Back when TCA SOAP support was implemented, the most common SOAP format was the rpc/encoded.  At that time, Java implementations were the most common client for SOAP.

As time has moved on, the .NET framework has dominated the Web Services landscape.  By default, .NET uses the document/literal style (although it happily interoperates with rpc/encoded)

Now the latest Java libraries have dropped support for rpc/encoded (Apache Axis2 – see http://ws.apache.org/axis2/1_1_1/Axis2-rpc-support.html).  Attempting to use Axis2 to read the TCA WSDL will fail with an exception stating : “Encoded use is not supported”.  Obviously this will cause problems with any software built on Axis2, such as Crystal Reports.

To address this, TCA has been modified to support the wrapped document/literal format (described here: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/webservices/library/ws-whichwsdl/).  The modifications come as an updated .mac file for the Transoft Development Suite and as a modified Component Broker.

The changes will be part of the next release, but in the meantime if you find yourself needing to interoperate with a SOAP framework that doesn’t support rpc/encoded, contact customer services and we can supply an update

Transoft Graphical Adapter (TGA) provides an emulation of the HPe3000 VPLUS functionality on Windows and UNIX. It enables migration of applications that use VPLUS for the user interface with no code changes.

TGA also extends the VPLUS functionality so that the user interface may be browser based via an ASP.NET or JSP thin client application or windows forms based, via a VB.NET thin client application.

Previously the number of fields on a TGA screen was limited to 255; this limit has now been increased to over 32000.

A large number of updates are available on the FlexGen FTP site:

Configure multiple construct and compile to compile programs in a date range : Scripts are available for download.

Integrate DBPronto with FlexGen. DBPronto allows the FlexGen user to replace existing COBOL data files with an RDBMS without any manual dictionary changes. The DBPronto XML Builder menu option enables automatic creation of the DBPronto XML metadata.

BIGEXTDIALOG windows – grouped items. The functionality introduced in FlexGen 7.00 to allow for windows containing very large numbers of items, has been extended  to support grouped items.

Screen performance. When moving the cursor on transaction forms that make use of dynamic fields the screen performance could be a problem in recent versions of FlexGen, this has been greatly improved.

ActiveX Controls. In programs making very heavy use of ActiveX controls, a small resource leak could eventually cause a GPF. This has been fixed.

Terminal Login Conflicts. Terminal Login Conflict problems can have different underlying causes. This fix addresses one of the possible causes.

Increase the number of fields in Alternate Keys. FlexGen now allows up to 18 fields in each alternate key.

Allow more than 100 files in a form.

TCA components. Fix ActiveX error during compilation.

FlexGen Editor. Fix problem with moving lines in character mode.

SORT on sequential files. Correct problem causing no records to be returned.

Allow program with more than 40 lookups.

Correct Display Environment menu option for RM/COBOL.

ActiveX components. Allow use of parameters passed by reference with ActiveX components.

If you would like any more information about these changes, please contact Transoft Customer Services.

U/SQL already provides ODBC and JDBC access to legacy data.

Now we have produced an ADO.NET data provider for U/SQL data sources.

Any .NET application, including SQL Server, 32 bit or 64 bit, can now use the U/SQL ADO.NET data provider to access legacy data.

Please contact Transoft Customer Services to obtain product download details.

A new facility is now available which may be useful for people who already have some data in an RDBMS and would like to access the data via DBPronto from a legacy application.

The DBPronto Schema Converter converts an SQL schema into a COBOL data format which can be used by COBOL programs to access the database, and also into an XML format which can be accepted by the DBPronto Server to control access the RDBMS.

The converter accepts a list of SQL table names; for each table it uses JDBC metadata commands to read the table metadata, which is then processed to produce SELECT and FD statements for use by a COBOL program, and also an XML file for use by the DBPronto Server.

The schema converter will attempt to produce output which will be acceptable to both a COBOL compiler and also the DBPronto server. However, this is not a process that can be guaranteed to succeed; for example, an SQL field name might clash with a reserved word for a particular compiler, or a field size might not be acceptable. The schema converter provides some options that can help in this case, but it is still possible that manual editing of the output files will be needed.

Click here to download the DBPronto Schema Converter.

DBPronto 2.0 is now available for download from the Transoft FTP site. This release is available on the following platforms:

• Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008, Windows XP, VISTA, 7
• Linux PowerPC or Intel, 32 or 64 bit
• HP-UX PA-RISC
• Solaris SPARC and Intel

The major features of this release are the addition of support for U/FOS DBAM (Data General INFOS) file access as well as support for C-ISAM/D-ISAM file access.

Applications that previously accessed U/FOS or C-ISAM data can now access the data migrated to RDBMS tables with no changes to existing source code.

The new features in DBPronto 2.0 include:

Support for DB2. The databases that can be accessed by the DBPronto Server are SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Sybase, and now, DB2.

