Workbench integrates the industry-standard COBOL compiler
with development and testing tools that promote programmer productivity,
satisfaction and quality systems development. It features powerful
editing, debugging and communications facilities as well as graphical
data tools - all within a powerful and easy to use development
environment. Micro Focus COBOL Workbench supports the creation
and maintenance of enterprise-wide client-server applications
in addition to offloading development and maintenance of mainframe
application to PCs.
Product Highlights
Workbench streamlines the workflow during the edit-test-debug development or maintenance cycle. It provides application developers with the tools necessary to develop and maintain industrial strength applications for IBM mainframes, Windows, OS/2, and a wide range of UNIX (and other open systems platforms), or combinations of platforms in a client/server environment.
The strength and breadth of the Workbench tools are now combined with the power of 32-bit operating environments to provide an unparalleled system for development and maintenance of mainframe applications and development of powerful workstation based applications.
This release sees a number of major enhancements which further extend the already considerable functionality of the Workbench.
32-bit Workbench removes the previous limits on the number of programs you could debug, allows you to debug production code and work on larger programs than ever before while providing higher performance as well!
In addition to the Organizer which provides the user interface for the graphical Workbench, a new improved development shell provides a "work-centric" view of your applications and Micro Focus tools. You are presented with the actions that make sense for the application object selected. No more wading through menus and lists of options before trying to navigate your directories or network to find the right file before you can get your work done.
The Source Code Management Facility (SCMF) is included in the Workbench for the first time. This provides a complete source management system and is integrated with the Workbench shell and tools.
In addition to working on your traditional COBOL applications, you can now use Workbench to migrate to the new world of Object COBOL at your own pace. The same compiler is used for both legacy and object oriented programming. A Class Browser, Object Inspector and a class library complete the suite of tools that support Object COBOL development.
The graphical session recorder records the user's interaction with an application and the presentation of the application in a platform independent form. This allows the test to be run on alternative hardware or software platforms without re-recording. For example you can record a test on Windows and then replay on OS/2 (assuming you are not using platform specific features). The test script is recorded in REXX and is fully editable. A debugger is provided to assist in creating and maintaining test scripts.
Streamlined workflow is critical to effective coding and debugging of programs and increased programmer productivity and application quality. Efficient analysis and navigation of source assists in achieving effective program construction. COBOL Workbench includes Animator v2, the world's most sophisticated and easy to use COBOL editing, debugging and analysis tool. The ability to edit and debug in the same window allows the programmer to fix bugs in source as they are uncovered without invoking a separate editor. With Workbench v4.0, Animator v2 now provides:
New Animate-only mode prevents accidental edits during a debug session. Allows an edit window to be used for browsing only
New Edit only mode prevents execution functions being available, although the Check function is available to provide support for the COBOL sensitive program understanding functions
Better group working support - now have the option to not lock files, automatic edit-locks can be applied to read-only files. The configuration options allow you to configure the behavior to your chosen policy
"AutoFix" function allows creation of a table of common typographical errors and corrections. Power users may wish to use this feature to expand macros in line without moving their fingers from the keyboard
New syntax error window allows viewing of all error messages in one go and easier navigation through checker errors
Debug production (GNT and EXE) programs. Full debugger functionality - examine/change data, reset execution point etc. - are all available
Increased performance when debugging native GUI API with Animator
Debug PM and Windows API programs
Integrated "Object Inspector" to assist debugging Object COBOL programs
New replaceable macro tokens allow items like current line, filename, etc. to be inserted into macros while playing
Configurable delay for hinting on buttons, menu items, etc.
