LANSA Version 11.3
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http://www.lansa.com Newsletter June 2006 LANSA version 11.3 Cumulative Update 3 (CU3) Information CU3 is a cumulative set of changes for a range of LANSA features. It includes software to be installed on an iSeries machine and on a Windows machine. CU3 provides a single install point for all features. So, although the software changes have been grouped for a product feature under an EPC number you do NOT need to directly invoke an EPC install. See the epc77n.htm files for details of the changes delivered. CU3 comprises these individual EPCs: • epc770 - LANSA Communications • epc771 - Visual LANSA • epc772 - LANSA Integrator (only on CU3 install CD) • epc773 - LANSA Web Utilities • epc774 - LANSA Web Server • epc775 - LANSA Open • epc776 - Visual LANSA Frameworks CU3 is distributed by CD-ROM or a Zip File that can be downloaded. LANSA version 11.3 page 1 Compile error RDMLX objecten page 10 In LANSA and V5R4 page 2 PrintScreen functionality in VL page 11 CGIConvMode Setting and L4Web page 3 Crash WAM on HP Notebook page 15 This Advanced Enter key in VL page 4 Cannot start VL on Server PC page 17 VLF Web with IE7 beta page 6 Using the PDFSpoolFileService page 18 Issue VLF demo before CU3 page 7 VLF: What’s new in CU3 page 19 LANSA Newsletter June 2006 page 1 © LANSA 2006 LANSA and V5R4 Description IBM’s latest release of i5/OS, V5R4 was made generally available on February 14th. This version of OS/400 is listed in the V11.0 Supported Platforms document as Confirmed. Refer to Supported Platforms : http://www.lansa.com/support/v11news/supportedversions.htm LANSA actively participated in the V5R4 beta program and conducted LANSA V11.0 testing on this version. LANSA's V11.0 testing of the entire LANSA suite of products on V5R4 did not highlight any issues that require correcting. One issue has been reported when using SSL in LANSA for the web on V5R4. However, this issue has been corrected via an IBM PTF. Refer to CGIConvMode setting causes various issues for LANSA for the Web on V5R4 : http://www.lansa.com/support/notes/p0281.htm Unless stated otherwise in the LANSA V11.0 What’s New or Online documentation, existing unsupported OS/400 features remain at the same status. Refer to Features in OS/400 that are not supported in the current versions of LANSA : http://www.lansa.com/support/tips/t0152.htm LANSA Newsletter June 2006 page 2 © LANSA 2006 CGIConvMode setting on V5R4 causes various issues for LANSA for the Web Description The CGIConvMode setting on V5R4 causes problems for LANSA for the web applications. If the CGIConvMode setting is %%MIXED/MIXED%%, the following 2 issues can be generated: 1. Certain character, for example "(" and "'" (single quote) can be mis-interpreted and returned as "M" and "}" respectively on the web browser. 2. SSL does not work properly in your LANSA for the web application. Possible error message would be: EBCDIC_to_UTF8(): Exception MCH1235 occurred while converting TRACE DATA to the job CCSID. Value 0 for CCSID not valid. In the short term, these problems can be circumvented by either commenting out the %MIXED/MIXED% directive or changing the directive to %EBCDIC/MIXED% IBM has produced a PTF to resolve issues introduced by have the CGIConvMode set to %MIXED/MIXED%. Refer to http://www- 912.ibm.com/a_dir/as4ptf.nsf/0/626a4f73de446c0b86257114005db5ae?OpenDocument LANSA Newsletter June 2006 page 3 © LANSA 2006 Advanced Enter Key Handling in VL applications The enter key is often used to indicate the initiation of some activity (eg: to perform a search, to save an update, etc) in VL applications. Typically the ButtonDefault() property is used on push buttons such as “Search” or “Save” so that the enter key causes a virtual click event to be issued against the button. In complex VL forms containing many different reusable parts the use of the ButtonDefault() property may become problematic for two reasons: 1. Only a single button can be the default at any point in time on a Windows form. 2. There is no ability to use program logic to decide what the enter key actually means and how it should be handled in different contexts. The most powerful solution to handling the enter key differently in different places on complex forms is be solved by using the KeyPress event. This allows the VL program to specifically trap the enter key and then respond to it in different ways. Consider the following modifications made to the logic in the filter DF_FILT1 example shipped with the VLF. 1. No button has ButtonDefault() specified This prevents any confusion about which button the enter key should be directed to. 2. The user may initiate an Employee name search in 2 ways Evtroutine Handling(#Surname.KeyPress) Keycode(#KeyCode) if ('#KeyCode.Value = Enter') If *SEARCHOK Execute Search Else Use Message_box_show (ok ok Error *Component 'Enter a search name') Endif