is a three byte short integer, unique per record. By enabling it, the RFA is read into three integer fields, that can be used with POSITION to go to a certain record and continue from there.

Example:

When this option is set 3 columns MUST be added as the first columns in the table (not part of KEY).

Note: The RFA field cannot be used for anything else. No criterion is allowed on the RFA column (so no FIND). No ORDER is allowed that includes the RFA column.

A database object name can now have the value of a table type. For example, you can now specify the following:

Logging has been improved in situations where a Verastream Integration Broker table definition does not match the layout of the physical table.

See Transactions and Locking in Verastream Integration Broker, Version 9.8.

In Verastream Integration Broker version 9.7, an ADD on an empty RMS COBOL table resulted in an EMFAILED error. An EMFAILED error also occurred when a SELECT was set on an 'empty' table. This error was a result of the RMS error "%RMS-F-RSZ, invalid record size". This problem has been fixed. The workaround communicated earlier by Technical Support (using "OPTIONS compdata_rec 'VARIABLE_LENGTH=yes'") can be disregarded.

SQL Server tables with spaces in the name can now be imported. Such table names are now quoted by using '[' and ']' around the name. For example: SELECT * FROM dbs.[Order Details].

When TIMESTAMP values with microsecond portions other than '000000' (the default) are read into a datetime field, the resulting error occurs: "[EMCONV] Field conversion failed." Now, these types of TIMESTAMP values can be read into a string field instead. Doing so allows the microsecond portion to be correctly retrieved. This new feature has been added for DB2 and AS4 table types (AS/400 only).

In earlier versions of Verastream, when a table definition contained property 'FILE=owner.tablename', or when a database object contained property OWNER, column names larger than 30 positions were truncated. This problem has been fixed.

In previous versions of Verastream, replication recovery caused CSX to reset pre-starts. This problem has been fixed.

Pre-starting all configured servers simultaneously creates large loads. To remedy this, one server process per switch, per machine is started at a time. When the server process is available and idle, the next one is pre-started. This applies to pre-starting only. The algorithm for starting extra servers has also been improved.

Occasionally, replication recovery caused CSX to restart servers. This issue has been resolved.

The Verastream daemon now restarts if it detects that an IP address has changed, even if UDP replication is disabled.

In previous versions, the VIB web services solution serialized all requests because the Java VCP library was not thread-safe. This restriction has been lifted.

Note: You must now use a CSX switch if you want to route the concurrent calls to multiple servers.

A race condition on fast machines previously caused CSX to malfunction. This issue has been resolved.

A CSX switch previously contained a problem that would occur if a client disconnected in the middle of a method call. The effect was that the server that was executing the call for the client would become unavailable for further method calls.

In previous versions, CSX sometimes went into an infinite loop after network disconnects. This problem has been fixed.

On OpenVMS platforms, the VCP registration table 'snregtab.dat' no longer contains the full path, extension, and version number of the executable. It now contains the actual command that is executed to start the server.

To make it easier to define CSX pools for all of your components, a different view mode is available in the CSX Configuration tool. The view mode shows all VCP components in the tree view.

It is now possible to disable all servers for a certain CSX pool on a certain host, so that server application files can be maintained. When a server is disabled, the setting for the minimum number of servers is disregarded and no servers are pre-started. Any running servers are immediately shut down, disregarding the server idle timeout. If all possible servers for a certain pool are disabled, no calls can be made, and client calls will eventually time out.

The following informational and error conditions that may occur in the daemon or CSX switch are now reported to the Windows Event Log:

To avoid losing logged message events, consider changing the log size or overwrite options in the Windows Event Viewer log properties.

Messages such as "The service was started" are readable in the Windows Event Log Viewer as long as the daemon is installed on the system. After an uninstall, the above message would read similar to the following: "The description for Event ID ( 104 ) in Source ( sntcpd ) cannot be found."

In previous versions of Verastream, there was a problem involving non-standby secondary CSX switches whereby servers sometimes failed to close when the configured server idle time was reached. This problem has been fixed. The primary CSX switch now calls the STOP method and forces the server to close.

The CSX configuration tool has a new option that allows you to change defaults for the switch idle timeout, the client call timeout, the server idle timeout, and the statistics sample timeout values.

