Release notes for Model 204 version 7.5

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These release notes list the enhancements and other changes contained in Model 204 version 7.5, which is still in development. Until the commercial release of the software, Rocket reserves the right to add to, remove, or change anything described herein.

Overview

These release notes contain installation and features information for the Rocket Model 204 version 7.5.0 release. Before beginning your installation, please read through this information about product installation and changes.

New in this release

This section summarizes the new features and enhancements for Model 204 version 7.5.0.

SOUL (User Language)

The significantly enhanced, object-oriented, version of User Language is now called SOUL. All existing User Language programs will continue to work under SOUL, so User Language can be considered to be a subset of SOUL, though the name User Language is now deprecated.

FeatureOperating System
Sirius object-oriented language extensions integrationz/VM, z/OS, z/VSE
ECF statements can pass up to 60 parametersz/VM, z/OS, z/VSE

System Management

FeatureOperating System
Writing records to the SMF data set without an SVC installedz/VM, z/OS, z/VSE

Performance

FeatureOperating System
GTBL can be stored above the barz/VM, z/OS, z/VSE

Operating system requirements

Requirements for Model 204 version 7.5.0 are still being determined.

Model 204 version 7.4.0 required the following operating system support:

  • For IBM z/OS: Version 1 Release 7 is sufficient for all new functionality except for the following features:
    • Large (1 MB) page support requires Version 1 Release 9.
    • Extended address volumes (EAV) requires Version 1 Release 12.
  • For IBM z/VM: Version 5 Release 4.0 or later
  • For IBM z/VSE:
    • Version 5 Release 1 or
    • Version 4 Release 3 or
    • Version 4 Release 2.1 or
    • Version 4 Release 2.0, with these program temporary fixes (PTFs) installed:
      • UD53436
      • UD53437
      • UD53438
      • UD53439

Hardware requirements

Requirements for Model 204 version 7.5.0 are still being determined.

Model 204 version 7.4.0 required the IBM z/890 or above processor, except for the following feature:

The large (1 MB) page support feature requires the IBM z10 or above processor.

Model 204 compatibility with operating systems

Content in this section is still to be determined.

Model 204 compatibility with Connect*

All supported versions of Connect* are compatible with Model 204 version 7.5.0. However, CLOB/BLOB support requires Connect* version 7.4.0 or higher. Use of Connect* versions earlier than version 7.4.0 to SELECT, UPDATE, or INSERT CLOB/BLOB data will fail and might produce unexpected application behavior and/or return an error. Connect* version 7.5.0 is compatible with versions of Model 204 that are earlier than version 7.5.0.

SOUL (User Language) enhancements

Much of the substantial new and enhanced functionality described in the following subsections is available as a result of the acquisition of Sirius Software. The functionality that is the subject of the initial subsection, "Object oriented programming," motivates the new name for User Language, SOUL, thought of as Simple Objective User Language.

Object oriented programming

As of version 7.5 of Model 204 (and backward compatible with existing User Language applications), the SOUL language is equipped with Object-Oriented Programming (sometimes abbreviated O-O) capabilities comparable or superior to other contemporary object oriented languages. Formerly contained in the Janus SOAP User Language Interface, you can use Janus SOAP essentials as a set of entry points to the extensive SOUL O-O documentation.

Above The Bar addressing

The addition of 64-bit addressing to Model 204 significantly increases system scalability, performance, and growth. See, for example, "Performance enhancements", below.

Record capacity increase

in this version of Model 204, the record limit is increased from sixteen million records to forty-eight million records per file.

New SOUL statements

Syntactical enhancements to SOUL

External Call Facility (ECF)

EXTERNAL CALL statements can now pass more parameters. The maximum number of parameters that can be passed in an EXTERNAL CALL statement has been increased from 40 to 60. The maximum value setting for ECPSIZE is increased from 1310680 to 1966020 to accommodate the extra parameters.

New and changed classes and methods

New HttpRequest TranslateTable property

The TranslateTable HttpRequest property makes it possible to set the translate table to be used for EBCDIC to ASCII translation of data in an HttpRequest object.

