IZ59109: TEPS DROPS QUOTES IF "MISSING ITEM LIST" IS NOT USED TO HANDLE SPACES IN A MONITORED ITEM/ATTRIBUTE

APAR status

• Closed as program error.

Error description

• If a user wants to create a situation to monitor for a missing
  item that containts a space character, (like a service name)
  then the "Missing Item List" must be used to format the
  situation formula correctly.  If the "Missing Item List" is
  closed and the text is entered into the situation, then the
  single quotes around the name of the item (with the space) will
  be missing from the resulting formula.
  
  This is seen in ITM 6.2.1 IF03 on a Windows TEPS.  Other
  platforms could be affected.
  
  Here are the recreation steps.
  
  1.  Open a TEP desktop client.
  2.  Set tracing to ERROR (UNIT: Situation Detail)
  3.  Open the Situation Editor.
  4.  Select Windows OS
  5.  Select "Create new Situation..."
  6.  Name the new situation.
  7.  Select Attribute Group - NT Services ... and Attribute Item
  - Service Name
  8.  In the Formula editor, change "Value of expression" to
  "Check for Missing Items"
  9.  Close the "Missing Item List" that immediately appears
  10.  Focus on the blank field after "Missing ==" and type a
  service name with blanks.  For example: aaa bbb ccc
  11.  Click OK on the Situation Editor dialog.
  12.  Run tacmd viewsit for the situation you just created.
  Notice that no single quotes surround the service name in the
  formula: *IF *MISSING NT_Services.Service_Name *EQ ( aaa bbb ccc
  )
  13.  ParseException messages appear in the kcras1.log.
  12.  Open the Situation Editor again and attempt to view the
  situation that you just created.  Notice that the "Attribute
  Group" and "Attribute Item" dialog appears.
  
  The key to this recreation appears to be Step 9.  If you do not
  close the "Missing Item List" and add the service name with
  blanks into the "Missing Item List", then the single quotes
  appear as intended around the Service Name.  This problem is
  reliably recreated when starting with a new situation.  The
  ParseException messages may or may not appear in the log if you
  edit an already existing situation.
  
  To workaround the problem, use the tacmd editsit command, adding
  quotes around the text with the space character, and the
  situation acts as expected.
  

Local fix

• tacmd editsit, create the situation again and use the "Missing
  Item List" field as intended
  

Problem summary

• When a situation is created and the user elects to use the
  "Check for Missing Items" expression, the portal client does not
  add the single quotes from the situation items if the data is
  entered directly into the input field after dismissing the
  "Missing Item List" popup. If the data contains spaces, this
  causes the situation to be invalid because it is in an incorrect
  format.
  
  If the data is entered into the "Check for Missing Items" popup
  window that comes up, it will be surrounded by single quotes so
  even if the data has spaces in it, it will be handled correctly.
  

Problem conclusion

• Since it would be virtually impossible to assume the format that
  the user actually wanted to enter (since multiple fields worth
  of data may be entered with comma separators and spaces), an
  error will occur if the situation data is in an incorrect
  format, therefore the situation cannot be saved if the data is
  not formatted correctly.
  
  
  
  The fix for this APAR is included in the following maintenance
  vehicle:
      | fix pack | 6.2.1-TIV-ITM-FP0002
      | fix pack | 6.2.2-TIV-ITM-FP0002
  

Temporary fix

• Enter the data into the "check for Missing Items" popup that
  comes up instead of dismissing the popup.
  Or the user can enter the data in the correct format in the
  input field (with single quotes around each input field and each
  input field separated by a comma).
  

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

  TEP

• Fixed component ID

  5724C04EP

Applicable component levels

• R621 PSY

     UP