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BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition Release Notes

About BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition

The BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition (JAM) is a set of software components that provide seamless bi-directional interactions between Java applications running on a WebLogic Server (WLS) platform and either Customer Information Control System (CICS) applications or Information Management System (IMS) applications running on a mainframe. With CICS, the Java application request/response operations interact using Distributed Program Links (DPLs). With IMS, the Java application request/response operations interact using implicit Application Program-to-Program Communication (APPC) support.

The eLink JAM environment requires the following:

- WebLogic Server (versions 4.0.2 through 4.5.1)

- Supported third-party Systems Network Architecture (SNA) stack

Product Packaging

The box containing the eLink JAM product includes the following:

- Product software CD-ROM

- Documentation CD-ROM

- BEA Systems, Inc. Support Guide, Registration Card, and License

Supported Platforms

The following table lists UNIX-based platforms, Windows NT platforms, corresponding SNA protocol stacks and JDK versions supported by JAM with BEA WebLogic Server (WLS) 4.x.

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Table 1 BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition Supported Platforms

Operating System | Stack | JDK
--- | --- | ---
AIX 4.3.2 | AIX Comm. Server 5.0 | JDK 1.1.6
HP-UX 10.20 | SNA plus 2 v6.0 | JDK 1.1.7
Windows NT 4.0 | IBM Comm. Server 5.0 for Windows NT | JDK 1.1.7
Windows NT 4.0 | IBM Comm. Server 6.0 for Windows NT | JDK 1.1.7
Windows NT 4.0 Server | Microsoft SNA Server 4.0 SP3 | JDK 1.1.7
Solaris 2.6 | DCL SNAP-IX 6.0 Sun Link 9.1 | JDK 1.1.7
Solaris 7 | DCL SNAP-IX 6.0 | JDK 1.1.7

Stack-Related Issues

This section includes known stack issues that remain open with the current release of the software.

- SUN Link 9.1 stack

  BEA eLink JAM software does not support Solaris 7 operating system using SUN Link 9.1 stack.

- IBM AIX Communication Server 5.0

  For certain release levels of IBM's Communication Server 5.0 for AIX, the SNA Communications Resource Manager (SNACRM) may receive a `Parameter Check' indicating `invalid format'. This `invalid format' error is a known problem with Communication Server and a patch can be obtained from IBM to remedy the situation.

Supported Host Platforms

Table 2 lists the IBM host platforms supported by eLink JAM.

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Table 2 Supported Host Platforms

Vendor | Classification | Product | Version | Comments
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
IBM | MF/OS | OS390 | 1.2, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6 | Y2K Certified
IBM | MF/OS | VSE/ESA | 2.3 | Y2K Certified
IBM | MF/OLTP | CICS/ESA | 4.1 | for MVS
IBM | MF/OLTP | CICS Transaction Server for OS/390 | 1.2 , 1.3 | for MVS
IBM | MF/OLTP | CICS | 2.3 | for VSE
IBM | MF/OLTP | IMS/ESA Transaction Manager | 5.1 6.1 | for MVS
IBM | MF/TCOM | ACF/VTAM | 3.4 or later | for MVS
IBM | MF/TCOM | ACF/NCP | 4.3 or later | for MVS
IBM | MF/TCOM | ACF/VTAM |  | for VSE
IBM | MF/TCOM | ACF/NCP |  | for VSE
IBM | MF/OS | OS390 | 1.2 | Y2K Certified

Remote Environment System Requirements

The JAM requires the following remote system software in order to operate properly:

- CICS 4.1 through IBM Transaction Server 1.2 and 1.3

- IMS/ESA DC 5.1

- MVS 5.22 9510 or higher, including OS/390 through 2.60

- VSE/ESA 2.3

- VTAM 3.4 or higher

Where to Get Product Documentation

Documentation for this product is available from the following locations:

- On the BEA corporate Web site. From the BEA Home page at http://www.beasys.com, click on Product Documentation or go directly to the "e-docs" Product Documentation page at http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/index.html.

- On the BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition Online Documentation CD. The documentation CD includes Web-browsable HTML and easy-to-print Adobe Acrobat PDF documentation for this product.

  To access the PDFs, open the BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition documentation Home page, click the PDF files button and select the document you want to view or print. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can get it for free from the Adobe Web site at http://www.adobe.com/.

Using the BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition Online Documentation

You can install the HTML files on your server or client, or leave them on the CD. If you copy the files to your system, you should maintain the directory structure that was provided on the CD. However, you can move that directory structure to any location. The files are located on the CDROM in the doc/elinkjam/v40 directory. Note the filename path to the directory where you install them on your server or client.