On-line help available directly from the command prompt window
Integrated with GUI ParmPass to allow you to change your mainframe style command line options directly from within the debugger. The changes take effect from the next Restart Animation (i.e. without having to leave Animator V2)
Open, Save, Compile, Run actions can be logged for usage analysis
Better trap insulation: Application and Animator are less tightly coupled to prevent errors in the application crashing Animator V2. If the application does cause an error, you can then investigate the cause by examining the state of the program at the time of the crash
The Common Communications Interface (CCI) allows programs to access networks and other communications media in a consistent fashion regardless of the communications protocol. CCI provides a set of functions that allow an application to connect to other workstations, send and receive data, and suspend, resume and terminate workstation connections. Since CCI uses a consistent approach to communications, programs written and tested for one system or environment are portable to another without coding changes. With version 4.0, CCI now provides on:
- The same protocols as for Workbench V3.2
Windows NT and Windows 95 - - CCITCP (Requires Microsoft TCP/IP which is supplied with Windows NT and Windows 95)
- CCIDDE - DDE
The Micro Focus COBOL compiler supports mainframe application development in the run-time architecture and mainframe dialect support. It is suited for off-loading mainframe development as well as application rightsizing or developing cross-platform client/server applications. Micro Focus COBOL currently supports the following dialects:
ANSI 74 COBOL - Including Report Writer Module support
FIPS Standard COBOL
X/Open® COBOL (XPG4)
IBM SAA™ COBOL
IBM OS/VS™ COBOL
IBM VS COBOL II (Releases 1, 2 and 3)
IBM DOS/VS COBOL
IBM COBOL/2™
IBM COBOL/370
Microsoft COBOL™
RM/COBOL™
Micro Focus Object COBOL
DG Interactive COBOL™
With v4.0, Micro Focus COBOL Workbench now offers:
Native support for IBM DB/2 v2
Support for new Intrinsic Functions
COBOL Workbench provides an integrated series of special syntax support, run-time routines and productivity components which support and enable mainframe offloading or rightsizing, With version 4.0, Micro Focus COBOL Workbench's mainframe compatibility has been enhanced to support:
Division by zero with floating point arguments controllable via a compiler directive
Improved S0C7 emulation (early release)
Improved emulation of mainframe COBOL for certain operations involving invalid data with HOST-NUMMOVE(2), HOST-NUMCOMPARE(2)
COBOL Workbench would not be complete without tools to manage your data. Data structures can be defined quickly and easily by using your COBOL copybooks or even the COBOL program itself. A graphical cataloging facility for storing and relating data structure and file information with specific files. A graphical file filtering tool uses an SQL like language to help you select subsets of your data for creating new files. All file management tools are integrated with one another.
The Micro Focus Data File Editor allows maintenance at the record level for all file formats produced with Micro Focus COBOL or other Workbench tools. In Data File Editor, records may be viewed in formatted form based on a COBOL data structure while editing. The Data File Editor offers the following new-release features in v4.0:
The External File Handler supports all Micro Focus file types. It is an alternative to the standard run-time routines for non-indexed file types. It is required to support indexed files and files defined as EXTERNAL. The External File Handler is normally accessed via standard COBOL verbs and COBOL file descriptions. With Workbench v4.0 the following improvements have been made to this tool:
New trace file option available
New configuration file allows tuning of cache sizes, etc.
Rebuild now has an Index validation utility
Rebuild can be relinked by the user to only include the support modules they require, thus reducing memory usage and executable size
ESDS support for batch applications
Smaller than earlier releases
Fileshare v2 is a high performance application file server for multi-user network applications. It provides file update logging, roll-forward recovery, and transaction processing. Most features of Fileshare v2 can be used through standard COBOL I/O syntax, so there is no difference between a program written to run on a network and one designed to work on a stand-alone system. Micro Focus extensions to the COBOL language facilitate transaction processing, including the ability to commit or rollback changes to groups of files. Existing applications using traditional COBOL data files can be brought onto the network environment when using Fileshare. With Workbench v4.0, FIleshare now supports:
NetWare v4.1
More than 255 Fileshare clients
Automatic recovery log file backup
Improved message displays and enhanced error message documentation
Database reference files without a recovery log file name
File Transfer Aid provides rich support for transferring source files between the host and PC. It can scan the source code to identify COPY members and called subprograms. Transfers can also be made automatically interfacing with source control on the host or PC. In addition to source transfer, mainframe data file transfer using Micro Focus Workbench is a simple matter of using Micro Focus File Transfer to specify your mainframe dataset and your PC dataset name, then let the tool take care of reading the mainframe catalog, unloading the mainframe dataset, transferring it to the PC and reloading it into Micro Focus file format. It will even take care of rebuilding any primary and alternate indices defined for the file. In v4.0, Micro Focus' File Transfer utilities have been improved by adding:
Integration with SCMF (see Source Code Management Facility) to allow automatic check-in/out of source code when performing a source download/upload
Improved integration with host emulators, uses direct API calls for popular Windows host emulator packages and IBM's Communications Manager/2. Seamless integration between File Transfer Aid and the data file download facility
In order to make installing COBOL Workbench as easy as possible, Micro Focus now provides:
This new facility in Workbench allows developers to automate the testing of GUI applications. It provides:
Version 4.0 of Micro Focus COBOL Workbench offers improvements to the user interface. The existing development shell - Organizer - has been updated in this release to include :
- %project-text - quoted icon title
- %project-name - unquote icon title
- %help - help topic to call when help button pressed
- %dialog - replace the standard file and options dialog
Building on the experience gained with the Organizer, a new development environment is being introduced which provides enhanced control over the source code and other objects which make an application. These objects are presented in a familiar list style and actions are driven from the selected object.
