ftp.robelle3000.ai 2014/2014.06.ftp.robelle3000.ai.tar/ftp.robelle3000.ai/newsletter/1990/w1990-05.txt

Text File | 1999-04-28 | 21KB | 464 lines

         What's Up DOCumentation



        Robelle Consulting Ltd.
        Unit 201, 15399-102A Avenue
        Surrey, B.C.  Canada  V3R 7K1
        Phone:  [phone]
        Fax:  [phone]

 Date:  October 1, 1990
 From:  Robert M. Green, President
        David J. Greer, Research & Development
        Michael Shumko, Customer Support
 To:    Users of Robelle Software
 Re:    News of the HP 3000, 1990 #5

      What You Will Find in This News Memo:

        News Tidbits
        About Robelle
        Here They Are:  The Robelle Dealers!
        Technical Tips
        Thanks for Qedit Survey Responses
        System Debugger Tips
        Robelle Products:  Problems, Solutions, and Suggestions


                                 News Tidbits

 Control-Y Does It Again.  Over the years, the MPE feature with the most
 recurring problems has to be Control-Y.  Here is a new problem reported by
 Norm Bouffard at BC Tel that we have encountered ourselves.  You start on an
 MPE V system, then Run Qedit or Editor or any other program that allows MPE
 commands.  From within this program, you do a REMOTE HELLO to your MPE XL
 system and run another program.  In that program, you try to stop a listing
 with the Control-Y key.

 What happens is very frustrating.  Your listing stops, but you don't get any
 prompt.  You press Return and all you get is a blank line! The way out is to
 press Break, which will put you into break on your original MPE V machine.
 You then type RESUME and REMOTE to get back to break on the MPE XL machine,
 then type RESUME once more.  A very roundabout way to do Control-Y.

 This problem happens only if you start on MPE V, and only if you also start
 the remote session from within a program, rather than from the MPE prompt.
 So that is a workaround of sorts.  According to the Response Center, this bug
 is fixed in V-Delta-5, release G.03.C5, or you can get a patch from HP.  The
 SR# is 5000-437764.

 Octcomp on MPE XL 2.1.  HowMessy and Prose do not execute properly if
 OCTCOMPed on MPE XL 2.1.  It seems that OCTCOMP version 5.77 does not always
 convert the programs correctly.






 TurboIMAGE Users Explode.  At the Boston Interex meeting, HP heard a mouthful
 from users of TurboIMAGE who were upset about the unbundling of their
 favorite database.  In case you haven't heard, what HP did is make TurboIMAGE
 a separately-priced item that you can delete from your HP 3000 commerical
 system.  This means that when writing that little utility or product for the
 HP 3000, you can no longer count on the fact that you will have TurboIMAGE
 available.  Angry words flashed across the room at SIG meetings and the
 Management Roundtable:  "loyalty", "betrayal", "What next, unbundle KSAM and
 VPLUS?", "trust", "worst marketing decision since new Coke"!

 To lighten the atmosphere, Sasha Volokh of Vesoft penned an eight-stanza poem
 memorializing the stormy SIG IMAGE meeting on Monday night.  Here's a
 sampling, to the rhythm of "The Man From Snowy River":

        ...
      And Wirt Atmar had a letter to the people who're in charge
           Of the Marketing of those HP machines;
      The unbundling, he said, was a mistake, and it was large
           Since about the user, HP don't care beans.
      It used to be that users, they came first in HP's thought,
           And the vendors, they were happy campers too.
      To make pricing-based decisions -- that is not what HP ought!
           Engineering plans are what HP should do.

      Of the people at the meeting, many men agreed with Wirt
           That from under them was being pulled the RUG.
      People asked: Why is HP treating us vendors just like dirt?
           If we've no time to adjust, our grave is dug!
      And another thing was talked about by Larry Simonsen:
           Now we're forced to buy HPs with SQL.
      Then Steve Cooper was elected as the chairman once again.
           I hope this whole affair will turn out well.