It is now possible to define the log file and settings (MYDBG) for an individual CSX switch. You can enter the MYDBG parameter in the CSX configuration tool. If you do not specify a MYDBG value for an individual switch, the MYDBG value in the sn.ini is used.

The documentation for the XML DOM method hasElement on component ExtDocument states that the function fails if the path doesn't exist. In actuality, if the path didn't exist, an exception was thrown. Now, the hasElement method behaves as it is described in the documentation. Note that this change could affect your existing code.

Exceptions thrown by XML DOM components did not always contain an exception string. This has been fixed.

In previous versions of Verastream, if you inserted data into an XML document but used an incorrect root element, you would receive a ClassCastException. Now a 'normal' error message is generated.

The VIB method getServerName() on component ModelVars is now generated by the Repository. The VIB method directly calls the Verastream Host Integrator method with the same name. The description of the latter is "Method used to get the name of the Host Integrator Server for the current session."

In previous versions, a VHI table procedure that had no output parameter was not shown correctly in the Repository. This problem has been fixed.

The Verastream Host Integrator adapter that's provided with Verastream Integration Broker now behaves as follows: First, when necessary, the current entity is set using SetCurrentEntity(). After that, when necessary, the current record set is set using the AppConn method SetCurrentRecordSetByName().

In previous versions of Verastream, the VHI component argument MaxRecords (internal buffer name '!Max#Records!') could not contain a NULL value. If MaxRecords contained a NULL value, the following error message was displayed: "Type of field '!Max#Records!' should be 'integer'". Now, a NULL value in MaxRecords is ignored.

Performing a CLOSE on SIEBEL will now also close all SIEBELBS objects. This behavior was implemented because the SIEBEL and SIEBELBS components share the connection to the Siebel system.

In previous versions of Verastream, CLOSE functions did not always work correctly. Some examples of these functions are CLOSE VHI, CLOSE SIEBEL, CLOSE VCP. These functions now work correctly.

When you attempt to view a table in the Repository that doesn't exist, you will receive the following message: "Table does not exist."

The RMS-COBOL Copybook Redefines Wizard now includes a list box from which you can select a copybook.

A new icon now displays the difference between an RMS table and a REDEFINE pseudo table. This new icon appears in the Repository and in the RMS-COBOL Redefine Wizard.

The VBC Wizard has a new check box: strip leading and trailing spaces. This box is only enabled when the Omit string length check box is selected. For strings that have a size, stripping is always done; this cannot be changed.

It is now possible to specify the date, time, and mtime in NVNOCONFIRM. The specification is similar to that of MYDBG. For example, with file name result.txt:

NVNOCONFIRM=result.txt!date!mtime

The resulting output looks similar to the following: 2005/05/13 15:45:44.407 - a message. Operating system-dependent separators other than '!' can be used as well.

You can also use %p, %a, etc., in the file name that is specified in NVNOCONFIRM (as you can with MYDBG). This may be useful if, for example, you want to find out which process created which NVNOCONFIRM file.

When 'Tools/Options/Application Defaults' is chosen in Process Integrator, the values on that tab are compared against those of the current application (re-use of data objects, the roll-back mechanism, and NULL fields). If there is a difference between the two sets of values, you will have the opportunity to apply the new defaults to the current application after you click OK or Apply.

In previous versions, spaces within quotes were seen as options separators. This problem has been fixed.

In earlier versions of Verastream, dataserver tables and databases would not close correctly if a network connection was lost. This problem has been corrected.

Note: To recover from a dataserver network error in your program, you must close all database objects that are using the service, and call DISPATCH/BASE.

Verastream now distinguishes between successful and unsuccessful host name lookups and can assign them different time-to-live values in the cache. The existing parameter VSHOSTCACHETIME determines the time-to-live of successful lookups. A new parameter, VSHOSTNEGCACHETIME, determines the time-to-live of unsuccessful lookups. If neither parameter is set, the time-to-live value in the cache is indefinite. Neither parameter is pre-set in a standard installation. To set them, edit the Verastream sn.ini file (where each parameter is commented out by default).

In previous versions, an empty string set by a client could silently become a NULL on the server side. This has been fixed.

A new expression function called isnumeric is now available. It can be used to test whether a string can be converted to a numeric value.