RM/COBOL Release Notes

RM/COBOL Windows Client
RM/COBOL Windows Server
RM/COBOL Visual Basic Client
RM/COBOL SCO UNIX Server

RM/COBOL Windows Client

Version 1.1

Installation

Windows 3.1

Follow these steps to install Cobol-RPC on a client under Windows 3.1:

Insert the appropriate distribution disk into a floppy disk drive (A:drive).
Open either the Program Manager or the File Manager.
If you opened the Program Manager, choose Run from the File menu and type the following command line:
A:\SETUP
If you opened the File Manager, open the drive containing the disk and double-click on the file SETUP.EXE.
Follow the installation prompts that appear.

Windows 95

Use one of the following methods to install Cobol-RPCon a client under Windows 95:

Insert the appropriate distribution disk into a floppy disk drive. Click on the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel window. Follow the installation prompts that appear.
From a DOS prompt, type the line shown below, assuming that the disk is in the A:drive:
A:\SETUP
From the Start menu, choose Run and type the line shown below, assuming that the disk is in the A:drive:
A:\SETUP
From the Windows Explorer, open the drive containing the disk and double-click on the file SETUP.EXE.

When installation of the client software is complete, a Cobol-RPC folder will be created which contains the following icons:

Icon	Action
Sample Client	Runs a *Cobol-RPC* COBOL client demonstration program.
*Cobol-RPC* Help	Displays on-line documentation for *Cobol-RPC*.
Client Readme	Displays the client Readme file.

The file readmecl.txt lists and describes each of the files that are installed

Running the Sample Programs

A sample client program named CLIENT.CBL is installed with the client software. The source and executable files for three sample server programs are installed with the Cobol-RPC server software. These programs are called SERVER1.CBL, SERVER2.CBL, and SERVER3.CBL. These programs demonstrate how Cobol-RPC executes remote program calls. The source code for these programs is also installed.

To execute the sample program follow these steps:

Make sure TCP/IP is installed and configured.
Make sure the IP address of the server is contained in the DefaultServer item of the ClientConfig section of the COBOLRPC.INI file on the client.
Follow the instructions for preparing the server in the Cobol-RPC server release notes.
Double click the Sample Client icon in the Cobol-RPC folder on the client to start the sample program.
Follow the on-screen prompts.

REMOTEPROGRAM Function

RM/COBOL clients can use the simplified version of the REMOTEPROGRAM function as described in Chapter 4 of the Cobol-RPC User's Guide.

Redirected CALL Statements

The RM/Cobol version of Cobol-RPC does not support redirected CALL statements. The REMOTEPROGRAM function must be used to make remote program calls.

RM/COBOL Windows Server

Version 1.1

Installation

Windows 3.1

Follow these steps to install Cobol-RPC on a server under Windows 3.1:

Insert the appropriate distribution disk into a floppy disk drive (A:drive).
Open either the Program Manager or the File Manager.
If you opened the Program Manager, choose Run from the File menu and type the following command line:
A:\SETUP
If you opened the File Manager, open the drive containing the disk and double-click on the file SETUP.EXE.
Follow the installation prompts that appear.

Windows 95

Use one of the following methods to install Cobol-RPC on a server under Windows 95:

Insert the appropriate distribution disk into a floppy disk drive. Click on the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel window. Follow the installation prompts that appear.
From a DOS prompt, type the line shown below, assuming that the disk is in the A:drive:
A:\SETUP
From the Start menu, choose Run and type the line shown below, assuming that the disk is in the A:drive:
A:\SETUP
From the Windows Explorer, open the drive containing the disk and double-click on the file SETUP.EXE.

When installation of the server software is complete, a Cobol-RPC folder will be created which contains the following icons:

Icon	Action
*Cobol-RPC* Server	Starts the *Cobol-RPC* server.
*Cobol-RPC* Help	Displays on-line documentation for *Cobol-RPC*.
Server Readme	Displays the server Readme file.

The file readmesv.txt lists and describes each of the files that are installed.

Running the Sample Programs

The source and executable files for three server programs are installed with the Cobol-RPC server software. These programs are called SERVER1.CBL, SERVER2.CBL, and SERVER3.CBL. These programs demonstrate how Cobol-RPC executes remote program calls.

The sample programs are executed from the client, not the server. Before the client can execute these programs perform the following steps.

Make sure TCP/IP is installed and configured.
Start the Cobol-RPC Server Program by double clicking it's icon.
Follow the instructions in the client release notes to run the sample programs.

[ServerConfig]
StartupCommand=

The StartupCommand entry in the [ServerConfig] section of the COBOLRPC.INI file specifies the command that will be used to start the COBOL runtimes that respond to remote program calls. Everything to the right of the equal sign is the beginning of the command that will be used for starting runtimes. The server will append information to this command specific to the request.

The first time a client connects to a server, the server will use this command to start a COBOL runtime on the server. This runtime will remain dedicated to the client until the client terminates, and will execute all remote programs called by the client.

In practice, complete path names should be included for all files. This makes them insensitive to the working directory the server is initiated from. A configuration file and other COBOL runtime parameters can be included in this entry. The entry should look like this:

[ServerConfig] StartupCommand=runcobol rpcinit.cob 1=cobrpcsv.dll

runcobol is a standard RM/COBOL Windows runtime. rpcinit.cob is a small Cobol program that initializes the runtime to work with the client. cobrpcsv.dll is a dynamic link library that contains the specialized logic needed to communicate with the client.

Debugging Server Programs

To debug a server program include the D option in the StartupCommand entry in the COBOLRPC.INI file. When the server runtime is started the debug prompt will be displayed and the debugger can be used.

REMOTEPROGRAM Function

RM/COBOL clients can use the simplified version of the REMOTEPROGRAM function as described in Chapter 4 of the Cobol-RPC User's Guide.

Redirected CALL Statements

The RM/Cobol version of Cobol-RPC does not support redirected CALL statements. The REMOTEPROGRAM function must be used to make remote program calls.

Hiding the Cobol Window

To prevent the Cobol window from being displayed on the server, include the following line in the runcobol.ini file:

MainWindow=Hidden

RM/COBOL Visual Basic Client

Version 1.1

Installation

Windows 3.1

Follow these steps to install Cobol-RPC on a client under Windows 3.1:

Insert the appropriate distribution disk into a floppy disk drive (A:drive).
Open either the Program Manager or the File Manager.
If you opened the Program Manager, choose Run from the File menu and type the following command line:
A:\SETUP
If you opened the File Manager, open the drive containing the disk and double-click on the file SETUP.EXE.
Follow the installation prompts that appear.

Windows 95

Use one of the following methods to install Cobol-RPC on a client under Windows 95:

Insert the appropriate distribution disk into a floppy disk drive. Click on the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel window. Follow the installation prompts that appear.
From a DOS prompt, type the line shown below, assuming that the disk is in the A:drive:
A:\SETUP
From the Start menu, choose Run and type the line shown below, assuming that the disk is in the A:drive:
A:\SETUP
From the Windows Explorer, open the drive containing the disk and double-click on the file SETUP.EXE.

When installation of the client software is complete, a Cobol-RPC folder will be created which contains the following icons:

Icon	Action
Sample Client	Runs a *Cobol-RPC* client demonstration program.
*Cobol-RPC* Help	Displays on-line documentation for *Cobol-RPC*.
Client Readme	Displays the client Readme file.

The file readmevb.txt lists and describes each of the files that are installed.

Components

There are two components whose names are unique to this version of Cobol-RPC. The first is the Visual Basic module that contains the Cobol-RPCfunctions and declarations. It is called RMCBRPC.BAS and is installed in the Cobol-RPC directory. The other is the DLL that interfaces between Visual Basic and Cobol. It is called RMRPCVB.DLL and is installed in the Windows Directory.

Running the Sample Programs

The sample project vbclient is installed in the Cobol-RPC directory. It includes the source and executable files for a sample program. This sample project calls sample programs installed with the server version of Cobol-RPC. The server version of Cobol-RPC must be installed before the project is executed.

To execute the sample project follow these steps:

Make sure TCP/IP is installed and configured.
Make sure the IP address of the server is contained in the DefaultServer entry of the ClientConfig section of the COBOLRPC.INI file on the client.
Follow the instructions for preparing the server in the Cobol-RPC server release notes.
Double click theVisual Basic Sample Client icon in the Cobol-RPC folder on the client to start the sample program.
Follow the on-screen prompts.

RM/COBOL SCO UNIX Server

Version 1.1

Installation

Installing Files

To install Cobol-RPC on a server computer under UNIX:

Create the directory into which you want to install Cobol-RPC.
Change the working directory to that directory
Insert the distribution disk into the floppy disk drive. Type the install command printed on the diskette label
After all the files have been extracted from the floppy, type the following command:
./rpcinstall

The file readmesv.txt lists and describes each of the files that are installed.

Relinking the COBOL runtime

After installing the Cobol-RPC software, it must be linked with the Cobol runtime. The process for doing this is quite straightforward. Just follow these steps:

Copy the following files from the Cobol-RPC directory to the directory containing the RM/COBOL-85 runtime:
sub.c

cobolrpc.a

Makefile
Change the working directory to the directory containing the RM/COBOL-85 runtime
Rebuild the RM/COBOL-85 runtime with the following command:
make
Copy the file runcobolrpc, created by the build, to the Cobol-RPC directory
Set execute permission on runcobolrpc with the following command:
chmod 111 runcobolrpc

Running the Sample Programs

The source and executable file for three sample server programs are installed with the Cobol-RPC server software. These programs are called SERVER1.CBL, SERVER2.CBL, and SERVER3.CBL. These programs demonstrate how Cobol-RPC executes remote program calls. The sample programs are run from the client not the server, so follow the instructions in the client release notes to execute these programs.

Debugging

Use the following command to debug a server program:

/cobolrpc/rpcdebug

This command will start the runtime in debug mode.

Set the desired breakpoints before issuing the R debugger command. The terminal will freeze until a client connects.

REMOTEPROGRAM Function

RM/Cobol clients can use the simplified version of the REMOTEPROGRAM function as described in Chapter 4 of the Cobol-RPC User's Guide.

Redirected CALL Statements

The RM/Cobol version of Cobol-RPC does not support redirected CALL statements. The REMOTEPROGRAM function must be used to make remote program calls.

Starting the Runtime from the Command Line

In order to see the effect of DISPLAY statement or use any ACCEPT statements in server programs the runtime must be started from the command line as follows:

/cobolrpc/rpcdirect

After typing this command and pressing RETURN the terminal will freeze until a client connects. Then the remote program called by the client will be executed and the display will be updated.