Tutorials: Open PL/I

Includes tutorials that teach you the basics of how to use the Eclipse IDE to create and debug your first "Hello PL/I World" application, and to develop, run, and debug the OPDEMO sample application.

Assumptions

These tutorials are written from the perspective that all of the following is true. If you require specific instructions for any of these items, see the Before you begin a tutorial section that follows:

  • You have installed the latest version of Enterprise Developer for Eclipse on your local machine using default installation settings.
  • The COBOL environment is set up using the cobsetenv command.
    Note: You must do this step before activating ESCWA.
  • The Micro Focus Directory Server service is started on your local machine.
  • The Enterprise Server Common Web Administration (ESCWA) feature is activated on your local machine before starting Enterprise Developer.
  • Enterprise Developer is started on your local machine, and the PL/I perspective and Application Explorer view are open..
  • Eclipse options are set to build projects automatically.
  • You have addressed all of the items in the Before you begin a tutorial section below.

Before you begin a tutorial

Enterprise Server Security
In this release, the Enterprise Server security features are enabled by default. Tutorials that use enterprise server regions, however, assume that Enterprise Server security is not configured. To work though this tutorial unchanged, you need to disable any configured Enterprise Server security. See To Disable the Default Enterprise Server Security Configuration for details.
Important: Micro Focus does not recommend disabling the security permanently. Re-enable it as soon as possible after completing tutorials. See To Recreate the Default Enterprise Server Security Configuration. For more information, see also After Installing > Enterprise Server Security Considerations.
Set up the COBOL environment
The cobsetenv command sets up your COBOL environment in Eclipse, and sets the $COBDIR environment variable to point to your Enterprise Developer installation directory.
  1. At a terminal command prompt, log in as a root user.
  2. Execute the following command:
    . /opt/microfocus/EnterpriseDeveloper/bin/cobsetenv
Start the Micro Focus Directory Server service
  1. At a terminal command prompt, log in as a root user.
  2. Change to the following directory:
    $COBDIR/bin
  3. Execute the mfds command:
    mfds
Start Enterprise Developer
Start Enterprise Developer using the default workspace, which is $home/workspace. If you need instructions to get Enterprise Developer started on your local machine, see To start Enterprise Developer.
Note: If Visual Studio prompts you on startup to select an initial action, click Continue without code.
Open the PL/I Perspective and Application Explorer View in Eclipse
  1. From the Eclipse IDE, click Open Perspective Open Perspective.
  2. On the Open Perspective dialog box, select PL/I, and then click Open.

    This starts the PL/I perspective and the Application Explorer view.

In addition, the Enterprise Development Projects system should be loaded in the Application Explorer view. To confirm this:

  • In the Application Explorer view, you should see the Enterprise Developer system. If the system is not shown, to load it:
    1. Right-click in the Application Explorer view, and then click Add System(s).
    2. In the Add System(s) dialog box, select ED System and click OK.
    3. Expand the top-level Enterprise Developer entry in the Application Explorer view.
    4. Right-click Enterprise Development Projects; then click Load Application.
  • Otherwise, expand the Enterprise Developer system. An entry titled Enterprise Development Projects should appear indicating that the system is loaded.
Set Eclipse to build automatically
By default, the Eclipse Build Automatically option is turned on, which means that Eclipse builds a project automatically each time a change is made. To ensure that this Build Automatically is turned on:
  1. From the Eclipse Main Menu, click Project.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • If the Build Automatically menu option has a check mark to its left, it is already turned on. No further action is required.
    • If the Build Automatically menu option does not have a check mark to its left, click the option to turn it on.
Connect to the default ESCWA server
Ensure that Server Explorer contains a connection to the default ESCWA server shipped with the product. (Existing workspaces may already have this connection.)
  1. In the Server Explorer view, click Create a new connection to an existing Enterprise Server Common Web Administration instance (Create a new connection...), or right-click and select New > Enterprise Server Common Web Administration Connection.

    The New Enterprise Server Common Web Administration Connection dialog box is displayed.

  2. In the Name field, type Local.
  3. In the Server address field, type localhost.
  4. In the Server port field, leave the default as 10086.
  5. If the server connection is TLS-enabled, select TLS Enabled, and then click Browse and select the appropriate certificate.
    Note: If TLS Enabled is selected, but you do not specify a certificate, the default Java keystore is searched for a valid one.
  6. Click Finish.

    A connection attempt is made, and if successful, the new ESCWA connection is displayed at the top level, in the Server Explorer.

Sequence

You may do these Open PL/I tutorials in any order. They are not interdependent.