What's new in Rational Programming Patterns

The following new capabilities are introduced in Rational Programming Patterns Version 9.7.

Enhanced micropattern management

  • The syntax of the micropattern declaration now consists of parameters and their values. The old syntax is overridden with the new syntax when the instance is generated again.
  • The content assist feature helps you declare micropatterns by proposing the adequate micropattern identifiers and parameters. It displays help on each micropattern.
  • The parameters of the micropatterns are displayed in the Generated Code Structure view.
  • The micropatterns that were used to insert micropatterns no longer exist. So, they are no longer displayed in the Snippets view. However, the other Rational Programming Patterns snippets are still displayed in this view.
  • The WF micropattern contains a new parameter that corresponds to a generation prefix.
  • A new DOT parameter can be used with some micropatterns to manage the dot at the end of the generated statements.

Enhanced design editors

  • The Data Element Definition tab contains new buttons that are related to timestamp Data Elements. They open wizards where you can specify fractions of second and the timezone.
  • The Database Block Definition tab contains a new check box that can be used to specify the name of the Database Block generated file. This name can correspond to the Block external name, the Block name, or the concatenation of the Bock name and external name.
  • In the -GC Lines, -GE Lines, -GG Lines, and -GO Lines, you can create * comment lines by pressing the Enter key. The cursor must be in the Description field, on a * comment line previously created.
  • A Cancel action is available in the complementary editors that you can open from the tables of the design editors. You can use it to close the wizard and discard your changes.
  • The sort key is displayed in the table of the Level, Address and Length tab in the Segment design editor.
  • New local controls detect the use of special characters in the external names of the generatable instances. For a Program, an error is raised on the instance and prevents the generation. For the other entities, a warning is raised but the generation remains possible.

Enhanced search and impact analysis

  • The Advanced Design Search and Server Advanced Design Search views include a new standard search pattern: list of Segments by structure code.
  • Several keywords can be specified in the Design Search and Server Design Search. The instances that contain all the keywords are found.

Enhanced code management

  • In the Generated Code Structure view, you can move a function or subfunction with all its dependent nodes.
  • In the function and subfunction creation wizard, you can now select a condition for a subfunction that has a relative position.
  • In the PDP COBOL editor, the Rational Programming Patterns wizard that enables you to search in parts of the COBOL code contains two new buttons. You can click them to start a step-by-step search or a global search. The results of the global search are displayed in a dedicated view.
  • In the PDP COBOL editor, the Source > Sequence Numbers item in the contextual menu has been removed. It prevents losing the information that is displayed in columns 73 - 80.
  • In the Macro source code, a new consistency check controls that the Fffss identifier is also indicated as Nffss in the comment line that follows the identifier declaration.
  • The CONTINUE. statement is automatically generated to ensure that the code contains the required end period before the FN end tag of the function or subfunction.

Enhanced quality control

  • A new rule checks that the addresses of the elements that are called in the Screen -CE Lines are correct.
  • The rule that prevents using GO TO statements except if they reference an EXIT paragraph has been extended. Now, the GO TO statements that are automatically generated are also excluded.

Other enhancements

  • The MQSeries communication type is recognized in the Communication Monitors when they are migrated. It can also be selected in Rational Programming Patterns.
  • A .csv export is available for Segments and Logical Views in the Design Explorer view.
  • The precondition that prohibits the promotion of the generated files if design files contributors are missing can be disabled for some configurations.