APPX Miscellaneous Bugs

Item 1.1

Bug: Per APPX Technical Alert dated 08/04/95, the Toolbox utility Renumber is not working correctly in APPX 2.x. The problem occurs when renumbering any type of process and can lead to the corruption of ILF code in the process. (The renumbering of Files or Fields is not affected.)

Item 1.2

Bug (fixed in APPX 3.0 Beta): In Application Parameters F/M in Application Design, APPX 2.3 gives false WARNING messages that menu names are not found.

Item 1.3

Bug: In all releases of APPX, the Cross Reference Utility often does not find all references and is sometimes inconsistent in what it does find. This is particularly true of fields; however, the ILF X-Ref appears to work correctly. (See items 2.6 & 2.9.)

Item 1.4

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0, there appear to be several bugs related to CANCEL OK with some dating back to at least APPX 1.8.4 (see items 7.11 & 7.17; see test function CPA SE Job "!!! TEST CANCEL"):

1. APPX does not enforce CANCEL OK ="N" (whether set explicitly by commands or implicitly via 'User Cancel OK?' flags. The operator can still cancel.
2. If an operator cancels an (update) process, the cancel does not take effect until End of Process but before the End of Process code is executed. This is true regardless of the value in CANCEL OK or 'User Cancel OK'.
3. If an output is printed to the screen, it can be cancelled at that point even though CANCEL OK and 'User Cancel OK' are both "N".
4. A Status process (even with 'User Cancel OK?'="N") sets CANCEL OK to "Y" after executing Status Start of Process but before executing Post Invocation for the Status job step. It remains at "Y" for Pre-Invocation of the next job step even though a previous job step explicitly set it to "N". This is true whether or not the Status presents a screen to the user.
5. Difference or Bug? If the manual is correct (p. 575), setting CANCEL OK ="N" in APPX is not equivalent to SP2 use of built-in function 'CANCEL NOT OK' on a job step. In SP2 this would disable PF32 CANCEL unless and until the built-in function 'CANCEL OK' reenabled it. In APPX, according to the manual, CANCEL OK is set to the 'User Cancel OK?' flag for each process.
6. 'Cancel Disposition' on automatic and optional children shows the value "DISABLED" on the Scan screen (although referred to as "DISABLE" on p. 360 of the manual and as "prohibit" on p. 575). However, if you enter "DISABLED" as the Cancel Disposition, it is accepted but if you check it again it has been changed back to "CANCEL PARENT". (Note: The HELP screen on 'Cancel Disposition' in the 0AD File 'CHILD' is not current but does show Prohibit as option 0. Is it legitimate to have value 0 for a token?)
7. Difference: For a SP2 Update, the default value for 'Is Function Cancelable?' is "N". For an APPX Update, the default value for 'User Cancel OK?' is "Y". (In APPX, there is a 'User Cancel OK?' flag for every type of process, not just updates.)

Item 1.5

Bug: APPX 1.8.4 does not enforce opening files non-shared (either implicitly by flags or explicitly via OPEN).

Item 1.6

Bug: APPX 3.0 Beta does not close all files in Design File Mgt following certain operations such as Create Files and Initialize Files. To avoid subsequent "File Not Closed" error messages, after each such operation you should exit to APPX menu and then reenter if needed.

Item 1.7

Bug (reported as fixed in APPX 3.0.0): When creating design files in both APPX 2.3 and APPX 3.0 Beta, file PARAM may get the message "Requires Processing". Currently, the only work-around for this message is to reload application 0AD from the APPX Utility system tape.

Item 1.8

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0 Data Dictionary the default value for a field may be improperly displayed. For example, the default value "??????" was displayed for a date field after previously stepping thru Additional Attributes for a numeric field which had default value 0. When Additional Attributes was reaccessed for the date field, the default value was properly displayed as "YYMMDD". (See item 2.12.)

Item 1.9

Bug: In APPX 3.0 Beta, when using the Change All References utility, no input was permitted upon returning to the Change All References (Processes) screen after changing references for a job even though the fields appeared open for input. Entry was permitted after exiting and reentering.

