In this Issue: 
 SupportLine News 
 Product Updates 
 Technical Articles
 Webcasts
 Micro Focus Training 
 Marketing Events
 In the News
 Planned Product Withdrawal
 Other resources
 
 
  
In the News
  
05 Aug 05 Fear factors: What’s keeping CIOs awake... 
  
04 Aug 05 Peel interfaces from services ... 
  
03 Aug 05 COBOL-to-Java Translation Tool Eliminates Code Rewriting...
  

03 Aug 05  

St Helens MBC cuts its annual IT costs by 300k...

  
Press Releases

02 Aug 05  

Micro Focus and Migrationware partner to migrate legacy applications to agile, low cost platforms 

  

 
 
License Key Request Info 


Along with the other recent changes, the address to use to request new license keys has changed. License Keys for AAI, EnterpriseLink, Mainframe Express, Mainframe Manager, Net Express,  and Revolve products should now be requested in one of two ways. They should either be requested through the Request/Obtain License link, located on the SupportLine web page Self Service menu, or they should be sent to the new e-mail address of urk@microfocus.com. All of the previous e-mail addresses used for obtaining new license keys are now invalid.

 

Keep up with the latest industry news on the COBOL Portal. more


 
 
Product Update Request 


As a SupportLine customer, you can receive your FREE update to a complete version of the current release on CD by sending an email to  Update@microfocus.com. You will need to provide your Name, Company, Phone, and Fax numbers, email address, shipping address, number of users, your current product serial number(s), and to which product or release you wish to Update.


 
 
Planned Product Withdrawal

Are you aware of the Product Withdrawal Schedule Information within the Micro Focus Product Advisory pages? This schedule shows the planned (or past) withdrawal dates of Micro Focus products and their successor products. It is advisable for you to check this schedule from time to time, so you can stay up to date on the near term plans for the Micro Focus products that you are using.


A "withdrawn release" means that new corrective fixes will no longer be made available. Limited SupportLine services continue to be available once a product is "withdrawn" until such time as that the release is "withdrawn from support".

The full Product Withdrawal Schedule can be found on the Micro Focus web site at:
WithdrawalSchedule


 
 
  
SupportLine News


Micro Focus Studio, Micro Focus Server and Net Express 5.0 Intensive Beta Testing
 
*** Get a head start with the latest technology, start to use new features and functions now, gain exclusive developer and support access through the free intensive beta test ***

The next release of Net Express, which will be part of the Micro Focus Studio Family (See MICRO FOCUS UNVEILS OPEN PLATFORM PRODUCT STRATEGY and Micro Focus Studio and Server FAQ ), is getting closer. This beta will preview significant advances for .NET (Visual Studio 2005 Support, Winform/Webform Painting, Dialog System to Winform Conversion), SQL Support, 64-Bit Windows Support, Mainframe Migration and Extension as well as updates for Enterprise Server, COBOL/J2EE and more. For this release unmanaged (non .NET) development will be maintained within the existing Net Express IDE, while managed code will move from Visual Studio .NET 2003 to Visual Studio 2005. 

The Intensive Beta tests are week long events occurring in Newbury, UK from October 3rd to 7th 2005 and in Wayne, PA from October 17th to 21st. These events feature presentations often by the developers themselves of the latest features and significant hands-on usage. A copy of the beta will be available to take away with you at the end of the week. Places are very limited and will be given to attendees who have a defined Project / Proof of Concept that requires new 5.0 functionality and ideally who are prepared to support Micro Focus as appropriate in marketing, for example, providing a customer success story of using the new functionality. Limited places will also be available for customers who can bring significant existing systems for regression testing on the new release.

If you are interested in attending and would like more details, please register your interest as soon as possible to Micro Focus Product Management at netx-ea-program@microfocus.com

New Third Thursday Webcast Presentation Available 

The Third Thursday Webcast presentation is now available for download. In this presentation, we explained the features of the development environment available in the Server Express product. All aspects of the Server Express functionality including both the development and deployment options supported by Application Server and Enterprise Server will be examined. SE_08182005.wrf

Announcing direct sales, service and support for HP and Micro Focus customers 
Together, HP and Micro Focus agreed that better customer service could be offered by transitioning the sales and support of Micro Focus COBOL products back to Micro Focus. Micro Focus is delighted to welcome HP customers! We are committed to offering the highest quality products and services - as HP customers have come to expect.
Micro Focus has been awarded the Omega NorthFace ScoreBoard Award for excellent customer service for the last four years. Now HP customers can also have direct access to our award winning technical expertise, which includes:
• Worldwide 24x7 technical support 
• Scheduled product updates and maintenance releases 
• Continued support on your current HP product for 12 months following the transition 

For more information visit: www.microfocus.com/hpconversion 

Or contact one of our dedicated HP conversion specialists who are ready and waiting to hear from you. 