 Goodbye to the Farm.  Robelle Consulting has a new address, and, of course,
 along with that we have new phone and fax numbers:

        Robelle Consulting Ltd.
        Unit 201, 15399-102A Avenue
        Surrey, B.C.  Canada  V3R 7K1

        Phone:  [phone]
        Fax:  [phone]

 We finally outgrew the Robelle farmhouse, so we bit the bullet and moved into
 a real office, complete with false ceiling, computer room, conference room,
 lounge, and kitchen.  (Marie's desk is no longer six inches from the stove!)
 Sales, administration, and customer support are based in the new office.
 Management and R & D are still done from home -- even with with the new
 office, we are still very much a real 90's distributed operation.


                                 About Robelle

 Bob Green on the Road.  Bob will be busy speaking this fall:  October 1st at
 HP's "Best of Interex" Conference for their internal MIS people in
 California, October 12th in New Orleans, October 17th in Indianapolis, and
 October 19th as the keynote speaker for the MARUG bash (oops, "meeting") in
 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

 Sale of Dbaudit Product.  We have found a new home for Dbaudit in a software
 firm that is known to the users and has a strong technical support group.
 Dbaudit needed a stronger marketing effort to reach more HP 3000 sites.
 Education is required to show people the value of transaction logging and the
 activity reports which Dbaudit generates from it.  Unfortunately, our firm's
 small size does not allow us to devote the energy to Dbaudit that it
 deserves.  This transfer will allow us to concentrate our resources fully on
 our other products.

 We have concluded an agreement with Bradmark Computer Systems for them to
 take over Dbaudit, including new sales, support for existing users, and new
 right-to-copy licenses for current sites.  Bradmark is well known for their
 DBGENERAL and SUPERDEX products, as well as for 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week
 technical support.  You should update your vendor records to show their
 address and telephone numbers:

      Bradmark Computer Systems Inc.
      Attention:  Liz Stanley, Admin.  Mgr.
      4265 San Felipe, Suite 820
      Houston, TX  77027
      Telephone:  [phone]  (or 1-800-275-2723)
      Fax:  [phone]

 We would like to introduce you to Mark Guthrie, who is Bradmark's marketing
 manager for Dbaudit, and Larry Boyd, who is Bradmark's R&D manager for
 Dbaudit.  Mark Guthrie was a long-time user of Dbaudit before he came to
 Bradmark, and he was the one who thought up the idea of linking DBGENERAL and
 Dbaudit.  For any questions regarding product or pricing policy, call Mark at
 [phone].  Some of you may remember Larry Boyd from his many years as
 an HP 3000 user in Dallas.  Even before we had officially signed the
 contract, Larry was in Vancouver to study the source code under our
 instruction.  He has already converted Dbaudit to be compatible with
 DBGENERAL, resolved two outstanding problems, and done several enhancements
 to the product (including a NOUPDATE option for the CHECKPOINT feature).

 Robelle has just completed distribution of a new release of Dbaudit, version
 2.0.1, which will be the last version you receive from us.  The transfer of
 Dbaudit occurred on August 2, 1990, including sales, technical support, and
 development.  Of course, we are working closely with Bradmark to ensure a
 smooth transition.  Please call Bradmark for Dbaudit technical support at
 [phone], but be assured that we are providing backup support should
 that be necessary.  We are giving the Bradmark staff product training on
 Dbaudit, as well as in-depth technical training for the specialists who will
 be supporting and enhancing Dbaudit.

 P.S.  If Dbaudit is your only Robelle product, you may be wondering about the
 "What's Up Doc?" newsletter.  We are keeping you on the mailing list despite
 the transfer of Dbaudit.  Since we are not transferring HowMessy and Select
 to Bradmark, you should call us if you depend on these tools and we will
 arrange continuing updates.






                     Here They Are:  The Robelle Dealers!