The new, enhanced integrated shell for Workbench includes:
Integration of all Workbench tools and add-ons with Advanced Organizer
Application objects represent the real world application and contain details of the objects that constitute the application
Application folders allow collections of related applications
Details View of an application showing a list of the objects within a project. Also allows actions to be performed against one or many objects within a project
Tool containers to allow grouping of related tools
Integration with SCMF to allow check-in/out and reporting without leaving the Advanced Organizer environment
Tight integration with Animator V2 to prevent loading Animator V2 when not necessary
Integration with the CICS and IMS Options to automatically start a CICS or IMS session when debugging a CICS application. Transaction IDs can be automatically passed to the emulator when starting the debug
Ability to store directives with each program within the application
Workbench v4.0 now provides complete documentation for the entire Micro Focus development products suite on a single CD-ROM through the Knowledge Access OmniSearch reader. This graphical documentation reader provides powerful search and view options.
ParmPass provides the ability to pass command lines and set run time switches in a similar way to the //PARM JCL card. In Workbench V4.0, it has a new GUI definition tool and is tightly integrated with Animator V2 preventing the need for special tool definitions or reloading Animator V2 when changing the command line.
Micro Focus provides one of the most powerful and flexible run-time environments available so applications can be distributed easily. With release 4.0, the RTE now offers
Micro Focus COBOL Workbench v4.0 incorporates an integrated source code management facility. This new tool provides a wide range of functionality including:
Micro Focus COBOL Workbench provides a source file comparison tool that gives developers the ability to analyze changes in code from one version of a program to the next. With v 4.0, this tool has been enhanced to allow developers to:
View the differences side by side or merged
Choose colors
View file differences more easily
Mark blocks for pasting to the operating system clipboard
Workbench is available for the following operating systems:
Windows, Windows NT v3.51 or above or Windows 95, OS/2 v3.0 Warp
Hardware Requirements
Minimum Recommended
486 33Mhz 486 66Mhz
12Mb RAM 16Mb RAM
200Mb Hard Disk 340Mb Hard Disk
VGA Color Monitor SVGA Color Monitor
3.5" High Density Floppy 3.5" High Density
Disk Drive Floppy Disk Drive
CD-ROM drive
Workbench for Mainframe Offloading
Micro Focus COBOL Workbench provides a wide range of tools for offloading mainframe applications to PCs for development and maintenance. Micro Focus provides additional add-on tools for organizations wishing to emulate specific mainframe environments. The following tools can be purchased in addition to COBOL Workbench:
CICS Option™ for CICS development on the desktop
IMS Option™ for IMS development on the desktop
370 Assembler for 370 Assembler development tools on the desktop.
DB2 Option™ for developing and testing applications accessing DB2 databases
PROXMVS™ for MVS emulation on the workstation
Contact your Micro Focus sales representative for more information on these add-on products.
Micro Focus offers training classes many of its products. Contact your Micro Focus Sales representative for more details.
Micro Focus is committed to providing quality support for its products and has a multi-level support plan to meet the growing needs of our customers.
General Release components are those components which Micro Focus believes are mature technology, are ready for production applications and are supported through normal support channels.
Early Release components are supported through specialists in the Product Support organization. Early release components are new technology, not yet certified for production use. We encourage programmers to experiment with these components and provide feedback on them to Micro Focus.
Micro Focus COBOL Workbench protects your investment in earlier Micro Focus products. In particular:
Workbench is available in the following packages:
The CD-ROM contains books for all Micro Focus products on-line.
Diskette packages are platform specific and the intended operating environment should be selected at order time.
Printed documentation is available separately.
Workbench is also available as an add-on option to Object COBOL.
COBOL Workbench is also available for 16-bit operating environments - click here for more information.