Item 1.10

Bug: In APPX 2.3 Application Design it is possible for a process to be missing after changing its name. When the process name is redefined at the process level, APPX can then find the remainder of the process. (See item 1.23 for orphan utility and reference to similar type bugs.)

Item 1.11

Bug?/Note/Caution: In APPX 3.0.0, if you make a change to a domain in the data dictionary, processing the domains can take an inordinate amount of time (depending upon the number of applications with the same version). This is because APPX now addresses the domains in each application with that version in order to handle SAME AS domains. CAUTION: If you plan to change a domain, it is best to avoid having any other window or user in the Data Dictionary for any application with that version. For example, if one window is changing domains in one application and another window is looking at the domains in INQUIRE mode in another application with the same version and then exits, that window can trigger processing the domains changed in the first application. While this may not cause any harm, it probably is not desirable.

Item 1.12

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0 it is possible to get an APPX system error MM.C.3873 ("mm free - attempting to free freed memory").

Pinellas got this in a query process which had an EXIT command (see item 8.26) while APPX Software, Inc. got this once under Beta just trying to return to the menu after printing something to the screen.

Item 1.13

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0, it is possible to get an APPX system error DD1.C.308 ("Read bitmap fi - Error - Record already held by another user") if another user or another window is in Application Design on the same application.

APPX Software, Inc. got this while processing the data dictionary when another window was sitting on the Application Design menu. Pinellas got this while printing technical documentation.

Item 1.14

Bug: APPX 1.8.4 produces an action log when a user attempts to run a program to which he does not have security rights. However, this action log can cause a printer error when printing the key value for certain field types. APPX is apparently not converting packed decimals properly for printing.

Item 1.15

Note: The conversion utility (version 04) converts a SP2 RUN command running an external function as COPY in APPX. (Example: CPA SE Status Function 'COPY W2REPORT FILE TO W2S TAPE').

Item 1.16

Bug (fixed in engines compiled later than 01/15/96): In APPX 3.0.0 an error message "Error - An internal error has been detected; proceed with caution" can appear on line 23 of the APPX screen.

Note: This was found to be caused by scanning in a multi-level function and has been fixed.

Item 1.17

Bug: APPX 1.8.4 (thru 3.0.0) allows an application with data files but no structure files to run without any error or warning message. If a file structure is changed, there is no notification that a restructure is required.

Note that structure files are governed by the FMS group at the database level (in System Administration) so they may not be where the data is.

Item 1.18

Conversion Bug: The conversion utility does not validate the application ID when the application to convert is specified on the VS. If the application doesn't exist, the conversion utility will still proceed without further ado. It will reprocess the last application converted and misidentify it as the specified application. The conversion messages will be different since it thinks it is processing the specified application.

Item 1.19

Bug: APPX 3.0.0 Tech Doc (and probably X-Ref too) consume increasing amounts of memory, not freeing memory until APPX is ended. In fact, APPX can consume all available memory if a large number of items are selected. For example, running tech doc for all output processes resulted in an incomplete printout to the screen and caused other terminals to hang or get system errors for lack of memory. Problems can be avoided by limiting selections to a screen full at a time and exiting & reentering APPX between each run. Note that it can take a couple of minutes to return to the menu after viewing tech doc on the screen (the more pages, the longer it takes).

Item 1.20

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0 when you pan on output printed to the screen, underline characters remain in place and do not pan with the text.

Item 1.21

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0 a month-only date field can be set to "----00----------" but this should be invalid.

Item 1.22

Difference: Whereas both SP2 and APPX use 'D" to signify a negative sign in a packed decimal field, SP2 uses 'F' to signify a positive sign and APPX uses 'C' (unless the special FD version of APPX is used). Also, in both SP2 and APPX, a date field is stored as packed decimal and a blank date is stored as -1. For instance, a blank month-only date field would be stored as HEX(001D) in both systems. However, month '01' is stored as HEX(001F) in SP2 and as HEX(001C) in APPX. This means if a blank month-only date field is used in a BEG AT command, month 01 will be skipped in APPX. Conversely, if month 01 is used, APPX will include blank months. (See item 8.30.)