 Robelle is extremely lucky in the dealers that it has representing it around
 the world.  They have proved to be a knowledgeable, conscientious, and
 friendly group.  If you need any of our software outside North America, or
 just need a trustworthy place to call about HP 3000 problems, try this list:

  United Kingdom                     Austria, Switzerland
  Clive Oldfield                     SWS SoftWare Systems AG
  91 Cumberland Road                 Attention: Kurt Sager
  London E13 8LH                     Postfach
  England                            CH-3172 Niederwangen
  Phone:  [phone]            Switzerland
  or [phone] ext 201 (LBS)   Phone: [phone]
  Fax:  [phone]              Fax: [phone]

  Australia, New Zealand             Mexico
  Michael Redmond                    Lagerholm Software S.A. de C.V.
  CO-CAM PTY Ltd.                    Attention:  Svante Lagerholm
  18 Trenerry Crescent               Carlos Arellano  3er piso
  Abbotsford                         Circuito Centro Comercial
  Victoria 3067                      Cd. Satelite, Naucalpan de Juarez
  Australia                          Edo. de Mexico, C.P. 53100
  Phone: [phone]              Mexico
  Fax: [phone]                Phone: [phone]
  Telex: 39178 COCAM

  Scandinavia                        South Africa
  Ole Nord AB                        Robert Gibson
  Management Systems Consultant      Synergy Computing (Pty.) Ltd.
  Strandvagen 39                     Norwich Life Center
  191 45 Sollentuna                  Protea Road
  Sweden                             Claremont 7700 South Africa
  Phone: [phone]             Phone: [phone]
  Fax: [phone]                Fax: [phone]
  Telex: 16830 SOS S                 Telex: 5727566 CTCOC SA

  Holland                            Germany
  SAMCO Automation b.v.              Kurt Sager
  Attention: Marius Schild           SWS SoftWare Systems GmbH
  Sprendlingenstraat 4               Postfach 1710
  5061 KN Oisterwijk                 D-7858 Weil am Rhein
  Holland                            Germany
  Phone: [phone]              Phone: [phone]
  Fax: [phone]                Telex, Fax: see Switzerland

  France
  ARES
  3, Avenue du Norvege
  ZAC de Courtaboeuf
  91946 Les Ulis Cedex France
  Phone: [phone] x 175
  Fax: [phone]






                                Technical Tips

 MPE XL Variables.  You can include variable names in the text of a TELL
 command, and MPE XL will replace them with the actual values.  E.g.,

 :TELLOP At !hptimef !hpjobname JOB FAILED with CIERROR !cierror

 MPE XL Is Magic.  Type :HELP SUMMARY on MPE XL 2.05.  It tells you that if
 you type HELP CM, you will get a list of commands that have been enchanted
 for MPE XL.  Aha!  I knew there was magic involved!

 Native-Mode KSAM Warning.  Do not :RELEASE a native mode KSAM file.  It
 causes the EOF to be set to zero.  This is supposed to be fixed in an MPE XL
 patch called CXS4.  HP SR #5000-567305.

 Checking for MPE XL in Version 2.1.  We used to check whether a job stream or
 command file was running on MPE XL by doing a :Showcache Command and looking
 for a specific Cierr number.  Ooops!  MPE XL 2.1 returns a different error
 number for :Showcache.  Here is the new way that we detect MPE XL, using a
 command that we hope is less likely to change:

      !setjcw false = 0
      !setjcw true  = 1
      !setjcw cierror=0
      !comment   Determine whether we are on MPE XL.
      !continue
      !setvar robelletempflag "MPE XL " + "only"
      !if cierror=0 then
      !   continue
      !   deletevar robelletempflag
      !   setjcw mpexlflag = true
      !else
      !   setjcw mpexlflag = false
      !endif
      !if mpexlflag = true
      !   octcomp qedit,qeditoct
      !endif


                      Thanks for Qedit Survey Responses

 A hearty "thank you" to all the users who returned our Qedit Enhancement
 Survey.  I especially liked the reply from Has-Ole Kaae at Greenlandair who
 sent two copies of his votes, explaining "one for each HP 3000 !? ok?".  Here
 are the survey totals to date:

