IBM i 7.4 Infor LX BPCS Technical Note

IBM i 7.4 Infor LX and BPCS Technical Note 

Last updated 2 November 2021

Overview 

Technote contains information for installing or running Infor's BPCS and LX products on IBM i 7.4. This information includes required PTFs for IBM i and related operating system components, minimum levels supported for Infor LX (BPCS) software, or other information on known problems and restrictions.

Currently, supported versions include: LX 8.4.x, LX 8.3.x

SQL Statement Errors - "Blank" vs Numeric Comparison

IBM Program Fixes (PTFs) 

PTFs are not listed out individually below once they are part of the latest group PTF or cumulative release. Therefore, it is STRONGLY recommended that you put in place a process to regularly obtain and apply the latest update of the Group PTF for SQL and Database to your system.

Any PTFs required by BPCS programs which are NOT included in the database group PTF or latest Cumulative, are listed separately below. Currently, there are no individual required PTFs for IBM i 7.4.

The most current IBM i 7.4 CUM and HIPER PTFs are strongly recommended as a minimum set. Other recommended PTF groups include the Database Group, Security Group, and HTTP Server Group. Here are some useful links for finding and applying PTF groups.

The current Cumulative PTF documentation (SF99740) can be found at this link:   http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas4SF99740 

The latest HIPER Group PTF (SF99xxx) can be found at this link:   http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas4SF99xxx 

The latest Db2 for i Group PTF (SF99704) can be found at this link:   http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas4SF99704 

The following link lists the IBM i Group PTFs for all IBM i releases, including links to the latest:   http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas4PSPbyNum 

Use the WRKPTFGRP command to check the current level of the installed PTF cum and groups on your system. By default WRKPTFGRP will show multiple levels, but you can specify WRKPTFGRP PTFGRPLVL(*LATEST) to only show the latest applied level.

Known Issues and Resolutions 

BPCS and LX Install Failures 

Affected BPCS versions: LX 8.3.0, 8.3.1, 8.3.2, 8.3.3, 8.2.00, 8.1.00, 8.0.00, 6.1.00

Starting in IBM i 7.1 changes were made to the output file for the DSPOPT command. Several LX and BPCS install processes use this output file and will fail during the install. BMR 75728 must be installed before installing the affected products and versions listed above.

Various BPCS and LX Programs do not convert to V6R1 

Affected BPCS versions: LX 8.3.0, 8.3.1, 8.3.2, 8.3.3, 8.2.00, 8.1.00, 8.0.00, 6.1.00, 4.0.05 CD

Starting in IBM i 6.1 many secured source programs fail to convert to the new operating system because they are not observable. Obtain BMR 73619 and BMR 73684 to install updated copies of these objects. A new license key is required when installing BMR 73684.

Unable to log in to BPCS client/server 

Affected BPCS versions: 8.2.00, 8.1.00, 8.0.00, 6.1.00

Starting in IBM i 6.1 many NEWI, DOCA or ALAUNCH library objects fail to convert to the new operating system because they are not observable. Obtain the proper objects for your BPCS release from BMR 73959 on the Infor Xtreme Support website.

SQL Warnings cause errors in many BPCS programs 

Affected BPCS versions: 8.0.00, 6.1.00

Log in to  http://www.inforxtreme.com 

Select Downloads/Patches and select Search for a BPCS Modification Request for a list of BPCS BMRs and cumulative releases for releases 6.1.00 and 8.0.00.  These patches correct the SQL problem so that the IBM code for suppressing SQL warnings is not required.

If you choose not to apply these fixes, you will need to activate the SQL_SUPPRESS_WARNINGS option.

NOTE: BPCS 8.1 and higher releases do NOT require SQL_SUPPRESS_WARNINGS to be activated and it is NOT recommended as a general practice to activate this option.

RPG Compiler error compiling large BPCS programs – ODTs exceeded 

Affected BPCS versions: 6.1.00

ODTs are exceeded when certain 6.1 BPCS programs are compiled into OPM RPG at V4R5 and higher releases of IBM i (OS/400). This issue is corrected by use of ILE RPG in BPCS 8.0 and higher releases. The suggested workaround on prior product releases is to recompile the program manually into ILE RPG.

Infor Xtreme has a utility available on the FTP site called CVTCMPILE, which will help to automate this task. From the InforXtreme.com main page, select Downloads/Patches and select BPCS/ERPLX FTP to access the FTP site.

RPG Compiler error compiling large BPCS programs – DBGVIEW(*SOURCE) 

Affected BPCS/LX versions: 8.3.0, 8.3.1, 8.3.2, 8.3.3, 8.2.00, 8.1.00, 8.0.00

Some large ILE RPG programs fail to compile when a DBGVIEW value of *SOURCE is specified (which is the default value in the BPCS and LX compile commands). The program can be compiled with reduced debug information by manually recompiling the source with a two-step process that substitutes DBGVIEW(*LIST) for DBGVIEW(*SOURCE). The complete instructions for running this two-step compile can be found in KB article 1626316 on the Infor Xtreme website.

Error MCH6801 received in ADK 

An MCH6801 message is received when using the AS/SET ADK development tool at Security Level (SECLVL) 40 or 50. This issue is due to some of the AS/SET programs being compiled before V2R3. BMR 62901 redelivers these programs. The workaround is to reduce system Security Level to 30. This issues affects all versions of AS/SET up to BPCS 8.2.00.