Item 1.23

Bug & Conversion Bug (fixed in V05 after 08/27/96): Orphan statements can exist in the APPX 0AD file 'STMT'. Some orphans may be code that is no longer needed (such as commands generated by the conversion utility for SP2 'CLEAR SORT' and 'RETURN MENU' and other job steps with no counterpart in APPX that had a function code). Other orphans may be code that was not properly deleted by APPX during Application Design (known to have occurred in APPX 1.8.4 thru at least 2.3.0). However, it is also possible that some code got orphaned in APPX by mistake. To check for STMT orphans, run the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "Check APPX for STMT Orphans" immediately after conversion and then again after addressing the conversion logs.

There are several items that pertain to something missing or lost in APPX (see items 1.10, 1.25, 1.26, & 7.2 for details).

Item 1.24

Bug: When printing APPX 3.0.0 Tech Doc (to the screen and to hard copy), it is possible for background text not to print. For example, the descriptors for main/division/branch length did not print when printing PARAMETERS LIST in CGL SE. (Note: The missing descriptors are there when editing the output process and when printing the actual report.)

Item 1.25

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0, User Documentation may get deleted in error.

Example: User documentation was missing from CPA SE Output 'PAYROLL CHECK FORMS' at APPX Software, Inc. even though it was present in the Portdata DOCUMENT file and it was not knowingly deleted. This is the only output process missing the 'T'ools designation (which may have happened by stepping thru User Doc), but it is not known at what point the documentation was lost. It is possible that APPX did not display the documentation (perhaps due to the sequence in which it was accessed), when it really was there and then stepping thru the blank screen caused it to be deleted (see item 2.12). It was actually missing from the DOCUMENT file accessed thru FILES EDIT. It is also possible that other processes with the 'T' are actually missing the documentation. (See item 1.23 for orphan utility and reference to similar type bugs.)

Item 1.26

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0, when using the Toolbox utility Check Images for Item Overlap, it is possible to have the screen hang on a particular frame even though processing appears to continue to completion. This may be caused by an orphan frame or image in APPX. You can check for orphans by running the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utilities "APPX IMAGE File List" and "APPX ITEM File List" and entering "Y" for 'Check for Orphan?'. (See item 1.23 also.)

For example, this occurred at Pinellas on the same output frame for an obsolete process on two different systems. The process level for the frame was found to be missing on both systems. When they added the process name on the development system, everything subordinate to the process level came back. When they added the process on the live system, nothing came back and everything else related to the process was also gone (job, file, etc.). This suggests that the process had actually been deleted on both systems but execution of the deletion was not properly carried out. The orphan screen did not have any commands in SP2 so it did not appear on the STMT orphan utility.

Item 1.27

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0 a domain with Type FORMAT prints as Type ALPHANUMERIC on the detail version of Domain Tech Doc. (It prints properly as Type FORMAT on the summary version.)

Item 1.28

Bug (fixed under APPX 3.0.0?): APPX 2.2.2 (on an HP at Citrus World) can encounter problems while processing domains which cause the system to exit to the APPX menu. It appears to be related to improper APPX maintenance of information in the APPX 0AD file DOMAIN when fields are changed from domains to non-domains or vice versa. Also, when a file is deleted from the Data Dictionary, APPX 2.2.2 may not delete the hidden domain records for the non-domain fields in the file. In that case, one possible solution is to export the DOMAIN file, use vi to delete the records with ('Generated?'=)"Y" in the first byte from the DOMAIN file in Portdata, and reimport the DOMAIN file.

Item 1.29

Conversion Bug (fixed in V05): The conversion utility sets cache priority to 1 for a process. It should be set to 50 which is the default (contrary to what the manual says).

Item 1.30

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0, when you add a domain with type SAME AS, the pop-up box appears with the error message " /vv Not Found in System Administration" before you have a chance to enter the name of the SAME AS field.

Item 1.31

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0, using an index variable as the appearance number on an AT FIELD command causes a compile error.

