1. WHAT IS NEW IN THIS RELEASE

2. KNOWN ISSUES

3. SUPPORT

1. WHAT IS NEW IN THIS RELEASE

BASIS continues to enhance the BBj product line by providing major feature releases each year. Throughout the year, BASIS releases maintenance versions of the product containing bug fixes and partially implemented features as a preview of the next major revision of the product.

The list below contain the new and fully supported features available in this release. The BASIS online documentation describes these features in greater detail. For an exhaustive list of What is New in BBj 6.0, type BBj 6 in the index tab of the documentation or on the product CD at documentation.html. To review the features and enhancements previously introduced in BBj 5.x, type BBj 5 in the index tab.

GENERAL FEATURES

• Support for 64-bit ports
• Enhanced Memory Management and program/resource caching - optimally manages saved copies of program and resource files in memory

LANGUAGE/INTERPRETER

• BBjEvent Objects - introduces nearly 100 event objects plus 120 associated methods. Review the comprehesive BBjEvents Object listing in the online documentation.
• BBjGrid::
  • get/setColumn/RowGutter - manages the size of the space, known as a "gutter," between the column/row header and the main grid
  • get/setShowMaskWhenRendering - manages whether input style cells display the decoration characters of their mask in non-edit mode
  • get/setTabAction - controls the behavior of the <Tab> key inside the grid
  BBjMDI::
  • getDefaultForwardMenuAccelerators - returns the default value of getForwardMenuAccelerator
  • setDefaultForwardMenuAccelerators - returns the initial value returned by getForwardMenuAccelerator
  • getForwardMenuAccelerators - returns a value describing whether the window argument will forward keystrokes to the MDI parent for consideration as menu accelerators
  • setForwardMenuAccelerators - configures whether keystrokes are forwarded by the window argument to the MDI parent window for menu accelerator consideration
• BBjNamespace::
  • removeValue - removes an object from this BBjNamespace
• BBjProgramInfo (new) - provides programmatic access to information about a program
  • getLineCount - returns the number of program lines in a BBjProgramInfo object
  • getListing - returns the complete program listing for a BBjProgramInfo object
  • getListingVector - returns a BBjVector of strings containing the complete program listing of a BBjProgramInfo object
  • getListingForPhysicalLine - returns the listing for a specified physical line of a BBjProgramInfo object
  • hasLineNumbers - returns whether the program referenced by a BBjProgramInfo object has line numbers
• BBjStandardGrid::
  • getRowModelIndexFromViewIndex - maps the view index of a row to the model index
  • getRowViewIndexFromModelIndex - maps the model index of a row to the view index
  • isColumnUserSortable - causes the grid to sort a specified column when the user clicks in the header of that column
  • resort - re-sorts the grid and reapplies sorting directives to grid, necessary if grid contents have been edited
  • setAllColumnsUserSortable - enables the sorting of all columns when the user clicks in the column header
  • setColumnUserSortable - causes the grid to sort a specified column when the user clicks in the header of that column
  • sortByColumn - sorts a grid by the content of a given column
  • unsort - removes all sorting directives and displays the grid in its unsorted row order
• Clipboard support - allows clipboard functioning of .bmp, .jpg, and .png image formats
• Custom Objects - allows developers to create custom object-oriented classes
• DENUM - removes line numbers from BBj code
• FMTTEXT mnemonic enhancements
• Interface Focusable - BBjControl implements the Focusable interface, allowing the user to focus the control via either the mouse or keyboard
• Mouse Scroll Wheel Event and Interface MouseWheelEnabled - defines the behavior of the mouse wheel scroll and how they affect the control
• SAVEP/CLEARP Verb - provides password protected tokenization and listing of programs
• TypeChecker - enables compile-time error checking instead runtime checking
• Window Move Event - reports the user moved a window

DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• BBjAPI::getBBjPDFForm - automatically obtains a BBjPrinter object and returns a BBjForm object that allows printing a document to a PDF file
• BBjFileInfo (new) - provides methods to interact with an open file channel associated with a BBjFIleInfo object
  • add/drop/changeKey - adds/drops/changes a key chain to/from/in a VKEYED file
  • get[item] - returns the items referenced in the following methods:
    • getCurrentKeyName/Number
    • getCurrent/DefinedRecords
    • getFilename/Size/Type
    • getKeyInfo/Number/Size
    • get/setKeyName
    • getLastMomdified
    • getRecordSize
  • get/setText - gets/sets text value from a file
  • lock/unlock - locks/unlocks the file channel
• BBjFileSystem::
  getFileInfo - returns a BBjFileInfo object associated with an open file channel
  • makeKeyInfo/Segment - creates the type of key identified in the method name
• BBjKeyInfo (new) - provides ability to dynamically manipulate VKEYED file key chains
  getKeySegments - returns a BBjVector of BBjKeySegment objects
  • isUnique - returns whether a key is unique
• BBjKeySegment (new) - constructs the BBjKeyInfo objects that dynamically manipulate VKEYED file key chains
  getField/Length/Offset - returns the item called out in the method name
  • isDescending - returns whether a BBjKeySegment object is sorted in descending sequence
  • isNumeric - returns whether a BBjKeySegment object contains a Business Math value
• ESQL file type - introduces exclusive SQL access that provides signifiant performance gains for data warehousing
• Stored Procedures - gives ODBC/JDBC-enabled application the ability to execute BBx code
• Triggers - enables implicit execution of code for insert, updates, and deletes
• VKEYED Verb - creates a keyed file similar to an XKEYED file but allows variable length records and dynamic key allocation

DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

• AppBuilder - introduces an integrateed RAD development tool
• BASIS IDE - delivers quick, error-free entry of method parameters for custom, Java, BBjAPI, and Event Objects
• Performance Analyzer enhancements - optimizes analysis for quicker code optimization
• PRO/5 execution - adds support for PRO/5 interpreters
• Thin client execution - enables remote development by optionally starting a thin client connection to a remote server

SYSTEM ADMINSTRATION

• BBj Autorun - adds administrator control of which BBj programs run automatically when BBjServices starts
• Enterprise Manager - includes new JVM selector, Triggers, SPROC, and AutoRun configuration support

For a list of fixed QA memos, see the fixes.txt file at http://www.basis.com/devtools/bbj/readme_relnotes_fixes.html.

• Solaris 32-bit (only) operating system limits file descriptors used by a STREAM to 256. The FlexNet licensing code uses STREAMs to open the basis.lic pointer license file. If BBj services open more than 253 (not 256 since 0, 1, and 2 are used for stdin, stderr, and stdout) files/sockets, any new license checkout results in the following error UNABLE TO CHECKOUT A VALID LICENSE: FLEXlm Error = -1: Can't find license file. To prevent the FlexNet licensing code from using STREAMs when accessing licensing information, place the information in the environment variable BASIS_LICENSE_FILE. For example:
         > BASIS_LICENSE_FILE=@
         > export BASIS_LICENSE_FILE
• Java 5 for Linux contains a memory leak that affects GUI programs. Sun provides more information about this leak at http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/bugs/6317336.html.
• Browsers other than Internet Explorer, such as Netscape and Mozilla, may experience difficulties viewing the documentation. In these cases, BASIS recommends using the Flash version available for download at http://www.basis.com/devtools/documentation/index.html.
• BBj uses a third party library to access the serial ports. This library is currently only shipped with the Windows and Linux BBj ports.
• All clients and servers must be running at the same release level of BBj.
• BridgeServer does not support Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
• A local SysConsole environment does not support the BACKGROUND verb.
• Older JVMs (fixed in 1.5.x)
  • The 1.4.x “server” JRE prevents BBj from functioning properly with either the server/jre/jvm.dll or the java –server option. BBj passes all QA tests using the default 1.4.x JRE and client/jre/jvm.dll.
  • JVM 1.4.1 on Windows, when reaching the maximum number of file handles (~2000), any attempt to open another file or program causes it to be erased. 
  • Java 1.4.1 contains a string buffer leak, which over time can cause a large memory leak. This was fixed in 1.4.1_05 and in all versions of 1.4.2 and later. For more information from Sun about this leak, go to http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/bugs/4724129.html.
  • JVM 1.4.x JVM on a Fedora Core 3 (or higher) requires the installation of additional software. While the 1.4.x JVMs are built with the XFree.org X11 implementation, Fedora Core 3 installs the X.org X11 implementation. Some shared libraries have changed so to get libraries required to run BBjServices properly, you must install the xorg-X11-deprecated-libs package. In addition, 1.4.x JVMs encounter a security problem with Fedora Core 3 and later releases so either turn off the security features of SE Linux or install the selinux-policy-targeted-1.25.2-4.noarch package.

3. SUPPORT (return to top)

If you purchased your BASIS product from a distributor, reseller, or OEM, please contact them for technical support. They will either answer your question or will contact us on your behalf. For a complete listing of our international distributors, please refer to http://www.basis.com/sales/index.html.

Also, refer to http://www.basis.com/support/contacts.html for additional information on how to contact Technical Support.