Support for C-ISAM/D-ISAM file access. Applications that access C-ISAM/D-ISAM data can now access RDBMS data with no code changes, it is not even necessary to re-compile.

Support for U/FOS DBAM file access. U/FOS, originating from Data General INFOS,  is a complex hierarchical database management system. Applications that use U/FOS can now access RDBMS tables instead without making any changes to the application code. DBPronto fully implements the functionality provided by the U/FOS file access commands.

DBWHERE performance feature. DBPronto has been enhanced to enable application programs to specify a partial WHERE expression that will be included in the query executed for a subsequent READ NEXT/READ PREVIOUS operation.

Flexible filenames. The VARFN feature has been extended so that filenames can be specified using any regular expression.

CBL_CHECK_FILE_EXIST. The DBPronto EXTFH client library has been enhanced to provide support for the CBL_CHECK_FILE_EXIST runtime routine.

DBP_GET_USER_INFO. The DBPronto client API library has been extended to provide this new command that returns information related to the session ID, this can be used to identify the owners of locked rows for example.

CHANNEL_LOCKING_MODE. This is a new DBPronto Server configuration option that enables definition of the way in which locking works when a file is accessed by the same client on multiple channels.

For more information, please download the DBPronto 2.0 Release Notice

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following link to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;256986

It is possible to disable UGi menu items by placing some items in the Windows Registry.

This example disables the “Preferences” menu:

1. Create the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Transoft \ UGi \ Connections \ Default \ Menus
2. Add a String value called “Preferences“
3. Set the value to “0” (zero, without quotes)

As you may well be aware, Microsoft have done some big changes in Vista.  One of these is called “Registry Virtualization”.  What this does is block any application not running as Administrator from using the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE part of the registry.  This is where global entries to the system are kept and also where U/BL stores it’s environment.  But instead of just blocking access to it, it pretends to the application that it can write there, but in reality, it is writing somewhere else.   This can pose a problem for UBL Server in Control Panel.  It may look to you like the environment is completely correct, but UBL keeps coming up in demonstration mode and you can not stop the server.  What is happening is that the environment you are looking at is being stored in a location hidden away that will never be picked up by UBL.    The solution for this is to run UBL Server as Administrator.

When you first install UBL on Vista and bring up the UBL Server from control panel, it may ask you afterwards if the application worked correctly.  You should answer “no” at this point and allow it to be installed as a “legacy control panel application”.  If you did say “yes”, then you can still get it to work but you must run it as Administrator.  To do this, right-click on the icon and “Run as Administrator”.  If you do not get this option, keep the SHIFT key pressed and try right-clicking again.

You must also use U/Gi 5.10 or above with Vista for it to function correctly.

After Installation of .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (or .Net framework 2.0 SP2) , SSIS packages using ODBC 3rd party drivers may fail.

This problem affects the U/SQL client but is has been corrected and an update is available.

The problem started with .Net Framework 2.0 SP2 after a change was made in the way OdbcDataReader checks for Nulls in Sequential Access mode, calling SQLGetData with a BufferLength argument of 0 for variable width data types.  Certain ODBC drivers are not compatible with this pattern. For more information on this function and its arguments, see: SQLGetData Function http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms715441.aspx

Transoft, the modernization experts, today announced it has certified its Transoft U/SQL Adapters for use with Veryant’s isCOBOL Application Platform Suite (APS). This qualification enables U/SQL users to deploy the same functionality when they move COBOL programs to isCOBOL APS, and provides enhanced capabilities for current isCOBOL platform users.

With over 60,000 users, Transoft U/SQL Adapters are widely used tools that provide relational database ODBC and JDBC access to non-relational data. The Adapters allow COBOL programs and Windows products to seamlessly access ISAM files as if they are a relational database. With Transoft U/SQL Adapters direct links from legacy data sources can be created into spreadsheets, word processing documents, report writers, business intelligence tools, and decision support products.

“Organizations with COBOL assets clearly benefit from choice in the market for application development and modernization”, explained Paul Bradbrook, managing director, Transoft. “By offering enterprises the benefits of both Veryant’s isCOBOL and Transoft U/SQL Adapters, we can help them strengthen their IT offerings and improve access to important legacy information, at very cost-effective levels.”

With an estimated 200 billion lines of COBOL in use today, modern COBOL alternatives like Veryant’s isCOBOL APS have become extremely popular. Veryant’s isCOBOL technology protects and extends valuable enterprise application assets by blending the optimized, business-oriented nature of COBOL with the openness, portability and power of the Java platform – without requiring businesses to retrain staff or rewrite code.

“By adding the value that Transoft U/SQL Adapters offer, Veryant is able to further help its customers gain even more advantage from their move to isCOBOL,” noted Alfredo Iglesias, vice president, Veryant. “With quick and reliable access to corporate data, Veryant customers can make better decisions.”