Item 1.32

Bug (job used as job step in other job flagged in V05): In APPX 3.0.0, if a job calls another job and the 2nd job contains a QUERY and an OUTPUT using the query and the OUTPUT has 'Separate Task?'="Y", then operator specifications made during query setup (such as record selections) are lost. One fix is to have the 1st job call the 2nd job as SUBPROCESS (but be sure the query has Override Default Mode "ADD" to avoid another bug). Another fix is to set 'Separate Task?'="N". (Example: CPA SE job END OF YEAR REPORT)

Item 1.33

Bug: In APPX 3.0.0, if query execution runs in background and reads a temporary job file in Start of Query Execution, the READ statement may improperly return a FALSE condition under certain circumstances. In one instance it can occur when using a split job. The 1st job contains an INPUT, QUERY, disposition JOB, and JOB calling the 2nd job. The 2nd job contains the OUTPUT using the query. Separate Task is set to "Y" only on the JOB step calling the 2nd job. There is no problem if the job is run in foreground.

Item 1.34

Action/Bug: In APPX 3.0, the 'Save Em?' flag on a process is not visible or accessible but may be set to "N" if the SP2 flag 'Save Load Module?' was set to "N". The Create Executable Modules utility does not address a process with 'Save Em?'="N" (they are not presented for selection). To find these processes, run the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX PROCESS File List" and enter "N" in the job specification for 'Save Em?' value. If any found, use Toolbox Option 97 to perform a syntax check for these processes (the Em created will not be saved).

Item 1.35

Conversion Bug: Jobs created for SP2 Query functions should not rename the SORT and OUTPUT job steps (since these already exist under the SP2 Query name) even though the job itself must be renamed. Also, any SP2 Query job steps should be flagged.

Item 1.36

Conversion EH (implemented in V05 after 08/27/96): The conversion utility should flag the use of "SPEED" and "EXPLAIN" in text (similar to "PF", etc.)

Item 1.37

Conversion EH: The conversion utility should flag code present in non-executed SP2 command series and possibly delete it as well. It should also flag anytime SP2 command series are combined even when no code is present in one series.

Item 1.38

Conversion EH: The conversion utility should flag the presence of footer windows in SP2 input functions.

Item 1.39

Conversion EH: The conversion utility should provide the occurrence number when it names a field on the conversion log.

Item 1.40

Conversion EH: The conversion utility should flag the presence of page footers in SP2 output functions.

Item 1.41

Bug/Conversion EH/Difference: Programming bugs or questionable programming practices converted from SP2 can cause system errors or other misbehavior in APPX. If possible, the conversion utility should flag the presence of such conditions.

For example, the SP2 command "IF MODE EQ 12" converted the improper value '12' to some unknown value. Upon initial display of the command in APPX, it was presented as questions marks, then caused an APPX system error when editing was ended. Upon reentering the ILF editor, the code had been changed to a valid value (but not necessarily the value intended). (Note: At runtime, SP2 simply returned a False when executing this command; APPX would probably get a system error if this code was executed in its garbage state.)

Item 1.42

Bug: APPX 3.0 skips the image of a NORMAL frame if ALTERNATE IMAGE NUMBER is explicitly set to 0 in Select Image. (See items 1.43 & 8.23.)

Item 1.43

Conversion EH: In order to emulate SP2 behavior where the first standard window for a new level cannot be skipped, frame type should be set to NORMAL (not OPTIONAL) even if code exists in Set Alternate Window. (However, see items 1.42 & 8.23.)

Item 1.44

Bug: In APPX 3.0, a user with a security group which was defined for one company only was not denied access under a second company. If the security group was defined for both companies, it denied access but did not say so; instead, the screen would show "in progress" and then just return to the menu.

Item 1.45

Bug: Security group file maintenance does not work properly in APPX 3.0 System Administration. Unless you exit after editing each group, your changes may not be preserved.

Item 1.46

Bug: In APPX 3.0 for Windows, using PAN PAN to pan to the right on an output image in Application Design can cause an "unhandled exception detected" error. Using PAN PAN PAN to the right works, however.

Item 1.47

Bug: Scanning on an alternate key field which is a LOGIC field does not work properly in APPX 3.0. If you scan after entering "Y" or "N", you get a blank screen. If you enter "0" or "1", you get an "invalid value" error. If you scan with the logic field left blank, you get everything (starting with the "N"'s).