New InvalidTranslateTable class

Objects of the InvalidTranslateTable exception class are thrown when a requested system translate table cannot be found. It is currently thrown only by the TranslateTable HttpRequest property.

New bit manipulation String functions

New bit manipulation functions BitClearString, BitCountString, BitFlipString, BitSetString, and BitValueString make it easier to manipulate the bits in a string.

New InvalidBitNumber class

Objects of the InvalidBitNumber exception class are thrown when an invalid bit number is requested by a bit manipulation function. It is currently thrown only by the BitClearString, BitFlipString, BitSetString, and BitValueString functions.

New option for AppendJournalData

The QT option has been added to the AppendJournalData method, to include QT type audit entries.

New and changed $functions

$SNDMAIL attachment ASCII translation

The $SNDMAIL function can now translate an attachment to ASCII before sending it. This translation is useful if the $SNDMAIL attachment is a CLOB (CHARACTER-LARGE-OBJECT) such as a text document.

The $SNDMAIL function now accepts an optional parameter after the name of the attached object. If this parameter is set to 'C' (or to a percent variable with the value 'C'), the object in the buffer is translated to ASCII before being attached to the email.

If this parameter is not specified, the object in the buffer is sent as a binary object.

In this example:

%RC = $SNDMAIL(%SUBJECT,,%BODY,%FROM,%TO,,,,'CLOB.TXT','C')

the CLOB.TXT attachment will be translated to ASCII before being attached to the email.

New products

These products are now available to Model 204 customers as separately purchased items as a result of the acquisition of Sirius Software.

File-related enhancements

Repeating field groups

System management enhancements

Writing records to the SMF data set

Having Model 204 write records to the SMF data set no longer requires the installation of an SVC.

Therefore, the SMFSVC parameter is no longer required and, if present, will be ignored and flagged with the following informational message:

M204.0204: PARAMETER SMFSVC OBSOLETE AND NOT RESET

However, the SMFLORN and SMFSLRN parameters must still be present in CCAIN if SMF records are required.

Performance enhancements

GTBL in above the bar storage

GTBL can now be placed into non-swappable server storage area above the bar. In order to store GTBL in ATB storage:

  • increase the SERVNSSZ parameter by the GTBL size
  • set the second byte of the SERVNSA parameter to X’80’, so the value of SERVNSA is X'00800000'

Note: The settings for each server table above the bar are independent of each other. So if both FTBL and GTBL are placed above the bar then SERVNSA should be set to X'02800000'.

MQ/204 enhancements

Freeing MQ/204 subtasks and associated storage

The new MQDELDTP PST (pseudo subtask) checks for MQ/204 subtasks that are in a delayed detach state. MQDELDTP detaches MQ/204 subtasks that have finished their work and releases their associated storage areas.

Upward compatibility issues

The INTERCOMM interface supports the use of Teletype and 3270 terminals in line-at-a-time mode, using the Model 204 IODEV=29 thread type. This interface is not supported in Version 7 Release 5.0. See the Rocket Model 204 Terminal User's Guide for a discussion of terminal interfaces.

New and changed commands

DEFINE FIELD new COMMA option

The COMMA option on the DEFINE FIELD command uses commas to separate displayed field attributes.

New and changed parameters

In addition to the following specific parameter changes, Model 204 parameter descriptions, for example as displayed by the VIEW command, are now in mixed case (unless translated to uppercase due to UPCASMSG.)

ECPSIZE max value increase

OUTPUT=DUMMY for IODEV=3 threads

IODEV=3 threads definitions now allow OUTPUT=DUMMY. When defining IODEV=3 threads, if output is not required, the OUTPUT parameter can be coded as OUTPUT=DUMMY.

For example:

IODEV=3,INPUT=IOD3IN1,OUTPUT=DUMMY

This means that no DD statement is required for the output data set, and in cases where many IODEV=3 threads are defined to simulate a large number of users, this enhancement will reduce the number of DD statements required by one half.

UPCASMSG new parameter

The UPCASMSG parameter can be used to translate messages issued by Model 204 to uppercase; otherwise (depending on the message being issued) they are displayed in mixed (upper and lower) case.

