June 2003
To: Users of Robelle Software Re: News of the HP e3000 and Robelle Our newsletter publication has been monthly for over a year now. Publication has been on-line, with an email notification to each customer. Each issue is jam-packed with articles, but if you get as much email as I do, you may have missed this valuable service. Back issues can be reviewed at http://www.robelle.com/newsletterThe Robelle newsletter really needs to be read on-line, since the headline of every story is actually a web link to the full story or more information. In the interest of keeping the newsletter short and readable, the details are often to be found in the web links. The on-line newsletter is at http://www.robelle.com/library/newsletter/latest.html Table of Contents: |
MPE/iX 75 PowerPatch 1 Release
Representing Robelle at HPWorld in Atlanta, August 11-15, will be Tammy Roscoe, François Desrochers, and Bob Green (who will be presenting a paper on database migration). Look for us in booth 114. As you enter the show floor, turn left and walk to the left wall. We look forward to seeing old friends again, and making new ones.
Some of the interesting papers this year:
Bob Green (Robelle): Transforming TurboIMAGE Data for Eloquence, Oracle and more
David Totsch: UNIX Apologetics for the MPE Guru
Mark Bixby: Is Your MPE Homestead Secure?
Jim Kramer: Code and Data Porting: A Practical Viewpoint and Live Demonstration
Alan Yeo, Jeanette Nuttsford, et al: HPe3000 - Staying?, Going?, Gone! - A Risk Free Migration Master Class
Gerry Johnson: Transforming An Image Database to an SQL Database - What to do about keys?
Terry O'Brien: Quickstart Oracle for the TurboImage Developer
Steve Suraci, Sherri Erickson: A Future in Homesteading
Is a "Zero Secondaries" Report Good News?
TurboIMAGE master datasets have primary entries and secondary entries. Primaries are "good" because they can be located in a single disk read. Secondaries are "bad" because you must search down a chain of indeterminate length from the primary to find them. You would run a Howmessy or Dbgeneral report to find out what percentage secondaries you have in each master dataset. So, would a "zero secondaries" be ideal? Click the link to read our answer.
Qedit for Windows 5.4 Released
The official annual update to Qedit for Windows (client and server) has been released. Click the link above to read about new features in the PC client, including a useful option to break HP-UX data files (without line breaks!) into lines for display and edit.
We have posted a new QSL script on our web site that allows Qedit for Windows to upshift or downshift text.
Unbelievable Enhancements in Suprtool 4.7
Suprtool version 4.7 has been released for HP-UX and MPE/iX with more new features than in any previous year: the $Number function reads a freeform ascii number with signs, decimal places and currency, $Total function keeps a running total for a numeric field, the $SubTotal function totals numeric fields on level-breaks, the $Split function breaks strings into multiple fields, the Join command in Suprlink does many-to-many links, The Clean option prepares data for export, the Escape command exports problem characters with an "escape character", and the $Counter function increments a field for every record selected. (Application notes on these new features.)
Also Suprtool, STExport and Suprlink now support environment variables. And Suprtool/UX supports Eloquence 7.0 features and expanded limits.
ScreenJet Whitepaper: VPLUS Enhancement and Migration
Alan Yeo of ScreenJet provides a detailed explanation of the issues involved in migrating VPLUS applications. He also has a package solution using ScreenJet and AcuCOBOL. (You must give your email address to download the paper.)
Here is the Acucorp web page for migrating HP COBOL to their compiler. You can request a White Paper, download their "Compatibility with HP COBOL" PDF file, read their HP FAQ, and more.
HP 3000 customers are asking HP:
* What's the quickest and least expensive way to make the transition?
* Which tools will save me the most money?
* Can I save money by just staying on the e3000?
On Thursday, May 22nd, HP presented the ninth webcast in the HP e3000 Transition series. The subject was "HP e3000 Transitions: Controlling Your Costs". In addition to answering these questions, HP briefly recapped some of the highlights of the recent Solution Symposium that was presented by Interex.
HP White Paper: MPE Commands and Networks
This paper describes the issues for MPE Commands and MPE networking when migrating off MPE/iX. PDF format.
This HP reseller in Dallas is 'is proud to announce a continuance of support for the 9X7, 9X8, 9X9, 99X and A & N-Class systems and software well beyond the December 31, 2006 "death" date.'
Solutions Symposium paper by Mark Bixby. Everything you need to know to help make your MPE system secure from hackers. Also available in PowerPoint format.
Mark Bixby's Personal Home Page
Professional interests (porting Apache, Bind, OpenSSL, Perl, etc. to MPE and much more) and his personal interests of a major contributor to the 3000 infrastructure.
Why Am I Getting All This Email?
Mike Shumko writes:
Here's an interesting study which shows how email addresses are harvested by spammers, and how to avoid it.Click here for more new suggestions.
HP White Paper: KSAM and MPE Files
This PDF white paper describes in detail the MPE file system and KSAM indexed sequential file system, identifying those features that are proprietary and may involve some work to migrate to another system. 33 pages of good, detailed information.
Robelle Solutions Technology Inc. provides the What's Up, DOCumentation? newsletter as a service to our customers. The newsletter is available on the web: in HTML format for browsing and PDF format for printing. Visit www.robelle.com/library/newsletter/
Comments about this issue, as well as ideas for future issues, including news, tips, and suggestions for articles, can be sent to bgreen@robelle.com.
* How to connect modern, non-HP peripherals to your 3000
* Qedit 5.4 released with LIST "string1" / "string2"
* How to fill columns with text in Qedit
* New $Number function in Suprtool for free-form input
* An Introduction to Eloquence
* Updated "Step by Step" paper
Click the link above to browse the web version, or download the PDF version.