Item 1.48

Bug: In APPX 3.0 for Windows, the cursor is not controlled properly when adding records using a scrolling lower level input process. If you enter data which fills the last field on the record, the cursor returns to the top of the screen, not to the first field on the record. If you happen to press ENTER to add the record when the cursor is not positioned on a field in the record, then the new record will appear in two places: at the top of the display and where it was actually added. This is a screen display problem; the data is actually correct.

Item 1.49

Bug?/Difference/Conversion Bug?: In the APPX Data Dictionary, the flag 'Blank OK?' can be set for a logic field to indicate whether or not a user is permitted to leave the field blank (according to pages 121, 161, & 199 of the manual). The conversion utility currently sets this field to "N" (which is the default according to the manual) since there is no counterpart to this flag in the SP2 Data Dictionary. This might cause a problem if the manual was right.

In APPX 3.0, the default for this flag is actually "Y" and the flag itself seems to have no effect, not even to serve as a default for the flag 'Required?' on an image item. The flag 'Required?' is what really controls whether a user can leave the field blank in APPX and is set by the conversion utility from the corresponding SP2 flag 'Blank OK?' for the image item. As long as APPX continues to behave the way it does, there is no problem but if APPX is changed to resolve the contradiction with the manual behavior could be different from SP2. In the meantime, the conversion utility should probably set the APPX DD flag 'Blank OK' to "Y" in order to agree with the default.

Item 1.50

Bug: The APPX Toolbox utility "Generate 'Standard' Output Process" has some problems. It creates a job with Override Default Mode set to CHANGE on the QUERY job step whereas it should be ADD. Also, it creates a QUERY that does not allow use of OPTION 2 (Value/Blank) at runtime on the record selections it generated. OPTION 2 will work on record selections added to the QUERY after generation.

Item 1.51

Bug: In APPX 3.0 & 3.1, if the full default value for a work field is changed via OPTION 88, the new default value is not used at runtime even though it is displayed on the DD screen in Application Design. If the default is too long to edit without using OPTION 88, the work field must be deleted and added back in order to get the new default value to be recognized. This may also affect other fields, not just work fields.

Item 1.52

Bug: In APPX 3.0 it is possible to get an APPX system error PCITM.C.359 ("bad tdlu read") when trying to create Em's. If you continue to press return, APPX may go on and provide a compile error listing but the error reported may not be correct. (For example, this system error was encountered on several Citrus World outputs with the compile error given as "Invalid Data Lookup specifications -Source Missing" and naming a field on a RANGE-START frame. What was found to be causing the error was a DLU on an unrelated field in the RECORD frame.) For an overview of DLU items, run the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX ITEM File List" and enter 'Check for DLU?'="Y". To see lookup items too, also enter 'Lookup?'="Y" (note that the checks for DLU or Lookup are the only checks combined with an OR; the rest use AND). To list items for a single process, enter the process name. (See items 9.45 & 10.28.)

Item 1.53

Action/Bug: In APPX 3.0, a job may not run properly in background if it uses a temporary file with only 1 byte (for example, it may not produce any output). One solution is to simply define another field in any 1-byte temporary files. The APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX FILE File List" will provide a warning for any temporary files with record size of 1. You can also list such files by entering 'Temporary File?' value "Y" as a job parameter and specifying Rec Size EQ 1 as a record selection.

Item 1.54

Action/Bug: In APPX 3.0, for output/inquiry processes only, if a BLANK command is used to conditionally blank a field using an index variable as occurrence number or appearance number, the field is not displayed again until a DISPLAY command is executed. The APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX STMT 'Format 6' List" can be used to list BLANK commands. (Note: There is no problem on a universal BLANK command even though the screen contains items with occurrences.)

Item 1.55

Action/Conversion Bug (fixed 08/27/96 in V05): The conversion utility may not properly convert SP2 Auto Access paths. For instance, it may convert Data Lookup Type to be DEFINE when it should be CONTINUE (this can happen when there is another field on the screen between components of a multi-part key). Also, it may convert Data Lookup Type to be CONTINUE when it should be DEFINE (this can happen when there are multiple occurrences of a field with Auto Access on the screen).

