Chapter 1
Product Overview


Distribution Media

The Micro Focus COBOL V4.1.30 product consists of one of the following CDs:

Product documentation is included on the Micro Focus ObjectCOBOL 4.1 for Unix Documentation CD. For more information, refer to the section, "Product Documentation ," later in these release notes.


New Features in ThisRelease

The Documentation CD HTML file diff4120.htm lists the new features that have been documented in this release and provides a reference to the documentation book that describes the feature in detail.

The following list contains the features that have been added or that are now documented in the standard set of manuals for Micro Focus COBOL V4.1.30:


Product Compatibility


Compatibility with DYNIX/ptx

On Symmetry® systems, Micro Focus COBOL V4.1.30 runs on DYNIX/ptx V4.2.4 and later, excluding V4.3. On NUMA-QTM systems, Micro Focus COBOL V4.1.30 runs on DYNIX/ptx V4.4 and V4.5.


Micro Focus COBOL V4.0 and V4.1 CompatibilityProblems

Micro Focus COBOL V4.1.30 is not compatible with Micro Focus COBOL V4.0. Dynamically linked executables created using one version of the Developer Suite may not run correctly using a different version of the Application Server.


Micro Focus COBOL and IBM NUMA-Q Micro Focus COBOLCompatibility Problems

Merant sells a version of Micro Focus COBOL that runs on IBM NUMA-Q systems. Please note that this version is not guaranteed to be compatible with the Micro Focus COBOL that IBM NUMA-Q sells. Applications developed using the Micro Focus COBOL Developer Suite from one supplier (IBM NUMA-Q or Merant) may not run correctly on the Micro Focus COBOL Application Server from the other supplier.


Binary Compatibility BetweenMicro Focus COBOL V4.1.06 and V4.1.30

Micro Focus COBOL V4.1.06 and V4.1.30 are binary compatible. Therefore Micro Focus COBOL 4.1.30 can be installed as a maintenance upgrade on any IBM NUMA-Q system currently running COBOL V4.1.06 with no change to the existing COBOL applications on that system. This means that COBOL applications built with COBOL V4.1.06 and compiled to any of the following formats should continue to run unchanged when used in the COBOL V4.1.30 environment:

file.int

(COBOL Intermediate Code file)

file.gnt

(COBOL Generated Code file)

file

(ELF Executable file)


Note that when you install COBOL V4.1.30, the following warning message appears:

If you have re-linked the Run-Time System(i.e. used the cob -x command or mkrts script at any time) then you must re-createthese executable programs using this new release. If you do not re-createthese executables, the results of running the older executables with thisnew release will be undefined.

The purpose of this warning is to alert the user that if they provide (or if an ISV provides) an enhanced Run-Time System, then to obtain an equivalent Run-Time System that uses this new release of COBOL V4.1.30, the user will need to re-link the Run-Time System using the cob -x command or mkrts script. For more information, refer to the specific application installation instructions.

Recompiling any cobol application, although not required, takes advantage of any fixes in the cobol compiler provided in this new release.

Relinking any cobol application executables, although not required, also takes advantage of any fixes that may be provided in the static portion of the COBOL Run-Time System (rts32) which is statically linked with every COBOL executable built with cob -x.

Should you experience any unexplained results when using executables built with COBOL V4.1.06 while running on the COBOL V4.1.30 environment, we recommend you first try recompiling and/or relinking those applications with this new release to take advantage of the static fixes described above.


Incompatibility with DBCS for the Japanese Locale

Compiling and/or running applications with DBCS (Double Byte Character Strings) for the Japanese locale is not supported in Micro Focus COBOL V4.1. This includes use of the Animator, Editor, and Screens tools.


Unsupported Locales

IBM NUMA-Q systems do not support the following locales: Simple Chinese EUC, Traditional Chinese EUC, Traditional Chinese Big-5 and Korean EUC environments. Although Micro Focus COBOL V4.1 does support these locales, they are not supported on the IBM NUMA-Q system.


Product Documentation

The Micro Focus COBOL documentation is located on the Micro Focus ObjectCOBOL 4.1 for UNIX Documentation CD, (Issue 3) CD - OCDS - 413DOC. The documents are in HTML format and Adobe® Acrobat® format. To view the documents in HTML format, you can use any World Wide Web browser. To view the documents in Adobe Acrobat format, you can use the Adobe Acrobat Reader V2.0 or later. For more information about the Adobe Acrobat Reader, see the World Wide Web site http://www.adobe.com/. For information about mounting the CD, refer to the booklet inside the CD jewel case.

To order additional copies of the documentation CD, contact your local IBM sales representative. Use the table below to locate the appropriate office. To order hardcopy documentation, contact Merant at (650) 938-3700.


IBM Support Centers

American Operations

1-800-854-9969

Austrailia

1800-025-230

New Zealand

0800-657-768

Singapore

+65-223-5455

United Kingdom

+44 1932-815600



Disk Space Requirementsfor Documentation

The document for the COBOL Developer Suite installation requires 24 MBytes of free disk space. For COBOL Application Server, the installation requires 14 MBytes of free disk space.