Phone: 1-800-632-6265 Option 2 (North America Only)
Email: HPConversion-US@microfocus.com (within North America)
HPConversion-UK@microfocus.com (outside North America)


Product Updates 

Product Updates made available in August 2005

WebPacks Utility
WebPacks.exe - Installed Products and Updates Utility.

Server Express 4.0 ServicePack 2
HP Tru64 (32Bit/64Bit)
FixPack40.03_40_dev.tar.encr - Development System

Server Express 4.0 ServicePack 1
AIX 5.1 (32bit)
FixPack40.01_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.01_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server
FixPack40.01_37_es.tar.encr - Enterprise Server

AIX 5.2 (64Bit)
FixPack40.01_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.01_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server 

HP-UX PA-RISC 11.x (32/64bit)
FixPack40.03_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.03_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server
FixPack40.03_37_es.tar.encr - Enterprise Server

Redhat Linux AS 3.0
FixPack40.02_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.02_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server
FixPack40.02_37_es.tar.encr - Enterprise Server

Redhat Linux 3.0 ia64 (64Bit only)
FixPack40.01_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.01_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server

Redhat Linux 3.0 Powerpc (64Bit only)
FixPack40.01_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.01_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server

Sun Sparc 8 (32bit/64Bit)
FixPack40.03_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.03_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server
FixPack40.03_37_es.tar.encr - Enterprise Server

Suse Linux SLES 8.0 x86 (32Bit only)
FixPack40.03_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.03_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server
FixPack40.03_37_es.tar.encr - Enterprise Server

Suse Linux SLES 8.0 zSeries (32Bit/64Bit)

FixPack40.02_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.02_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server
FixPack40.02_37_es.tar.encr - Enterprise Server

Suse Linux SLES 9.0 ia64 (64Bit only)
FixPack40.01_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.01_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server

HP-UX Itanium 11.23 (32/64-bit)
FixPack40.03_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.03_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server
FixPack40.03_37_es.tar.encr - Enterprise Server

HP Tru64 (32/64-bit)
FixPack40.02_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.02_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server

UnixWare 7.1.3
FixPack40.01_37_cob.tar.encr - Development System
FixPack40.01_37_apps.tar.encr - Application Server
FixPack40.01_37_es.tar.encr - Enterprise Server

Technical Articles
   

Articles and demos to inform you about functions and features of your Micro Focus products 

Net Express
Learning to Generate and Call SQL Server Stored Procedures

The Net Express product provides a simple and straightforward way to generate and call SQL Server Stored Procedures. To do this, you make use of the OpenESQL Assistant function within the Net Express product to generate the stored procedure and to generate the code necessary to call that stored procedure. This article shows you how this can be accomplished. more


Configuring the Default Size of an Application Text Window
Net Express applications can utilize several forms of screen Input & Output. One form popular with users moving from older legacy applications is to initially use non-graphical text screens run within a Windows graphical window, commonly called a Text Window. There is frequently a need to configure the default size of this Text Window. This article covers how to accomplish this. more
 
Consolidated Tracing Facility (CTF)
This article discusses the new Consolidated Tracing Facility (CTF), which is now part of the functionality offered in the latest Net Express and Server Express versions. CTF provides reliable, fast, and configurable tracing capabilities. Eventually it will interleave trace events output from all the components involved in running applications. more

Mainframe Express
Creating an Aliases in One XDB Location from Another XDB Location
There are times when it can be useful to create an alias name in one location and point it to the table of the other location. This article provides the information on how to accomplish this. more
 
Revolve
Using Metering Dongle for Revolve Enterprise Edition
For customers with Revolve Enterprise Edition, it becomes necessary to meter their code. To do this, a hardware key (commonly called a dongle) with a lines of code (LOC) setting is sent to the customer. This article covers the procedure to install and utilize the dongle and its software. more
 
Server Express
ASLMF Errors When Running on HP-UX 11.11/i
HP has introduced some new twists on shared memory usage with the introduction of the HP-UX 11.11/i operating system. Some of these HP enhancements required similar changes in Micro Focus Application Server runtime licensing, as well as the runtime licensing for Server Express Developer. This article will cover these changes. more
 
