IBM® Rational® Web
Developer / IBM® Rational® Application Developer / IBM® Rational® Software Architect Version 6.0 - Interim Fix 001
This refresh contains enhancements and fixes for the Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) component. Anyone who
plans to use EGL should apply this interim fix.
Table of contents
1.0 What's New in EGL
2.0 Installation Notes
3.0 Migration
4.0 Limitations
1.0 What's New in EGL in Version 6.0 Interim Fix 001
Version 6.0 iFix001 represents a significant upgrade to the EGL language:
- Introduces the
EGL report handler, which contains customized functions that are invoked
at different times during execution of a JasperReports design file. The
data returned from each function is included in your output report,
which can be rendered in PDF, XML, text, or HTML format. The technology
is an improvement on the reporting capability that was available in
Informix 4GL.
- Introduces the
EGL console UI, which is a technology for creating a character-based
interface that allows an immediate, keystroke-driven interaction between
the user and an EGL-generated Java program. The technology is an
improvement on the dynamic user interface that was available in Informix
4GL.
- Provides new
flexibility for code development--
- Allows you to
declare new types of variables:
- A reference
variable, which does not contain business data but points to such
data.
- A variable that
contains or refers to a large quantity of data; specifically, to a
binary large object (BLOB) or a character large object (CLOB).
- A string
variable, which refers to a Unicode string whose length varies at run
time.
- An ANY-typed
variable, which can contain business data of any primitive
type.
- Allows you to
include function invocations in expressions.
- Allows you to
reference a record without having development-time knowledge of the size
or other characteristics of the record or of the fields in that record.
Each field can itself refer to a record.
- Expands support
for dynamic arrays, which can now have multiple dimensions.
- Introduces two
new kinds of data collections:
- A dictionary,
which is composed of a set of key-and-value entries. You can add,
delete, and retrieve entries at runtime, and the value in a given entry
can be of any type.
- An
arrayDictionary, which is composed of a set of one-dimensional arrays,
each of any type. You access the content of an arrayDictionary by
retrieving the same-numbered elements across all the
arrays.
- Expands the
number of system functions for various purposes:
- To improve
datetime processing, runtime message handling, and retrieval of
user-defined Java runtime properties.
- To support the
new functionality related to reports, console UI, BLOB, and
CLOB.
- Provides better
support for exception handling, for data initialization, and for DLL
access.
- Provides a new
wizard to create EGL report handlers.
- Allows you to
customize a Web-page template for use with the Data Parts and Pages
wizard, which quickly provides a Web application for accessing a single
relational database.
- Allows you to
create code that reflects the runtime behavior of Informix 4GL in
relation to null processing and database commits.
2.0 Installation Notes
2.1 EGL Runtime Files
The runtime files that are mentioned in the "Installing the EGL run-time code for Java" help topic
should be downloaded from the V60 maintenance site instead of using the files that are shipped on the product CDs.
The runtime files are located in the EGLRuntimesV60IFix001.zip file at
www3.software.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/rationalsdp/rad/60/redist/.
This file should be downloaded and unzipped to a user defined directory.
2.2 Compiling Jasper files (.jrxml) in EGL
EGL provides a builder that will compile JasperReport files each time they are saved. If your EGL applications include
report handlers,
make sure that Java SDK 1.3.1 (or a higher level) is on your development machine, and
that the SDK bin directory is listed as part of the system PATH Environment Variable. (i.e. C:\jdk1.3.1_14\bin).
If you do not have the Java SDK installed,
you will get the following type of error when building a .jrxml file: Error compiling report java source file.
3.0 Migration
This interim fix includes several changes to previous EGL syntax. If you have created EGL parts using Version 5.1.2 or
Version 6.0 of the product, you will probably see validation errors for these parts after you install this interim fix.
We have provided a simple migration tool to update the syntax in your source files. See the EGL help documentation
for more information on the EGL V6.0 Migration tool.
4.0 Limitations
4.1 Debugger
You cannot use the EGL Debugger for programs that contain reports or console user interfaces. Support for this
function will be provided in a future update.
4.2 EGL Auction Sample on Redhat
When importing the EGL Auction Sample on Redhat Linux, the file catmaint.egl in the pagehandlers
package may contain an error. Attempts to open this file in Eclipse will result in an error
stating: "Editor could not be initialized". This is due to a character in the document that is invalid
and needs to be removed. To resolve this problem, open the catmaint.egl file in a text editor outside
of Eclipse and remove the character located on line 24 at offset 34 (the apostrophe in "don't").
This character will probably not be displayed correctly in the text editor. You can either delete the
character or replace it with an apostrophe.
After saving the file, select the Auction project in Eclipse and perform a right-click->refresh.
The error should now be gone and you should be able to open the file in Eclipse.