New Features in Enterprise Developer 2.3 Update 2

Integration with the Eclipse IDE

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Enhancements are available in the following areas:

• The following settings have been added to the BMS page in the project's and file properties - Redefine Input, SDF Map Size, and Hyphenate Field Suffix.
• Using the search facility, Search > Micro Focus, you can now limit the search to the copybooks used by the current program rather than all copybooks in the project or the entire workspace.
• The editor provides a new context menu command, Extract COBOL code to copybook, that enables you to move a selected segment of the code to a new copybook file in your project. The segment of code moved to a copybook is replaced with a COPY statement in the original program.
• Support for Eclipse 4.5 - after installing Enterprise Developer, you can add it as a plugin into a separate instance of Eclipse 4.5. See your product's Installation notes.

Application Workflow Manager (AWM)

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This release provides enhancements in the following areas:

AWM model editor:

• It is now possible to use drag and drop not only for objects of the same type but in all cases where this is relevant. For example, it is now possible to drag tool descriptors onto an action descriptor which will create an "Action Descriptor has Tool" relationship. Dragging a File_Descriptor_has_Property relationship onto an element list structure will create an Element_List_Structure_has_Column relationship.
• It is now possible to group any major modelling objects such as action descriptors, properties and tool descriptors in the AWM model editor.

AWM modelling:

• The Eclipse function package includes a new tool, "Build Project", and the MVS function package includes a new tool, "Refresh DataSet".
• "Edit MVS File" now provides a parameter to the editor ID.
• The AWM meta model has the following enhancements:
  • New model objects for configuring the decoration of labels displayed in the Team Developer Tree view.
  • Visible conditions for enabled conditions. You can use the visible conditions to specify whether an action should be shown on an element's context menu.
  • A new application-specific attribute, INITIAL_PARSE, enables you to specify whether the background parse process of the editor should start when a file is opened in the editor.
  • The Eclipse function package includes a new category of linked properties that support the Eclipse team properties.
  • The Eclipse linked element types now support the "Run As", "Debug As" and "Profile As" context menu actions.

AWM z/OS extensions:

• The Micro Focus z/Server connection now provides an Owner filter.
• The Micro Focus z/Server connections support case sensitive input of passwords.
• The RDz function package provides a new tool which opens MVS resources depending on the RSED connection defined in the Micro Focus z/Server connection. This now enables you to download copybooks in RDz environments using the Micro Focus z/Server connection.

Micro Focus model extensions:

Support is available in the Micro Focus model extensions (the Enterprise Development Projects model and the SCM models for Endevor, ChangeMan, SCLM and SVN) for:

• The Eclipse team linked properties
• Grouping modelling objects in the editor
• Visible conditions
• The "Run As", "Debug As" and "Profile As" commands

CICS Web services (Early Adopter Program)

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This release provides an initial support for CICS Web services (CWS) using an SOAP-based provider and requester modes and using HTTP or MQ as the transport mechanism. CICS Web services support the Coded Character Set Identifier (CCSID) and configuring the CCSID is a prerequisite for CWS in all environments.

COBOL language enhancements

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Numeric, edited and external floating point items can now specify USAGE NATIONAL when the NATIONAL"2" Compiler directive is in effect. Signed numeric items must be specified with the SIGN IS SEPARATE clause.

Classic Data File Tools

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A new command line utility is available which enables you to initiate the following actions: open data files, create or open record layout files, create or open segment layout files, and open IMS databases using a DBD or PSB file. Note that although you can initiate these actions from the command line, you must complete them from within the IDE.

Compiler directives

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The following Compiler directives are new in this release:

• COMMAND-LINE-LINKAGE - enables you to call a program and pass the command line to the main program as a parameter to be accessed via the Linkage Section. This offers equivalent functionality to the command_line_linkage tunable, which has now been deprecated.
• EBC-COL-SEQ - controls the behavior of an EBCDIC collating sequence, specified in a NATIVE"EBCDIC" program. EBC-COL-SEQ"1" (the default) maintains use of the long-standing fixed (platform-independent) EBCDIC collating sequence. EBC-COL-SEQ"2" prompts use of the latest CODESET table, which varies according to platform and user-controlled MFCODESET environment variable setting.
• NATIONAL - enables you to specify numeric, edited and external floating point items as USAGE NATIONAL.

Database access - DSNREXX

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DSNREXX support is available for use with Enterprise Server using DB2 LUW and SQL Server. See DSNREXX Support for more information.

Editor writing assistance

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File handling

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MFJSORT ICETOOL now supports the USING parameter in the SELECT operator.

IMS support

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This release supports the PROMPT keyword in MFS source files.

Interface Mapping Toolkit

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This release supports JSON schemas for the generation of REST Web service clients in the Eclipse IDE.

Library routines

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The following library routine contains new functionality:

• CBL_GET_PROGRAM_INFO - a new function (function 10) has been added for native COBOL which returns the path and program name, or the program name only of a particular program.

PL/I support

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This release provides the following enhancements:

• New built-in functions - support has been added for the ONCONDID() and SAMEKEY() built-in functions.
• Support for strings declared with the VARYINGZ attribute - the Open PL/I compiler and run-time system now support the use of VARYINGZ strings as variables, parameters, and targets for built-in functions. This provides an improved compatibility with IBM's mainframe compiler, and the ability to more easily interact with other languages such as ANSI C.
• Improved PL/I macro preprocessor compatibility - the Open PL/I compiler now supports all macro preprocessor built-in functions used by IBM's PL/I Macro Preprocessor.
• Improved compatibility with IBM's Structure Alignment rules - the -zalign option of the Open PL/I compiler now maps structure elements of the BIT data type that do not consume a full byte to the same boundaries as IBM's PL/I compiler. This helps make the migration of mainframe data files to a distributed platform easier and improves the program execution compatibility.
• Improved floating point support - the Open PL/I Code Generator now utilizes the newer Intel floating point operands for improved speed. In addition, the Code Generator now provides improved compatibility with passing parameters between C and COBOL.

• PL/I editor improvements:
  • A new context menu command in the editor, Extract PL/I code to an include file, which enables you to move a selection of code in the editor into a new include file. The extracted code is replaced with an %INCLUDE statement which references the include file.

Tutorials

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The product help includes the following new tutorials:

• Tutorial: SQL - Deploying an Enterprise JavaBean Containing JVM COBOL to a JBoss Application Server - that walks you through the process of deploying an EJB that contains JVM COBOL code.

• Tutorial: DSNREXX, that walks you through the process of executing DB2 LUW queries using DSNREXX.