This section contains an overview of all Natural add-on products or subcomponents for which new versions are available, and, where applicable, provides detailed information on product-specific changes and enhancements.
The following topics are covered:
With Natural Version 4.2.6, new versions of the following Natural add-on products or subcomponents are provided:
| Product | Prod. Code | Version | General Changes and Enhancements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Advanced Facilities * | NAF | 4.2.6 |
These versions contain
applied to their respective predecessor versions as error corrections. |
| Natural for Ajax * | NJX | 1.2.4 | |
| Natural CICS Interface | NCI | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural Com-plete/SMARTS Interface | NCF | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural Connection | NTC | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural for DB2 | NDB | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural for DB2 * | NDB | 4.3.1 | |
| Natural Development Server * | NDV | 2.2.6 | |
| Natural for DL/I | NDL | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural IMS TM Interface | NII | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural ISPF | ISP | 2.6.6 | |
| Natural Japanese Language Pack | NCJ | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural for MBCS * | NKA | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural Optimizer Compiler | NOC | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural Remote Procedure Call * | RPC | 6.3.3 (RPC is a separate subcomponent of Natural) | |
| Natural Review | RNM | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural SAF Security * | NSF | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural Security * | NSC | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural for SQL/DS | NSQ | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural SQL Gateway * | NSB | 1.2.2 | |
| Natural TIAM Interface | NRT | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural TSO Interface | NTI | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural UTM Interface | NUT | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural VM/CMS Interface | NCM | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural for VSAM | NVS | 4.2.6 | |
| Natural Web I/O Interface * | NWO |
1.3.5 (client) 1.1.5 (server) |
|
| Super Natural | NSN | 3.5.6 |
* Further product-specific changes and/or enhancements are described below.
The following documentation enhancement is provided with Natural Advanced Facilities Version 4.2.6:
The messages that may be issued by the front end, monitor, printer task
(print server) or the SERVEND program under the operating system
BS2000/OSD have been included in the Messages and Codes
documentation; see the section Natural Advanced Facilities
BS2000/OSD Error Messages.
Natural for Ajax is now delivered in the Version 1.2.4. It is based on Application Designer Version 8.0.
Support is provided for the following:
Certain controls can be bound to Natural control variables so that the
modification status of a Natural operand that represents the value of the
control can be checked with IF control-variable
MODIFIED. See
XCIDATADEF - Data
Definition in the Natural for Ajax
documentation.
The Natural system variable
*CURS-FIELD
can be used in Natural for Ajax applications to identify the operand that
represents the value of the control that has the input focus. When the Natural
system function POS is applied to a Natural
operand that represents the value of a control, it yields the identifier of
that operand. See also Natural Parameters and System
Variables in the Natural for Ajax
documentation.
The statusprop property for input controls such as
FIELD has been split into two separate properties:
statusprop and displayprop. See
Dynamically
Controlling the Visibility and the Display Status of
Controls in the Natural for Ajax documentation.
It is now possible to define a Natural for Ajax application as a
servlet in the file web.xml. This makes the definition of security
constraints for individual applications easier. See
Wrapping a Natural for
Ajax Application as a Servlet in Configuring the
Client which is part of the Natural Web I/O
Interface documentation.
The following new features apply only to Natural maps, not to rich GUI pages:
With the configuration tool, it is now possible to configure the behavior of a double-click. The double-click can be assigned to a function key or can be disabled. See Overview of Session Options in Configuring the Client which is part of the Natural Web I/O Interface documentation.
With the configuration tool, it is now possible to define that all function keys are to be shown, including those which do not have names. This makes sure that the function keys are always displayed at the same position. See Overview of Session Options in Configuring the Client which is part of the Natural Web I/O Interface documentation.
The following are features which have already been introduced with Natural for Ajax Version 1.2.3:
Applications that organize multiple pages in so-called workplaces. See Working with Workplaces in the Natural for Ajax documentation.
Numeric edit mask concept of Natural. See Usage of Edit Masks in the Natural for Ajax documentation.
Project-specific online help popups. See Online Help Management in the Application Designer documentation (this is not part of the Natural documentation).
Application-controlled sorting of multiple columns in
TEXTGRIDSSS2 and ROWTABLEAREA2. See
Data Structures
for Server-Side Scrolling and Sorting in the
Natural for Ajax documentation.
Automatic style sheet selection for different screen models. See Modifying the Font Size in the Natural Web I/O Interface documentation.
This section describes the enhancements implemented in Natural for DB2 Version 4.3.1.
Note:
Information on Natural for DB2 Version 4.2.6 can be found in the earlier edition of the Natural Version 4.2.6 documentation
on Software AG's Empower web site at https://empower.softwareag.com/.
For compatibility information, see the subsection Component Compatibility of Natural for DB2 Versions 4.2.6 and 4.3.1 in the section General Information of these release notes.
With Version 4.3.1, the following new features, new statements and syntax enhancements have been implemented for the support of DB2 Version 9:
Natural for DB2 supports the SQL MERGE statement as
introduced by DB2 for z/OS Version 9.