      Undo changes                       607
      Split screen                       534
      PC Editor usable w/without HP 3000 457
      PC Frontend linked to Qedit        396
      Editing of Cobol compile errors    391
      Editing of Cobol Copylib members   385
      Native-Mode version of Qedit       382
      Spelling checker                   353
      Four-up listings                   326
      Set Lang Quiz                      269
      Fast NM Compiler Interface         263
      Variables on MPE V                 215
      HPPATH variable on MPE V           199

 You will be happy to hear that several of your favorites are already done and
 are included in Qedit version 3.9 to be released before Christmas:

      Trap Cobol compile errors and point direct to source line
      Text, List and Keep Copylib members
      NM Compiler Interface for seamless compiling

 Since Undo was far and away the favorite enhancement idea, we have started
 work on it immediately for version 4.0 of Qedit.  If you have ever used
 another editor whose Undo logic you thought was outstanding, please send us
 the documentation so we can study it.  We are planning a Native-Mode
 conversion of QEDIT this winter as well.

 Some of the hand-written requests that we received are already available in
 Qedit 3.8, which you should have.  For example, Stuart Scaiffe asked for "a
 string search option which places the cursor at the start of the string
 found".  If he is using Visual, Set Vis Home Off will give him just what he
 wants already.  For Line-Mode, we will have to consider an enhancement.


                             System Debugger Tips

 The MPE XL System Debugger is a great advance over MPE V and the Symbolic
 Debugger (XDB) is said to be even better.  Here is a tip for using the System
 Debugger, from David Greer, our head of R & D:


 Setting a "Return" Breakpoint.

 One of the most useful breakpoints is the one immediately after a procedure
 call.  Suppose, for example, that your program calls the procedure
 extract_ready.  You want to know the result of extract_ready, so you would
 like a breakpoint in the calling code immediately after the call to
 extract_ready.  You do this when you first enter extract_ready.  Note that
 the following will not work anywhere else:

      nmdebug >b extract_ready
      nmdebug >c
      .
      .
      .
      nmdebug >b sr4.r2,-1    {sr4 = space register 4}
      nmdebug >c              {continue execution}

 By convention, the return address is always relative to Space Register Four.
 Thus the full return address is "sr4.r2".  The ",-1" tells Debug/XL to
 execute the breakpoint once and then throw it away.

 Unfortunately, this scheme doesn't work as well for system intrinsics, since
 the return address is a switch stub and not your actual code.  However, we
 have used this trick to breakpoint an exit from the HPFOPEN intrinsic.  When
 you exit HPFOPEN and pop up within the switch stub, you are not yet back in
 the calling program.  But, since HPFOPEN has completed, you can look at the
 returned file number and status parameters to see what the results were.


            Robelle Products:  Problems, Solutions, and Suggestions

 Qedit  Version 3.8.1/3.8.2

 Setting Qedit run parm for MPEX %QEDIT Command.  The %QEDIT command in MPEX
 invokes Qedit without specifying a run-time parm.  This means that Qedit will
 not execute commands in account and local QEDITMGR files.  If you want Qedit
 to execute commands in account and local QEDITMGR files, you can specify a
 run-time parm for Qedit by setting the variable MPEXQEDITFILE in MPEX before
 entering the %QEDIT command:

      %Setvar MpexQeditFile "QEDIT.PUB.ROBELLE;PARM=3"

 This command can be added to the MPEXMGR file in PUB.VESOFT to set this as a
 default for your site.

 Variable Substitution.  We get a number of calls from Qedit customers who
 want to get the value of a JCW or MPE XL variable into a file.  This can be
 done easily by adding a dummy value to the file and changing this to the
 value of a variable/JCW in a command file.  Here's an example.