The Online Documentation CD includes a Java search applet to help you find BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition topics in the documentation. To use the search capabilities, your browser must have Java support enabled. For information on limitations of the search capabilities, see Documentation CD Search Applet Limitations.

To view the documentation, you need a Web browser that supports HTML 3.0 features including tables and frames. Netscape Navigator 4.0 or later or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later are recommended. When you install the HTML files, they will be located in a directory on your system. You should keep the HTML files that are contained within a directory together. However, you can move that directory to any location.

Note: It is recommended that you locate the HTML browser and the HTML files on the same client or server device.

Accessing the Documentation

To begin viewing the online documentation, use one of the following methods to open the HTML file in a Web browser:

Use the following path to access the document from the CD.

Listing 1 Accessing Online Documentation from a CD

>     <cdrom>/doc/elinkjam/v40/index.htm

Use the following path to access the document installed to a Web server.

Listing 2 Accessing Online Documentation from a Web Server

>     http://(directory path to BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition HTML files)/index.htm

On UNIX systems, you may need to mount the CD before you are able to access the index.htm page. For mounting instructions on UNIX platforms, refer to the installation instructions in the BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition Online Documentation CD-ROM.

Using the Information Center Display

When you open the index.htm file, the BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition Information Center displays on your Web browser. This display serves as your entry point to many online sources of information. It contains the following important features:

- Banner containing the name and version of the product

- Home key colored gold to signify you are located at the home destination for product documentation

- Search key used to launch the documentation search engine

- Contact key used to display Documentation Support and Customer Support information

- PDF key used to access a PDF version of the product documentation

  If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader to read PDF files, there is a hot link to the Adobe Systems Incorporated Web site so you can acquire the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

- What's New key used to highlight the changes for the product release

- Topics list containing links to product documentation

Printing the PDF File

You must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the PDF file. If you do not have this reader, you can obtain it free of charge from the Adobe Systems Incorporated home site at www.adobe.com. (Please note that the BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition Information Center contains a hot link to this site.)

Printing from the Web Browser

You can print a copy of this document, one file at a time, from the Web browser. Before you print, make sure that the topic you want is displayed and selected in your browser. (To select a topic, click anywhere inside the frame you want to print. If your browser offers a Print Preview feature, you can use the feature to verify the topic you are about to print.)

Documentation CD Search Applet Limitations

The Online Documentation CD include a Java search applet to help you find BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition topics. The following sections describe current limitations with the search applet.

Special Characters

The search applet does not find strings containing some special characters, such as slashes(/) and/or dollar signs ($). The Java search applet does find strings containing underscores (_) and periods (.). Attempts to search for strings with unsupported special characters result in a "No matches" message.

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 SP3, Java Applets, and True Color

On Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 systems running Service Pack 3 (SP3), browser links to HTML pages containing Java applications hang if the system's Display Properties are set to True Color. This Microsoft Windows NT SP3 bug is a known problem and has a Microsoft support article, patch, and workaround. The problem might affect your initial ability to use the Java search applet on a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 system. However, you can work around this problem by assigning another value to the color palette, such as 16777216 Colors or 65536 Colors.

For more information about the problem and the Microsoft patch, see the Microsoft support article titled "Java Applets Cause IE 3.02 to Stop Responding w/ SP3." It is posted at the Microsoft Web site (www.microsoft.com) as article ID number Q168748 [winnt]. To access this article, use the following URL:

>     http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q168/7/48.asp?FR=0

Note: You may not be able to access this article without providing online profile information to the Microsoft Web site.

Although this article discusses the problem as it occurs in Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02, it is relevant in this context because the same problem occurs in other browsers on the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 SP3 platform. Read the article carefully, however, before applying the patch to an Windows NT 4.0 SP3 system.

UNC Path Names

The Java search applet uses a pre-compiled search database of topics. Because of the way the search database is built, you must adhere to one of the following options to use the documentation CD search feature:

- Use the CD on a local CD reader.

- Map a network drive to a remote, shared device that contains the CD or a copy of the CD's content; in your browser, use the network drive to find and open the index.htm file in the CD's top documentation directory.

- Copy the CD's content to a local drive on your system.

- Copy the CD's content to a Web server on your corporate Intranet. Make sure that index.htm is the default file name used by the Web server software. The Online Documentation CD contains a file called index.htm, which <is the home page> <or> <creates the framework> for the online documentation. The path name for this file on the CDs is \doc\<product>\<version>\index.htm.

  If your Web server software does not allow you to use a file named index.htm, make a copy of index.htm and rename the copy with the default file name you must use, such as default.htm. Keep both the original index.htm file and your renamed copy of it in the same directory.

