IT39940: MQ Explorer adds an additional "/" to topic string when creatingSubscription with empty topic string

APAR status

• Closed as program error.

Error description

• The IBM MQ Explorer is being used to create subscriptions on a
  local or remote queue manager. A couple of scenarios occurred
  with unexpected results, causing the subscriptions not to be
  used.
  
  * The Topic String was appended (duplicated, doubled).
  
  This situation can be recreated by following these steps:
  
  - Create a topic EVENT.TEST with Topic String EVENT/TEST
  
  - Right click on Subscriptions and select New -> Subscription.
  
  - Fill in the subscription Name with EVENT.TEST.SUB1 and leave
  SYSTEM.DEFAULT.SUB as the existing object to copy from and
  select Next.
  
  - Use the Select button to choose the EVENT.TEST topic.
  
  - Add in the Topic Sting EVENT/TEST manually.
  
  - Provide a queue name for the required Destination Name field.
  
  - Select the Finish button
  
  In the list of Subscriptions, notice that the string in the
  Topic String is duplicated as EVENT/TEST/EVENT/TEST.
  
  It seems that with this method, the Topic String was going to
  be filled in from the selected Topic, so that field should be
  left blank. Still, it does not make sense for the Explorer to
  append the manually entered data.
  
  
  * An extra slash ( / ) is appended to the end of the Topic
  String.
  
  This situation can be recreated by following these steps:
  
  - Create a topic EVENT.TEST2 with Topic String EVENT/TEST2
  
  Create a subscription:
  - Right click on Subscriptions and select New -> Subscription.
  
  - Fill in the subscription Name with EVENT.TEST2.SUB1 and leave
  SYSTEM.DEFAULT.SUB as the existing object to copy from. Select
  Next.
  
  - Use the Select button to choose the EVENT.TEST2 topic and
  leave the Topic String blank.
  
  - Provide a queue name for the required Destination Name field.
  
  - Select the Finish button. The resulting subscription has the
  expected Topic String EVENT/TEST2.
  
  Create another subscription:
  - Right click on Subscriptions and select New -> Subscription.
  
  - Fill in the subscription Name with EVENT.TEST2.SUB2.  Use the
  Select button to choose EVENT.TEST2.SUB1 as the existing object
  to copy from. Select Next.
  
  - The Topic Name, Topic String, and Destination Name are
  already filled in.  Clear the Topic Sting, as that seemed
  necessary in the other situation.
  
  - Select the Finish button. The resulting subscription has the
  unexpected Topic String EVENT/TEST2/ with the extra slash at
  the end.
  
  
  There might be other combinations of steps that can have the
  same results.
  

Local fix

• In the first scenario, leave the Topic String blank.
  In the second scenario, leave the pre-filled Topic String.
  

Problem summary

• ****************************************************************
  USERS AFFECTED:
  Users using IBM MQ Explorer to create new subscriptions
  
  
  Platforms affected:
  MultiPlatform
  
  ****************************************************************
  PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:
  When IBM MQ Explorer is used to create a new subscription by
  copying attributes from another user created subscription object
  and deleting the Topic String, the newly created subscription
  will contain "/" at the end of the generated Topic String.
  
  For example:
  If MY.SUB1 is a user created Subscription for topic MY.TOPIC ,
  the default Topic String will be "MY/TOPIC" when Topic String is
  left blank.
  If a new subscription MY.SUB2 is created by copying the
  attributes from MY.SUB1 and deleting contents of just Topic
  String attribute; the new MY.SUB2 will have a default Topic
  String as "MY.TOPIC/".
  The additional "/" is introduced because the PCF command sent by
  IBM MQ Explorer includes a " " for Topic String attribute.
  

Problem conclusion

• IBM MQ Explorer has been updated such that when user clears the
  Topic String attribute while creating the subscription a " " is
  not sent as a  value of Topic String.
  
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  The fix is targeted for delivery in the following PTFs:
  
  Version    Maintenance Level
  v9.1 LTS   9.1.0.12
  v9.2 LTS   9.2.0.6
  v9.x CD    9.3.0.0
  
  The latest available maintenance can be obtained from
  'WebSphere MQ Recommended Fixes'
  http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=171&uid=swg27006037
  
  If the maintenance level is not yet available information on
  its planned availability can be found in 'WebSphere MQ
  Planned Maintenance Release Dates'
  http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=171&uid=swg27006309
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

• APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

• APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

• Fixed component name

  IBM MQ BASE MP

• Fixed component ID

  5724H7271

Applicable component levels