RETRVKEY parameter change

New in this release, if you specify a non-zero setting of RETRVKEY:

  • If you have set the X'01' or X'10' bits of the RETRVOPT parameter, you can use a forward retrieve PF key, in addition to the backward retrieve PF key specified by RETRVKEY.

    Note: If either of these bits is set, the X'02' bit is strongly recommended as well.

  • The size of the allocated storage area, and hence the number and length of input lines available for retrieval, is specified by the value of the RETRVBUF parameter.


New and updated messages

M204.0204:
PARAMETER SMFSVC OBSOLETE AND NOT RESET
Explanation: Writing records to the SMF data set no longer requires the installation of an SVC. The SMFSVC parameter is therefore obsolete and cannot be reset.
System Manager Response: No response required.
Return Codes: I 0 0 AUDITMS

Messages M204.0332 and M204.0336 indicate problems with the CRAM interface. The visibility of these messages has been improved by:

  • writing the message to the operator and the JESLOG
  • writing the message as an ER line in CCAAUDIT
  • setting the return code to 80

M204.0332: RC nn FROM CRFS OPEN
Explanation: The run has failed to initialize due to problems with the CRAM interface. The possible formats of this message are:

Format 1: RC nn FROM CRFS OPEN/PUT/GET

Format 2: ECB postcode FROM CRFS PUT/GET

  • Format 1 indicates that Model 204 module CRFS attempted to open channel, send a message down the channel, or receive a message from a channel. CRAM was unable to satisfy the request. The message states the return code and the operation attempted.
  • Format 2 indicates that Model 204 module CRFS received an unexpected post code from CRAM while attempting an I/O operation on a channel. The message states the post code and the operation attempted.

System Manager Response: Contact Technical Support and have the audit trail available.
Return Codes: C 80 80 AUDITER NOTERM OPR

M204.0336: RC nn FROM CRIO OPEN
Explanation: The run has failed to initialize due to problems with the CRAM interface. The possible formats of this message are:

Format 1: RC nn FROM CRIO OPEN/PUT/GET

Format 2: ECB postcode FROM CRFS PUT/GET

  • Format 1 indicates that Model 204 module CRIO attempted to open a channel, send a message down a channel, or receive a message from a channel. CRAM was unable to satisfy the request. The message states the return code and the operation attempted. For example, the return code 16 indicates that the CRAM channel is already open.
  • Format 2 indicates that Model 204 module CRFS received an unexpected post code from CRAM while attempting an I/O operation on a channel. The message shows the post code and the operation attempted.

System Manager Response: Contact Technical Support and have the audit trail available.
Return Codes: C 80 80 AUDITER NOTERM OPR

M204.1131:
CAN'T action
Explanation: The procedure action cannot be taken for one of the following reasons:

  • The procedure is in use by another user.
  • The procedure is not in the file.
  • The user does not have the correct privileges to change the procedure.
  • If a RENAME or ASSIGN has been attempted, the alias might already exist.

Response: Make sure that the procedure name is spelled correctly. If the named procedure is in use, retry the command when the procedure is no longer in use. Otherwise, arrange to place the procedure in the file or to obtain the privileges to change the procedure.
Return Codes: C 0 4 AUDITER

M204.2126:
USER'S PUSHDOWN LIST OVERFLOWED
Explanation: The user's pushdown list is an internal stack for maintaining state information for user threads across internal Model 204 subroutines. The user pushdown list lives in each user's server. Its size requirement depends on the complexity of the command or User Language request.

This message is issued whenever Model 204 detects that pushdown list data has spilled into adjacent control structures. Because of potential corruption the user is restarted.
Response: Increase the size of the user pushdown list via the LPDLST parameter of the UTABLE command. Notify your system manager.
System Manager Response: If this becomes a frequent occurrence, consider more permanent changes to LPDLST and SERVSIZE, since the pushdown list is a server component.
Return Codes: C 0 4 CANCEL

M204.2836:
VALUE OF PARAMETER %C INVALID—RESET TO %C
Explanation: This is an informational message only.

A parameter was specified with an incorrect value. It has been reset to an internally calculated value that will accommodate other parameter settings. See the description of the parameter named to see what that calculation involves.
System Manager Response: The parameter has been reset. No response required.
Return Codes: I 0 0 AUDITMS

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