If the conversion was run before this problem was fixed, this problem requires action. It is not flagged on the conversion log and does not cause a compile error. The DLU will just get a NOF condition at runtime. To review DLU items, run the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX ITEM File List" and enter 'Check for DLU?'="Y". To see lookup items too, also enter 'Lookup?'="Y" (note that the checks for DLU or Lookup are the only checks combined with an OR; the rest use AND). There are also options to check for repeated DLU and for continued DLU but it may still be worthwhile to print the complete DLU list (given the problems outlined in items 1.52, 9.45, & 10.28).

Item 1.56

Conversion Bug (flagged in V05): If a SP2 field is designated as a Record Access Security field in the DD, the conversion utility converts occurrence and 'Lower Case OK?' fields to blanks. Occurrence should be 1 and 'Lower Case OK?' should be "N". (See item 4.8.)

Item 1.57

Bug: In APPX 3.0 X-ref documentation, information that may only apply to the first item on the report is incorrectly printed in the page heading (for instance, process type). Also, the "* Referenced But Not Defined" message prints but applicable items are not actually flagged.

Item 1.58

Difference: There is no way to verify references in APPX 3.0. There is no way to find references to undefined items unless you name the undefined items explicitly. There is also no easy way to find x-app references.

Item 1.59

Bug?: In APPX 3.0, the Selection Expression (end user or designer) in a query is evaluated differently than one might expect. For example, suppose there are three record selections using the same field: 1) field EQ 20; 2) field GE 10; 3) field LE 15. The selection expression is "1 OR 2 AND 3". In this example, the record with field EQ 20 was selected contrary to expectations. Are the AND's being evaluated first? (If this were evaluated based on IF, OR, AND commands, the result would be False.)

Item 1.60

Bug: In APPX 3.0 Application Design (Job Processes), if you step thru Additional Attributes for a job step which has an Override Default Mode specified, this value can be presented (in CHANGE mode) as the Override Default Mode the next time AA is accessed for another job step. If you then press RETURN, data would be changed accordingly.

Item 1.61

Bug?/Warning: In APPX 3.0, if an item is edited on an image using an abbreviated version of the item, the contents of the item will be truncated to what is visible in the abbreviated field without any warning. (Option 88 is available to edit the full version.) In the case of "In Progress" messages, it is not always apparent that the abbreviated field does not contain the entire message.

Item 1.62

Action/Conversion Bug: When the conversion utility increases 79-character rows to be 80-character rows (in order to avoid problems in APPX), it should also increase the report width.

Item 1.63

Action/Conversion Bug (alternates with different sizes flagged in V05): If SP2 alternate windows have different sizes and if a window does not start in column 1, the conversion utility may specify the offset for the column in both the frame and the image which results in doubling the offset. This can cause an error in Application Design when attempting to access the image. It can also cause compile error "Size Invalid for Frame Size". However, since it could be wrong without causing an error condition, check all alternate images flagged on the conversion log for this condition. Note that column 1 can be specified on both the frame and the image without causing a problem. To list images with size specified, run APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX IMAGE File List" and enter "Y" to 'Check for Size on Image?'. (See items 9.23 & 10.26.)

Item 1.64

Bug: When a record selection screen for a query is presented to a user at runtime, all positions open for input on the right side of a selection may not be honored when evaluating the selection. For example, employee name has 30 characters open for input but a match will not be found if the employee name exceeds 22 characters.

Item 1.65

Conversion EH: When printing application ID in any message, application '0LA' should be converted to '---' to increase clarity.

Item 1.66

Conversion Bug: Whenever the conversion utility encounters a TOTAL command in a subtotal (or any non-detail?) window, it generates a DISPLAY command following the TOTAL but it truncates the 22nd byte of the field name. Also, it should not generate a DISPLAY for an update function. (See item 8.13.)

Item 1.67

Conversion EH: The message "Inspect command on Total-Type Field" should name the field.

Item 1.68

Conversion EH: The message "Inspect Window with Min Extra Lines > 0" should print the number of extra lines.

Item 1.69

Bug?/Conversion EH: The 'in progress message' field in job, output, update, inquiry, and status processes loses the last word if it ends in the last byte of the field (unlike the 'report title' field which retains all characters). The conversion utility should warn about truncation for messages over 59 bytes (not over 60 bytes as it does now).