Animating an Application within Server Express when using X Windows
There are some considerations when animating using Server Express with X windows as explained in the Debugging Guide under Starting Animator. This article discusses the approach and settings needed when Animating an application within an X Window environment. more
 
Troubleshooting RTS 173, Called program not found in drive/directory
Now that dynamic subroutine linkage at runtime is the norm, the "cob" command's invocation of the system's "ld" (linker) command does not often catch missing or, more often, misplaced subroutines at compile time. This article covers the issue common reasons why this error occurs and how to prevent them. more

Webcasts 

First Fridays Webcast
"First Fridays" Webcasts are held the first Friday of each month and focus on topics of critical concern to enterprise IT directors and managers. Professionals in organizations that depend on legacy systems should not miss these important events. The 1-hour, "from your desk" sessions are free and convenient.

Automated migration
Date: Friday, September 9, 2005
Time: 8:00 am (PDT)/11:00 am (EDT)
 
Topic: Automated migration to open systems....de-commissioning the mainframe, ERP implementation and portfolio consolidation 
www.microfocus.com/firstfriday

Switch! HP Transition Webcast

Date: Friday, September 23rd
Time: 11 AM (PDT)/2 PM (EDT)

Topic: Switch to Micro Focus…announcing direct service and support for HP COBOL customers
www.microfocus.com/switch 

Third Thursday Webcast 
Title: DT020 - Micro Focus Integrated Development Environments
Date: September 15

Register for Third Thursday Webcast


Micro Focus Training  

Accelerate with Micro Focus Training! 

Take your COBOL skills to new levels with our hands-on training. And let Micro Focus expert instructors guide you on how to use the latest tools to take the legacy applications you work on, into the exciting worlds of .NET, XML and Web services. 'For more information and to register, visit us at any of the following regions:

·  Australia 

·  France 

 

·  Germany

·  North America 

 


Marketing Events 


North American Events and Trade Shows 
August 22-24, 2005
SHARE Technology Exchange 
 
Sept 12-15, 2005
HP Technology Forum 
Lift and Shift Migration Events
- Montreal, Sept. 15th
- Toronto, Sept. 20th
- Dallas, Sept. 27th 
- Philadelphia, Sept. 29th 
 
September 18-21, 2005
Serena XChange 2005
   
September 23, 2005
HP Transition Webcast
 November 15-18, 2005
BAI Retail Delivery Conference
   
European Events 
Benelux  
20 September 2005
Lift & Shift Event
 
28 September 2005
COBOL@work
   
France  

9 Septembre 2005
Séminaire Cobol@Work – Cobol, J2EE et .NET

 

20 Septembre 2005
Présentation "Migrez vers de nouveaux horizons" en collaboration avec MetaWare et Compuware

   

23 Septembre 2005
Webcast Tune In To Cobol - Web Services et SOA

 
7 Octobre 2005
Séminaires Cobol@Work -Migration Mainframe
   
Germany  
9. September 2005
Tune In To COBOL
 
27. September 2005
COBOL@work Seminar
   
29. September 2005
COBOL@work Seminar
 
28.-30. September 2005
CIO Seminar
   
Netherlands  
COBOL@work 
13 September 2005 
 
27 Oktober 2005 
COBOL@work 
   
23 November 2005
COBOL@work
 
13 December 2005
COBOL@work 
   
United Kingdom  
7th September 2005
Micro Focus Application Providers SupportLine Event
 20th September 2005
Move Beyond the Mainframe
 
For more information, visit: www.microfocus.com/events 
 
  

Other resources 

Micro Focus Forum 

If you haven't visited the new Micro Focus Forum, you should check out what other users of the products are doing there.
http://www.cobolportal.com/microfocusforum/ 

The COBOL Portal 

Have you visited the new COBOL Portal lately?
Many changes and enhancements have been made to the COBOL Portal recently to make it 'the' web site for the COBOL developer.
http://www.cobolportal.com/ 

Have you visited the Micro Focus SupportLine web page? Have you registered for access? 

If you haven't you should!

There are self-help services available on the SupportLine web page that will allow you to find answers to a variety of product questions, provide you with a concentrated sub-site for Net Express information and examples, and give you access to the Micro Focus Forum user community messaging area on the COBOL Portal.

Click on the following links to register (all you need is your personal information and your product serial numbers) to access the SupportLine web page and start benefiting from these services.

Register for an online SupportLine account 
Access the SupportLine Web Page



(c) Micro Focus.
SupportLine Newsletter is a free, monthly email publication for the developer community. Email all correspondence to the editor via SupportLine.Newsletter@microfocus.com