What's new in Rational Programming Patterns

The following new capabilities are introduced in Rational® Programming Patterns Version 9.7.1.

Export of instance descriptions and publishing of instances

  • The export of instance descriptions in a csv format is now more broadly available in the Design Explorer view. It is extended to other entities (Data Elements, Data Structures, Database Blocks, Reports, Screens, and Servers), to other descriptions of entities (-LAL (Level, Address, Length) of Segments, Logical Views, and Tables), and to the -GC Lines of the entities.
  • If the csv file is not produced by an export, a message explains the reason of the problem.
  • A new rpp --publish command is available to publish the design instances and their descriptions in an xml or html format.

Enhanced design editors

  • The Input Aid creation wizard contains a new option to create DATA and DATASQ Input Aids. Their -D Lines are initialized.
  • A warning is set on a Report if the incremental numbering of the Report structures is not respected, for example after the removal of a structure. A new Renumber structure choice in the -CE Lines contextual menu is now available to simultaneously renumber the structures in the -CE Lines and -D Lines of the Report.
  • A dialog box is displayed when a group is removed from the -CE Lines of a Segment. You can then choose to remove the group and all its components or only the group line. If only the group line is removed, all the group components are moved up one level.
  • Warnings are set if the -D Lines of a Report contain more than 12 totalization lines (* or T). These warnings, which are set from the 13th line, state that the totalization lines will be ignored for the associated categories when the Program that calls the Report is generated.
  • A new item in the contextual menu of the Program -CD Lines can be used to correct the warning that is generated when the Generated description type and the COBOL record level of a Data Structure called as a SQL database are not set to 1.
  • The actions to copy, paste, and remove selected lines are now enabled in the Screen -CE Lines, the Database Block -DR Lines, the Program -CD Lines, and the Report -CE Lines and -D Lines only if the selection is valid.

Enhanced code management

  • The Restore Generated code action in the Generated Code Structure view opens a compare editor that displays both the modified code and the restored generated code that would overwrite it if you choose to validate the restoration.
  • Pasting selected lines that include micropattern declaration lines and their corresponding generated lines has a different result according to the editor. If you paste the selected lines to the PDP COBOL editor, only the declaration lines are pasted. However, in any other editor, all the selected lines are pasted.
  • An Override action is available in the contextual menu of the Generated Code Structure view to override a generated subfunction with a specific subfunction.

Enhanced search and impact analysis

  • New standard advanced design searches are available: search on the type for Database Blocks, Data Structures, Screens or Servers, search on the external name for Database Blocks, Programs, Screens or Servers, and search on the map external name for Screens.
  • The instances that are called as parameters in the micropattern declaration lines are now found as sub references. Before, only the instances called in the WE, WI, WS, and WF micropatterns were found.
  • From the super references result view, you can directly access the Text section where an instance is referenced as @ENTINSTANCE (with ENT as the entity type and INSTANCE as the instance of this entity).

Enhanced migration

  • Database Blocks are generated if a Database Blocks list was produced by the migration procedures and then transferred into the migration directory.
  • The creation and generation of Copybooks can be triggered upon migration by a new file that must be specified in the migration directory.
  • New options to separate the generated files are available in the automatic migration command for the Copybooks, Error Messages, and Database Blocks.

Miscellaneous

  • The content of the Problems view can be configured to single out a type of Rational Programming Patterns warning. This warning indicates that a Data Element that is called as an undefined Data Element in the -CE Lines of a Segment is defined in the project.
  • The scope of the quality rule templates on the number of comment lines and Segment call lines has been extended to the client/server entities.