Item 1.70

Bug?/Difference: If a DLU has a multi-part key and the first component is blank, SP2 will perform the auto access whereas APPX will not.

Item 1.71

Bug: When a job is sent to background, APPX may not use the proper security. For example, at Pinellas, a user ran a two-part job which had security on both parts and where the second part was sent to background. The user had security set up under both the blank company and company "PIN" but only the "PIN" security group had execute rights for the job. Under company "PIN" the user could run the job in foreground but not in background. The UniQue Job Queue showed return code 34 which according to APPX means not having execute rights to the job.

Item 1.72

Bug: If a field is based on a SAME AS domain, field attributes that should be visible and/or modifiable are not (for example, field description and column headings). Also, APPX may not know to require restructure at runtime if the root of the SAME AS domain has been modified. However, APPX does know to restructure the file when restructuring thru Data File Management. There is also some question as to whether documentation is available thru the SAME AS path. If these issues cause a problem, one solution is to point the affected field directly to the real domain in the x-application, instead of to the SAME AS domain in the local application.

Another solution is to make the SAME AS domain a local domain. This approach is less desirable since field modifications must be made manually to keep in sync with the root in the x-application. However, it may be the best approach when the x-application is not being converted at the same time.

Item 1.73

Not a Bug?: There may be a problem related to the conversion or use of 'Float' in an output process under some weird circumstances. Pinellas reported an instance where a SP2 float of '0' on a work field allegedly got converted to ' '. After specifying float '0' in APPX, it still didn't work (even with a DISPLAY command) until Auto-Display '0' was changed to '1'. Then it worked even after Auto-Display was changed back to '0'. However, this problem could not be reproduced at C-Side. The conversion of Float is very straightforward and appears to be OK. This should probably not be treated as a bug until another instance of the problem surfaces. To list items with float, run the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX ITEM File List" and enter "Y" to 'Check for Float?'.

Item 1.74

Action/Bug: An indexed pseudo-file in SP2 is converted to an indexed working-storage file in APPX. However, if the indexed working-storage file is used in an input process, APPX 3.0 blows up with a system error at runtime if the user does a SCAN. However, it works fine if the working-storage file is consecutive. Since there is no known difference in the way the two behave (remember, no I/O is performed for a working-storage file), for any indexed working-storage file, remove the key and change it to be consecutive. If the pseudo-file is used as a PCF file, remove the default key path if any and mark the process for testing. (See item 8.17.)

To list indexed working-storage files for a given application, run the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX FILE File List" and enter file organization "3" and file type "0". To find any input processes using an indexed working-storage file as its PCF (including files defined in other applications), run the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX PROCESS File List" and enter process type "INPUT", PCF file organization "3", and PCF file type "0".

Item 1.75

Bug?/Difference! (flagged in V05 on files log for local files): In APPX 3.0, delete protection on a higher level file does not protect lower level records from being deleted; in SP2 it does. For instance, when a user tried to delete a higher level record that had delete protection (in a function with the higher level scrolling), the higher level record was not deleted but there was no error message and the lower level records were deleted. In a function where the higher level was not scrolling, the user got the error message "Record is Delete-Protected" (after pressing ACKNOWLEDGE DELETE) but the lower level records were still deleted. In fact, lower level records are deleted before the delete-protected message even appears.

One work-around is to add code to check for ACKNOWLEDGE DELETE in Option Intercept and give an error if the higher level record is protected. To give the user advance warning, check INTERACTIVE PHASE for DATA DELETION in Pre-Display/Verify and give an error if the record is protected. (Do not put the ERROR in Post PCF Read since APPX behavior can be peculiar.) To list files with delete protection, run the APPX Software, Inc. UTL CS utility "APPX FILE File List and enter "Y" to 'Check for Delete Protect?'.

Item 1.76

Bug (compile error): An "Invalid Init Value" compile error in APPX can occur if a work field which has both a default value and a validation table (either defined directly or via a domain) is referenced by commands in another application. There is no problem within the same application. One work-around is to remove the default value or the validation table. If the work field is based on a domain, the domain validation table may not be needed for the work field itself (assuming it is not used as a modifiable field in data entry). If this is the case, change the work field to be defined independently without the validation table.