Endif Endroutine * Search button pressed * Evtroutine Handling(#Search_phbn.Click) Execute Search Endroutine LANSA Newsletter June 2006 page 4 © LANSA 2006 The first event routine handles the use of the enter key within the Surname field. If the user presses enter then either a search is performed or an error message is displayed (Condition *SEARCHOK is true if field #Surname is non-blank). The second routine handles a specific click of the Search button. Both routines share a common SEARCH subroutine to perform the search logic. Note that where multiple fields (or other visual controls) are used you can handle them all through a single routine like this: Evtroutine Handling(#Surname.KeyPress #GiveName.KeyPress #ComboBox1.KeyPress etc etc) Keycode(#KeyCode) LANSA Newsletter June 2006 page 5 © LANSA 2006 Using VLF Web applications with IE7 beta How can I enable the Visual LANSA Framework to execute as a Web application in I.E. 7 Beta 2? Microsoft recently released the latest beta version of IE7.0. See http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx If you want to use this IE beta version with VLF-WEB applications you need to do the following: To immediately enable any already deployed VLF-WEB applications • Modify any existing NNNNNNNNNNNN_LLLL_SSS.htm startup files (eg: VF_SY001_System_ENG_XP.HTM) on the HTTP server (where LLLL is the language code and SSS is WEB, XP, or WIN). NOTE: Unless you complete the next step this change is only effective until the next time the framework design is saved or deployed by a developer. • Make a backup copy of the file. • Open the file for editing • Locate the line 'else if (navigator.appMinorVersion.indexOf("SP3") >= 0) __strAppVersion__ = "6+";' • After this line add the line 'else if (navigator.appMinorVersion.indexOf("Beta 2") >= 0) __strAppVersion__ = "6+";' • Save the changes. To change the way that any new nnnnnnnnnnnn_LLLL_SSS.htm startup files are generated by developers • Modify the developers skeleton file VF_SY004_1.dat. • Locate the VF_SY004_1.dat file in the partition execute directory of the development system. • Make a backup copy of the file. • Open the file for editing. • Locate the line 'else if (navigator.appMinorVersion.indexOf("SP3") >= 0) __strAppVersion__ = "6+";' • After this line add the line 'else if (navigator.appMinorVersion.indexOf("Beta 2") >= 0) __strAppVersion__ = "6+";' • Save the changes. • Make a change to the framework design and save it. The startup file will be regenerated and copied to the HTTP server. LANSA Newsletter June 2006 page 6 © LANSA 2006 The VLF Demonstration and Programming Examples - before CU3 Until LANSA CU3, VLF upgrades always renamed and then replaced the standard shipped demonstration system in XML file VF_SY001_System.XML with the very latest shipped demonstration version. This was done to make sure everybody got to view and use the latest demonstration and programming techniques material. This upgrade approach tended to alarm people who had been putting there own VLF applications into VF_SY001_System.XML. Typically they did not read the upgrade notes or look in the online guide and instead contacted LANSA support in a panic, thinking that their own VLF changes had been lost. They were then directed to the guide and the problem was quickly resolved. This was a waste of everybody's time and the cause of needless angst. The VLF Demonstration and Programming Examples - after CU3 An existing VF_SY001_System.XML file is no longer renamed and replaced by a VLF upgrade. If it already exists it is left unchanged and the new shipped latest version is installed with the name VF_Sy001_System_LastShipped.XML instead. Sounds like a solution that makes everybody happier? Not quite.... So what's the downside to doing this? When a user starts the VLF in an upgraded system they now use the same VF_SY001_System.XML file as they were using before the upgrade. They are using an "old" version that contains the "old" definitions of the demonstration and programming examples. There are two significant downsides to this: 1. Developers may not get to view and use the latest demonstration and programming examples because they are not defined in their "old" VF_SY001_System.XML. 2. There may be incompatibilities between the newly upgraded demonstration filters and command handler programs and what is defined in their "old" VF_SY001_System.XML. LANSA Newsletter June 2006 page 7 © LANSA 2006 An example of (1) is the new "Advanced Instance List" examples. These are new to the CU3 version of the VLF. If you use an "old" version of VF_SY001_System.XML you will not see them and may never know they exist. An example of (2) relates to the shipped example EMPLOYEE and SECTIONS business objects. In the CU3 version of the VLF the instance lists and relationships for EMPLOYEE and SECTIONS were significantly changed to demonstrate the new parent/child type relationships.