You cannot use the search applet if you have accessed the CD or a copy of its content through a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path. For example, UNC paths are used by the Windows NT Network Neighborhood. The search applet does not interpret relative paths to the matched target *.htm pages because the UNC path is added to the beginning of each link. To use the documentation CD search feature, please use one of the four recommended methods listed earlier in this section.

Only the search applet's results list is affected by this UNC limitation. You can use UNC paths, such as accessing the documentation CD on a Network Neighborhood system's shared CD device, for all other relative hyperlinks on the CD.

Additional CD Search Tip

The search applet returns a list of HTML files that contain the search keyword(s) you enter. When you double click an entry in the search results list, the applet displays the target HTML file. To get the name of the book containing this HTML file, click the [TOP] hyperlink. The book's title page (which shows the name of the book) is displayed. You can then click the Back button in the browser to return to the HTML file that was originally displayed.

Browser Version and Platform Limitations for the Search Applet

Testing has shown that the Java search applet performs well on:

- Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

- Microsoft Windows 95 systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

- Microsoft Windows 98 systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

- Sun Solaris systems running Netscape 4.x, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x

Browser Error on UNIX Platforms

On some UNIX platforms, you may encounter a browser error message similar to the following:

>     Unable to start a java applet: Can't find 'java40.jar' in your CLASSPATH. Read the release notes and install 'java40.jar' properly before restarting.

If the search applet does not work on your UNIX platform, try using the latest Netscape browser for the platform and add the Netscape Java Archive (JAR) file to your CLASSPATH environment variable. The path to the JAR file is in the directory in which you installed Netscape. For example:

>     CLASSPATH=mytools/netscape/communicator/program/java/classes/java40.jar

After you revise the CLASSPATH variable, exit Netscape and then restart Netscape in the updated environment. When you access the search page, the search feature should work properly.

Documentation Update

This section includes documentation updates for the "Configuring the Java Adapter for Mainframe Environment" chapter of the BEA eLink Java Adapter for Mainframe WLS Edition User Guide.

One or more occurrences of the following message may display on the WebLogic Server (WLS) startup window when the Java Communication Resource Manager Gateway (JCRMGW) is finished initializing.

>     Tue Apr 11 14:24:57 CDT 2000: <i> <jcrmgw) SNA_LINK_STATUS.newstate = 0xnn

>     SNA_LINK_STATUS.linkref = xxxx

The 0xnn value for newstate represents the status of the link named in `...linkref = xxxx' where xxxx matches a name from the gateway configuration (jcrmgw.cfg)for a given link.

The possible values for nn along with their meanings are listed below.

Table 3 JCRMGW Link Status Messages

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Value | Meaning
--- | ---
00 = link down | The link will not be usable until it is started using crmlkon or restarting the gateway.
01 = link pending | The link started successfully and is usable, but has unrecovered transactions associated with it.
02 = link up | The link started successfully and is usable.
04 = link inoperable | The link did not start and has an error preventing its usage.

Known Problems

This section includes known problems that remain open with the current release of software:

- When the SNACRM is spawned by WLS at startup and a Cntl-C interrupt is issued in the WLS startup window, the interrupt is caught by the SNACRM, but the SNA link is not released properly when the SNACRM terminates. The SNA link will be released when the SNACRM is restarted.

- Running Egen on AIX while using the Just-In-Time compiler (JIT) option of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), combined with the native threads Java library, sometimes results in the occurrence of segmentation violation (SEGV). Disabling the JIT by setting the JAVA_COMPILER environment variable to none circumvents this problem.

- Continuation lines are not recognized in COBOL copybooks. This is only a problem for long character literals occurring within VALUES clauses, which are ignored anyway. Commenting out the relevant clauses fixes the problem.

- COBOL copybooks with array (table) data items having OCCURS DEPENDING ON clauses must be structured so that the depending-on counter data item is not contained within the same group data item as the one containing the array.

- USAGE clauses on group data items in COBOL copybooks are not properly propagated to their subordinated member data items.

Please contact BEA Customer Support for assistance in tracking the unresolved problems identified with a CR number. For contact information, see the section "Contacting BEA Customer Support."

Contacting BEA Customer Support

If you have any questions about this version of JAM, or if you have problems installing and running the software, contact BEA Customer Support through BEA Web Support at www.beasys.com. You can also contact Customer Support by using the contact information provided on the Customer Support Card, which is included in the product package.

When contacting Customer Support, be prepared to provide the following information:

- Your name, e-mail address, phone number, and fax number

- Your company name and company address

- Your machine type and authorization codes

- The name and version of the product you are using

- A description of the problem and the content of pertinent error messages

Copyright © 2000 BEA Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Required browser: Netscape 4.0 or higher, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher.