Contents

Introducing Suprtool Version 5.3 4

Overview......................................................................................................................... 4

Highlights in Suprtool 5.3............................................................................................. 4

Highlights in Suprtool 5.2............................................................................................. 5

Known Problems............................................................................................................ 5

Itanium vs PA_RISC....................................................................................................... 6

Compatibility.................................................................................................................. 7

Itanium Compatibility.................................................................................................... 8

CPU Serial Number (uname)........................................................................................ 8

Documentation............................................................................................................... 8

Installation 9

Overview......................................................................................................................... 9

Installation Instructions................................................................................................. 9

Installation Assistance................................................................................................... 9

Enhancements in Version 5.3 10

Introduction.................................................................................................................. 10

Add Command.............................................................................................................. 10

SpaceNull...................................................................................................................... 10

PassShift........................................................................................................................ 10

Enhancements in Version 5.2 11

Introduction.................................................................................................................. 11

ZonedFix....................................................................................................................... 11

PassShift........................................................................................................................ 11

List FormFeed............................................................................................................... 11

Itanium........................................................................................................................... 12

Bugs Fixed 13

Bugs Fixed In Suprtool 5.3......................................................................................... 13

Bugs Fixed In Suprtool 5.2......................................................................................... 13

Bugs Fixed In Suprtool 5.1.02.................................................................................... 13

Introducing Suprtool Version 5.3

Overview

Use Suprtool/UX to read, select, and sort data from Oracle, Allbase and Eloquence databases and data files with fixed-length records. Suprtool/UX is designed to be similar to Suprtool for MPE while providing necessary HP-UX features.

Suprlink/UX provides high-speed data-file linking based on a sort key. Use STExport to convert fields in a self-describing input file into an output file that can be imported into different applications.

Highlights in Suprtool 5.3

· The Add command which adds an input file to an Oracle table now allows for the syntax of ownername.tablename.

· A Select operation on an empty table or if the select would result in zero records it would fail if Set Ifouroutput was on. This was for the Itanium version only.

· Suprtool would not properly store the number of bits to store on a bitwise operation in the if command or extract. (Itanium only)

· The chain command would not work if a data set entry length was evenly divisable by 128. (Itanium only)

· Extract to a Logical target would produce a zero result. (Itanium only)

· An extract with a arithmetic divide would not round properly if the target field was an single-integer, double-integer, quad-integer, single-logical or double logicals. (Itanium only)

· Suprtool would fail with Stack Overflow message or simply fail when loading a table with the sorted option if the key data type was a double-integer, small integer or small logical. (Itanium only)

· An extract operation where the target was a single integer and the source was a double integer would not work properly. (Itanium only)

· Suprtool did not properly erase the output file when using out=in, dup none key on HP-UX.

· Set Oracle SpaceNull has been added to convert byte, char and date fields when Null to spaces or leave them as null. If SpaceNull is on, then spaces will be placed in the fields. If SpaceNull is off then the field will contain nulls.

· Suprtool did not properly coerce data from Packed to Quad integer when using Set Ifouroutput on and Set Oracle Integer on. (Itanium only)

· Set Oracle Passshift Off now turns off password upshift for the oneline syntax method when you are including the service name.

· The Dup None Keys Count command didn't write out an extended name if Set SDExtname On. This was an issue in the Itanium version only and was fixed in Build 2.

· STExport did not properly handle the Delimiter Tab option. Fixed in STExport (Build 2).

· The verify command could potentially corrupt the internals of STExport and cause a core abort. (Build 3)

· Suprtool buffer allocation has been changed slightly to allocate slightly more buffer space under certain conditions. (Build 4)

· Suprtool Itanium Build 4 did not have some areas enabled for Large Files. (Fixed in Build 5)

· Suprtool did not coerce properly from Packed to Quad integer when using Set Oracle Integer on and Set Ifouroutput on. It would improperly round a number up by one. This was for some numbers greater than 16 digits. (Itanium Only Fixed in Build Six)

· The Table command would not find a field in the Table file when using Set SDExtname On. (Itanium Only Fixed in Build Six)

· The Numrecs with a percentage would not calculate properly if the input source was an Oracle Table. (Itanium Only Fixed in Build Seven)

· Suprtool would be round incorrectly if doing a divide operation and the target for the result was a packed or zoned decimal field if the data was a positive value. (Fixed in Build 8)

Highlights in Suprtool 5.2

· STExport now has Set ZonedFix On, this setting can be used to zero out any zoned fields that were unable to be converted from zoned to byte and typically have a "?" in the result. This is often caused by hidden characters or bad data.

· Suprtool now has Set Oracle PassShift On (default) or Off to turn off the upshift of a password. This is to accomodate Oracle 11 which will allow for case-sensitive passwords. (Itanium Build 2)

· The Add command in Suprtool for HP-UX would cause a subsequent task to fail in some cases.

· The Add command in Suprtool for HP-UX would fail if the target was a small record.

· Suprtool, STExport, Suprlink and Suprcall are all available as a Native Itanium binaries.

· Suprtool now has the command set list formfeed on, which will put a formfeed at the end of the file when using the list command with the file option. This allows multiple reports to be written to one file and have them line up on a page break.

· Suprtool's $edit function now accepts the colon character as a delimiter character in order for edit masks for time fields.

· Suprtool's if command would not allow a field name starting with SPECIAL if it was on the right side of the equation.

· The Base command would not pass the database name to be parsed if it was preceded by a command without any parameters. (Itanium Build 2)

Known Problems

If you have any questions or concerns or feedback on this or any other issue, please feel free to e-mail me at: neil@robelle.com

Itanium vs PA_RISC

There are two types of machines that HP has that run HP-UX, the older machines are based on the PA_RISC chip and the new machines that use the Itanium (and Itanium 2 chips). There are also program files that are specific to each chip. PA_RISC programs can run on both PA_RISC and Itanium machines, however, Itanium programs can only run on Itanium machines.

Any program that runs on Itanium must utilize libraries that match its own program type. Therefore if a PA_RISC program runs on Itanium and looks for a library, it must find/load the PA_RISC version of the libraries that it needs and conversely an Itanium program must load the libraries specific to its type.

How to Tell what Machine I am on?

There are many ways to tell what kind of machine you are on, here are a couple:

uname -m

getconf MACHINE_MODEL

In each case the Itanium machine will typically say ia64 somewhere in the result of the above two commands. PA_RISC machines typically say "9000" somewhere in the string.

What is the Program File Type?

Since there are two types of machines there are also at least two types of program files. Suprtool is primarily either PA_RISC 1.1 or ELF-32 / IA64 which is also known as Itanium. To determine the type of program file you can use the file command:

Itanium

file suprtool

suprtool: ELF-32 executable object file - IA64

PA_RISC

file suprtool

suprtool: PA-RISC1.1 executable dynamically linked -not stripped

The PA_RISC binary can run on both platforms but you need to have PA_RISC libraries for Eloquence or Oracle if you are using the Oracle module. An Itanium binary will not run on a PA_RISC machine and will fail with "cannot execute".

Of course we've made a provision to identify if you are running the ia version of Suprtool in the banner and verify command with the ia after the UX :

SUPRTOOL/UXia/Copyright Robelle Solutions Technology Inc. 1981-2009.

(Version 5.2 Internal) MON, JUN 8, 2009, 11:26 AM Type H for help.

PA_RISC Loading

Suprtool by default looks in the libraries in any of the directories named in SHLIB_PATH. For example to insure that Suprtool resolves the library loads you can set the SHLIB_PATH system wide in your /etc/profile file in the following manner:

export SHLIB_PATH=/opt/eloquence6/lib/pa11_32:/opt/oracle/lib

If you do not have the SHLIB_PATH variable set to a value where the libraries can be found, Suprtool will then try to load from their default names locations. For Eloquence the default location is :/opt/eloquence6/lib/pa11_32.

The Oracle interface will first try to load libclntsh.so and then attempt to load libclntsh.sl from $ORACLE_HOME/lib32/libclntsh.sl.

Itanium Loading

You can change Suprtool to pay attention to LD_LIBRARY_PATH and use dlopen to load libraries by setting the environment variable:

export ROBELLE_DYN_LOAD =Y.

It is generally advisable to use DLOPEN or the ROBELLE_DYN_LOAD option when using the Itanium version. The PA_RISC version of Suprtool can use either type of loading, the default or the dlopen method invoked with ROBELLE_DYN_LOAD.

Running the PA_RISC version on Itanium:

You can of course run the PA_RISC version of Suprtool, however, given that the PA_RISC version requires SHLIB_PATH to point to PA_RISC libraries may go against the configuration necessary for other programs that may need SHLIB_PATH to point to Native Itanium libraries.

The solution to this is fairly simple, you can create a command file (let's say /opt/robelle/cmd/suprtool) that runs suprtool for you, of course you need to insure your path variable has /opt/robelle/cmd before /opt/robelle/bin.

You can then have the following commands in the /opt/robelle/cmd/suprtool command file:

export SAVED_SHLIB_PATH=$SHLIB_PATH

export SHLIB_PATH=/opt/oracle/pa_risc/lib:/opt/eloquence/lib/pa11_32

/opt/robelle/bin/suprtool $@

export SHLIB_PATH=$SAVED_SHLIB

Essentially all it does save the current SHLIB_PATH setting, sets it to point to PA_RISC libraries, runs suprtool and then resets the library back.

Suprtool for Itanium

Now that you know all about PA_RISC and Itanium you do need to be aware of what Suprtool for Itanium is in terms of new code and risk for potential issues. Suprtool for Itanium is completely in C code. This does not mean that it is all new C code however, the majority of the Suprtool code is still based on SPL, but is converted to C, using Allegro's SPLASH compiler.

So while the C code is new it is based on the original SPLash code, however, given differences between C and SPLash not all code can be automatically converted in some cases. We worked closely with Allegro to find ways to have the source code work and address the various issues that came up. The entire time Allegro improved the SPLash to C converter.

So while we are based on the original Suprtool we do have new code paths in the Native Itanium version and other potential issues where the C code might not work in exactly the same manner as the SPLash code.

Having said that we have tested this against our test suites, and improved and added a large number of tests to our HP-UX test suites.

Compatibility

The HP-UX and AMXW versions of AMXW no longer have Set varsubcompat on as the default. The default is now off and can be turned on with the set command or the –cv option.

Previously, Suprtool would treat an “R” type field in an Eloquence database as an R type while the data inside Eloquence is stored and treated as IEEE therefore incorrect results would occur with coercions and arithmetic operations. Suprtool now by default maps all Real and Long fields to their respective IEEE fields. You can change Suprtool back to the previous behaviour with Set RealMap Off.

A form command will still show the fields as being “R2” or “R4”, but internally Suprtool will treat as IEEE, which is how Eloquence stores and treats the numbers.

Consequently STExport will now support items in SD files that are condidered R type, however it correctly will map them to IEEE.

Suprtool/UX 4.9 is now compatible with all versions of HP-UX 11.2x, as well as Oracle version 8 and higher.

Suprtool/UX version 4.8.02 and lower is compatible with HP-UX 9.0 and higher and Oracle 7.

Fastread option is now set to On for Suprtool for HP-UX. The Dynamic loading version of Suprtool the option is set to off.

Suprtool 5.2 is necessary for use with Oracle 11 and case sensitive passwords.

Itanium Compatibility

There are a couple of differences in the Itanium version of Suprtool, which you need to be aware of.

The DBEdit module is not available in the Itanium versions of Suprtool. This module is invoked by the EDIT command.

The layout for the Verify command is slightly different then the PA-RISC versions of Suprtool.

Some calculations are more accurate on Itanium. On PA_RISC, both MPE and HP-UX some calculations did not round properly. On Itanium these calculations are corrected. We are not able to emulate the buggy behaviour for some of the bad calculations.

CPU Serial Number (uname)

This program runs only on CPUs whose serial numbers have been encoded (the "uname" on HP-UX). If it fails to run and you get an "invalid HPSUSAN" error message, contact Robelle for assistance, via support@robelle.com or the support number at 1-800-453-8970.

Documentation

The user manual contains the full description of all the Suprtool suite of products including Dbedit, Suprlink, STExport, and Suprtool2, as well as usage tips and commands for each. The manuals are up-to-date with all the latest changes. To see only the changes in the latest version, see the "What's New" section of the manual.

You can download our manuals and Change Notices in various formats and order printed (hardcopy) manuals from our web site at:

http://www.robelle.com/library/manuals/.

Installation

Overview

The following instructions describe the installation process of a new Suprtool release. The new version overwrites an existing version of Suprtool on your HP-UX system.

Installation Instructions

There are typically two main types of installations. The first and most often utilized is the Download instructions. You can find the HP-UX download install instructions here:

http://www.robelle.com/downloads/install-sxprod.html

Tape installation instructions can be found here:

http://www.robelle.com/support/install/tape/sxprod.html

Installation Assistance

If you have any questions or run into any problems, please call us. Technical support is available on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific time at 1.800.453.8970. Technical support can also be obtained via e-mail at: support@robelle.com If your new version of software will not run, you can page someone from technical support by calling the 1.800 number, or you can typically easily run extend with the disaster option to tide you over until business hours. Instructions for this are available at:

http://www.robelle.com/disaster/

Enhancements in Version 5.3

Introduction

Suprtool is constantly being updated with new features. The following section describes the new enhancements to Suprtool since Suprtool 5.2.10

Add Command

The Add command which allows for adding data to an Oracle table now allows for the syntax of Ownername.Tablename. The single syntax of just giving the table name will work as it always has.

SpaceNull

Suprtool has a new setting called Set Oracle SpaceNull, which when on puts spaces in any byte, Char or Date (Oracle Date) fields instead of the nulls. The default behaviour is off.

PassShift

Suprtool now has the command Set Oracle PassShift Off which turns off the default behaviour of upshifting Oracle passwords. This is to accomodate Oracle 11 which allows case sensitive passwords. The first pass on this was to allow the syntax of:

open oracle suprtest suprpass

We now honour Set Oracle PassShift for the syntax that includes the service name:

open oracle suprtest/suprpass@servname

Enhancements in Version 5.2

Introduction

Suprtool is constantly being updated with new features. The following section describes the new enhancements to Suprtool since Suprtool 5.1.02.

ZonedFix

STExport now has Set ZonedFix On, this setting can be used to zero out any zoned fields that were unable to be converted from zoned to byte and typically have a "?" in the result. This is often caused by hidden characters or bad data.

PassShift

Suprtool now has the command Set Oracle PassShift Off which turns off the default behaviour of upshifting Oracle passwords. This is to accomodate Oracle 11 which allows case sensitive passwords.

This works for the syntax of:

open oracle suprtest suprpass

but not for:

open oracle suprtest/suprpass@servname

List FormFeed

Suprtool now has the command Set List FormFeed On, which will enable Suprtool to write a form feed to the list file at the end of each task. This way if you append an additional report to the list file, the next report will start on a page break.

set list formfeed on

in myfile

list file myrept

xeq

in newdata

list file myrept append

xeq

This set List command is the ONLY Set command that does not get reset between each task.

Itanium

Suprtool, STExport and Suprlink are now available as Native Itanium. This represents a complete conversion of all Suprtool code to the C language. This version has many of the same components, with the exception of Dbedit. This conversion allows us to port to other platforms such as AIX and other big endian platforms. If you are interested in a particular platform please contact neil@robelle.com.

Bugs Fixed

Bugs Fixed In Suprtool 5.3

Large Files. Suprtool Itanium Build 4 did not have some modules compile to support Large Files. (Fixed in Build 5)

STexport Delimiter. STExport did not properly write a tab between fields when using Delimiter Tab. Fixed in Build 2. (Itanium only).

STexport Verify. STExport could potentialy abort if the verify command was specified after the input file and output files had been specified Fixed in Build 3. (Itanium only).

Extract. Suprtool did not properly coerce a double integer into a single integer.

Table Sorted. Suprtool would fail with a Stack Overflow or simply fail when using the Table command with the sorted option if the key value was a double integer, single integer or a single logical.

DUP and Out=in. Suprtool did not properly erase the file when using Out=in with Dup None Keys.

Set Ifouroutput and Set Oracle Integer. Suprtool did not coerce properly from Packed to Quad integer when using Set Oracle Integer on and Set Ifouroutput on. It would improperly round a number up by one. This was for some numbers greater than 16 digits. (Itanium Only Fixed in Build Six)

Table Command. Suprtools Table command would not find a field in the Table file when using Set SDExtname On. (Itanium Only Fixed in Build Six)

Numrecs Command. The Numrecs with a percentage would not calculate properly if the input source was an Oracle Table. (Itanium Only Fixed in Build Seven)

Divide and Coercion to Packed or Zoned. Suprtool would be round incorrectly if doing a divide operation and the target for the result was a packed or zoned decimal field if the data was a positive value.

Bugs Fixed In Suprtool 5.2

SPECIAL. The if command would fail with and error if a field started with the SPECIAL keyword and if the field was on the right side of the equation.

BASE Command. The Base command would not parse the database name if it was preceded by a command that did not have any parameters and a previous database was open. (Itanium Build 2)

Large Files. Suprtool would fail with an FREAD error on Large Files when Progress Messages or the List command was used in conjunction. This was an issue in the Itanium version only. (Itanium Build 3)

Bugs Fixed In Suprtool 5.1.02

$Edit function. The $edit function would replace a numeric with a colon if the edit mask had a different number of decimal places than the item had and the last number to be rounded was a nine.

Suprlink. Suprlink had trouble with linking two files with the new SD Extended information in some cases.

Chain command. Suprtool chain command now handles J2 TPI keys in Master datasets.

Open Command. Open Oracle could not parse a dbname@machine name with a “.” in the name.

Open Command. Open Oracle did not correctly parses three tokens in the Open command when each token was separated by spaces.