      /Add
          1     Today's Date is: $TODAY
          2     //

      /:Purge Today,Temp
      FILE ! NOT FOUND, NO PURGE DONE.  (CIWARN 383)
      /:Beginfile Today
      /:/Change "$TODAY"!HPDATEF"
      /:Endfile

      /Today
          1     Today's Date is: TUE, AUG  7, 1990
      1 line changed

 Interrupting NM Compiles.  Thom Nelson discovered a problem with our PASXL
 udc (in udcxl.catalog.robelle).  If you do a break/abort of one of our NM
 compiler udcs, it leaves a temporary message file which will cause problems
 if you try to re-Open your file in the same session.  The workaround is to
 purge the temporary message file after you abort the compile.  This will be
 fixed in Qedit 3.9, due to be released at the end of the year.

 Xpress  Version 2.6

 Xpress User Numbers.  When managing the Xpress user base, it is sometimes
 difficult to decide how to assign user numbers to the various users and
 groups.  Here are a few real-life hints from our users.

 A user passed on a tip about how he assigns Xpress user numbers.  He gives
 every user the same four-digit number as their telephone extension.  That way
 it's really easy to remember a person's user number, as long as you know his
 phone number.  And vice versa.  The down side of this tip is that there is no
 logical grouping of numbers.  Also, Xpress lists the users in numeric order,
 not alphabetic order, possibly making it difficult to locate a user by name.

 Other Xpress shops assign the user numbers in ranges, with all the users of a
 group being in the same range of numbers.  E.g., the 400's are MIS, the 500's
 are ACCOUNTING, etc.  A typical example would be 400 = MIS group, 401/499 =
 users of the MIS group.

 One Xpress shop assigns the numbers so that the user list shows up in
 alphabetic order.  They have to leave big gaps in the numbers to be able to
 add new users in the correct alphabetic order without reassigning existing
 user numbers.  In this scheme, the number itself has no intrinsic meaning.

 Saving fkeys on MPE XL.  One of our users told us that Xpress was taking a
 whole minute to save his function keys when he started up Xpress.  This
 operation usually doesn't take more than a second or two.  The user finally
 figured out the problem:  when he had both MPE XL type-ahead and Reflection
 type-ahead enabled at the same time, the fkeys could not be saved.  The
 solution was to disable one of the type-aheads.  We recommend disabling MPE
 XL type-ahead if you have Reflection type-ahead.


 Suprtool  Version 3.2

 MPE XL 2.1 Patch.  There seems to be a problem with the MPE XL trap handler,
 such that if Suprtool aborts it may invoke a System Abort #613.  One known
 way for Suprtool to abort is to try to Use a file which is wider than 120
 characters.  The problem with Use files is fixed with the following patch to
 Suprtool.

      :hello mgr.robelle,pub
      :run patch.pub.sys
      File? Suprtool
      ?M,16,3651
      035051,035201
      ?E

 Native-Mode KSAM.  One of the most popular questions of the last few months
 has been, "What about native-mode KSAM?"   Good question.

 Testing with the production version of MPE XL 2.1 has shown that Suprtool
 does not work with NM KSAM.  No error is reported, but when reading from an
 input NM KSAM file, Suprtool will only read some of the records.  We do not
 know when Suprtool will be compatible with NM KSAM, although we are hoping
 for the last quarter of 1990.  Even if we get Suprtool working with NM KSAM,
 our experience suggests that you should probably wait a year before trying NM
 KSAM.
*c1950a615b5g2P*p-50Y

    Fortune Cookie of the Month

    The Stress Diet:

           Breakfast:  Half Grapefruit, 4 oz skim milk, 1 unbuttered toast,
                       black coffee
               Lunch:  6 oz boiled cabbage, 1 boiled egg, 2 slices melba
                       toast, 12 grapes, 1 Oreo cookie
    Afternoon Coffee Break:The rest of the bag of Oreos
              Dinner:  2 loaves of garlic bread, double helping of lasagna,
                       1/2 bottle of wine, 2 pieces of pecan pie
       Midnite Snack:  1 entire Sara Lee double frosted cake