Summary of Differences

The majority of the applications created with Net Express, Mainframe Express or Server Express will continue to work in Enterprise Developer without any changes. However, there are some differences between these development systems you should consider when you upgrade to Enterprise Developer.

Compiling and Building Differences

There are several aspects of compiling and building applications that behave differently in Enterprise Developer. You might need to change the project properties and update some of the Compiler directives and settings that you previously used.

Output File Formats: Each project compiles into a single file (.dll, .so or .exe), or to multiple files of the same file type with one output file for each source file (.dll, .so, .exe, .int, or .gnt). As well as an .lbr file, which contains a collection of .int and .gnt files on Windows, you now can use a .dll as the container for application components.
Compiler directives: When you upgrade your source code to Enterprise Developer some Compiler directives that were specifically designed for 16-bit systems now produce an error on compilation because they are no longer relevant. You should remove them from your code and directives files before you compile.
Linking: The static run-time system and the single-threaded run-time system on Windows are no longer required and they are not shipped with Enterprise Developer. Applications built with Enterprise Developer are now linked to the shared or dynamic run-time systems. On UNIX, you can link to the single-threaded or multi-threaded shared or dynamic run-time system.
Called Programs and Dependencies: At run time, called programs are found in the same way as before. However, there are some new ways to set COBPATH and copy files into a common folder.
File Handler: The File Handler .obj files are not available in Enterprise Developer. Enterprise Developer uses the File handler packaged in the mffh.dll file instead.
Makefile Conversion: You cannot use existing makefiles from inside Enterprise Developer for Eclipse without changing some Eclipse defaults and adopting a modified build process. Where makefiles invoke commands supported by Enterprise Developer they will continue to work as before. Please contact Micro Focus for more information on using existing makefiles.
OpenESQL Assistant: The OpenESQL Assistant data source names (DSNs) in Enterprise Developer must be configured as ODBC or XDB DSNs.
SQL Compiler Directive Options: When you upgrade your to Enterprise Developer, some SQL applications could require additional SQL Compiler directive options to avoid compiler errors.
XML PARSE Statement: In Net Express, Server Express, the default setting for the XMLPARSE Compiler directive is COMPAT, which causes the XML PARSE statement to return information and events for IBM Enterprise COBOL Version 3. In Enterprise Developer, the default is XMLPARSE(XMLSS), which returns information and events for IBM Enterprise COBOL Version 4.

Run-Time System Differences

There are some differences between the run-time systems supplied with Enterprise Developer and those supplied with Net Express, Server Express and Mainframe Express. These, however, do not affect your existing applications if you recompile them from the source code in Enterprise Developer.

OpenESQL: Enterprise Developer sets the BEHAVIOR SQL Compiler directive option to MAINFRAME by default to provide optimal performance. To revert to the default behavior exhibited in Net Express, Server Express, set the BEHAVIOR directive to UNOPTIMIZED.
Single-Threaded Run-Time System: The single-threaded run-time system is not available in Enterprise Developer on Windows. Instead, both single-threaded and multi-threaded applications run using the multi-threaded run-time system. This has no effect on your existing applications. On UNIX, the single-threaded run-time system is available, so that applications can link with third-party code.
Static-Linked Run-Time System: The static-linked run-time system is not available in Enterprise Developer. Instead, you now link native code to the shared or dynamic run-time system. This has no effect on your existing applications.
Setting the environment on UNIX: You use the cobsetenv script to set your COBOL environment on UNIX if you have installed the product to a directory other than the default one.
Enterprise Developer Co-existing with Earlier Micro Focus Products: Some additional configuration is required to ensure Enterprise Developer and Studio Enterprise Edition work properly when installed on the same machine.

Restrictions and Unsupported Features

Some features in earlier Micro Focus products are not available in Enterprise Developer. However there are alternative techniques for many of these features.

CBL2XML Utility: The CBL2XML utility is currently available as a command line tool only.
DBMS Preprocessors: Earlier Micro Focus products supported DBMS preprocessor versions that are not supported in Enterprise Developer. For a list of currently supported DBMS preprocessors, see the Database Access Support with Native COBOL topic.
Dialog System: Dialog System applications are not supported in Eclipse but you can upgrade the non-GUI components of an application to Eclipse, and then recreate the GUI components using the GUI tools in Eclipse.
Form Designer: Form Designer is the Net Express tool for creating user interfaces for CGI-based Internet and intranet applications. Form Designer and the HTML page wizard are not available in Enterprise Developer.
GNT Analyzer: GNT Analyzer is not available in Enterprise Developer. It has been replaced by Test Coverage.
Host Compatibility Option (HCO): Mainframe Express provided a user interface for the Host Compatibility Option (HCO) feature. This user interface is not available in Enterprise Developer; however the HCO Create Database, DDL Processor, DCLGEN, Export Data, and Import Data tools are available via batch command line invocation.
INTLEVEL Support: The INTLEVEL directive is rejected by the Compiler in Enterprise Developer.
NSAPI: There is no support for NSAPI in Enterprise Developer.
Online Help System: Net Express provided the Online Help System for creating online help from character-based applications, and displaying it on screen. It is not available in Enterprise Developer and the Online Help System information file type (.HNF) is not supported.
OpenESQL: In both Net Express and Studio Enterprise Edition, support is provided for Oracle OCI in OpenESQL. Enterprise Developer does not support Oracle OCI in OpenESQL.
SQL Option for DB2: In the Mainframe Express and Net Express IDEs, you could invoke SQL Option for DB2 from the main menu within the IDE. For Enterprise Developer, SQL Option for DB2 is not available from the main menu in the IDE. Instead, all SQL Option for DB2 tools are available from Start > All Programs > Micro Focus Enterprise Developer > Data Tools > SQL Option for DB2.

Run-Time Technology Differences

Some technologies behave differently in Enterprise Developer and this might affect how you upgrade existing applications.

File Handling: The way you integrate your own security modules into Fileshare has changed. Also, the FILEMAXSIZE setting is different for Enterprise Developer and for Net Express and Server Express .
Java and COBOL: The cobsje script is not available in Enterprise Developer for Eclipse on UNIX. Enterprise Developer uses the COBOL run-time system to load JVM based on LIBPATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, JAVA_HOME etc...
Test Coverage: Test Coverage replaces GNT Analyzer, which was available in Server Express. Code coverage for native COBOL applications available from within the IDE in Enterprise Developer integrates the Test Coverage functionality.

Editing and Debugging Differences

Much of the edit and debug functionality in Net Express, Server Express and Mainframe Express is available in Enterprise Developer, but some of it has a different name or slightly different behavior. In addition there are some new features such as background parsing.

Interface Mapping Toolkit: The Interface Mapping Toolkit is available in Enterprise Developer for Eclipse; however it does not support CICS or IMS service interfaces.
Mixed Language Debugging: With Net Express you could debug mixed language applications. In Enterprise Developer, you can debug native COBOL and Java or native COBOL and C with some additional configuration.
Program Breakpoints: Program breakpoints are breakpoints that stop execution each time a specified program or entry point within the program is called. They are supported in Enterprise Developer, but by default their behavior is different from their behavior in Net Express
Remote Debugging: The Net Express animserv utility used for debugging programs remotely has been replaced by cobdebugremote (or cobdebugremote64 when debugging 64-bit processes) in Enterprise Developer.
Source Pool View: The source pool view in Net Express showed all source files available in the project directory, regardless of whether or not they are used in the current build type. This view is not available in Enterprise Developer.