The SQL MERGE statement is a hybrid statement, which
allows the programmer to update rows of a SQL table or to insert rows into a
SQL table from data arrays within one statement. The update or insert operation
is performed depending on whether or not the row already exists in the target
table.
For further information, see MERGE - SQL in the Natural Statements documentation.
The table-reference clause of
the SELECT statement has been enhanced by DELETE,
MERGE, and UPDATE statements as so called
data-change-table-reference, which
allow to directly select rows which are subject to a DELETE,
INSERT, MERGE, or UPDATE statement.
For further information, see SELECT - SQL in the Natural Statements documentation.
Natural for DB2 allows the specification of EXCEPT and
INTERSECTION set operations in addition to the already supported
UNION operation in fullselects.
Online analytical processing (OLAP) specification provide ranking and
row numbering information as a scalar value in the result of a query. Natural
for DB2 now supports this syntax in the SELECT statement.
For further information, see OLAP Specification in the Natural Statements documentation.
A ROW CHANGE expression returns a token or a timestamp
representing the last change to a row.
For further information, see ROW CHANGE Expression in the Natural Statements documentation.
Natural for DB2 supports the SKIP LOCKED DATA clause in
the SELECT statement. This clause avoids the wait on locked data
rows.
For further information, see the SKIP LOCKED DATA Clause of the DELETE - SQL and SELECT - SQL statements in the Natural Statements documentation.
The Natural utility SYSDDM is able to recognize these data
types and maps these types to Natural field formats.
For further information, see Natural Formats and SQL Data Types in the Natural Statements documentation.
DB2 for z/OS Version 9 provides a set of XML enhancements, which can also be used by Natural for DB2.
For further information, see SQL Statements in the Natural Statements documentation.
Natural for DB2 now allows the specification of Natural arrays or array
ranges in the SQL IN clause and decomposes the array into its
single occurrences.
For further information, see IN Predicate in the Natural Statements documentation.
The File Server Statistics have been enhanced by a screen displaying the allocated directory entries of the file server, which allows you to display the file server blocks associated with the directory and to delete a file server directory entry whose associated Natural session has already ended.
For further information, see File Server Statistics in the Natural for DB2 documentation.
With Natural Version 4.2.6 for Mainframes, Version 2.2.6 of Natural Development Server is available.
For information on changes, enhancements and new features available with Version 2.2.6, see the corresponding sections What's New in the platform-specific Natural Development Server documentation.
The following enhancement is provided with Natural for MBCS Version 4.2.6:
An alternate NATTXT2
module named NATTXT2J is provided that contains English
(ULANG=1)
Standard Natural
Output Texts in upper case. The alternate module must be linked to
Natural instead of the default NATTXT2 module.
Natural Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is available as a separate subcomponent of Natural. It has its own version number. This measure takes into account that Natural RPC is a cross-platform component and makes it possible to provide new Natural RPC versions independent of new Natural versions for the various platforms supported.
With Natural Version 4.2.6, an enhanced Natural Remote Procedure Call Version 6.3.3 is delivered that replaces the existing Natural RPC Version 6.3.2.
As of Version 6.3 of Natural Remote Procedure Call (RPC), the following changes, enhancements and new features are provided:
The following information is only for non-SMA users who are migrating from Natural Version 4.2.3 or a lower version:
In the link JCL of your Natural, you must replace NATRPC62
by NATRPC63.
The system command RPCERR has
been enhanced to show the full error message text returned by an EntireX RPC
server.
The following enhancements have been applied to the user application
programming interface
RPCINFO
and the parameter data area RPCINFOL:
RPCINFO has been enhanced to retrieve the error message
text returned by an EntireX RPC server.
The fields S-NODE, S-NAME,
C-NODE, C-NAME have been enlarged from A8 to A32 to
be more compliant with EntireX.
RPCINFO is loaded to the library SYSTEM on
system file FNAT and is immediately available to all user
applications.
All enhancements are compatible with existing applications.
Notes:
RPCINFOL you may be concerned if the enlarged fields are
displayed. Either adapt your output layout accordingly or add the session
parameter AL=8 where appropriate.
RPCINFO from the FUSER system file.
The user authentication on the Natural RPC server side against the external security system can optionally be performed without password check. See also Impersonation without Password Check.
The following RPC-specific application programming interface (API) has
been added in the library SYSEXT:
| API | Purpose |
|---|---|
USR4371N |
Set User ID and ETID for RPC
Used on the RPC client side, this API sets the user ID and ETID
for Natural RPC servers which were configured with |
The Stub
Generation function of the SYSRPC utility
has been enhanced by the direct command COMPAT IDL
in order to optionally generate stub subprograms that are more compliant with
EntireX RPC servers and the reliable RPC. If COMPAT
IDL is specified and an EntireX RPC server is called by a Natural
client, the parameter definitions on the Stub Generation
screen must correspond to the IDL definition for the EntireX RPC server.
With the next version of Natural, COMPAT IDL
will be the default. For compatibility reasons, an option will be provided to
generate stub subprograms as in previous Natural versions.
If you have generated a stub subprogram from an IDL file using the Generate Natural from Software AG IDL command of NaturalONE or EntireX Workbench, the program and library name of the IDL file are incorporated into the generated stub subprogram and passed to the RPC server. This means especially that the name of the program that is executed on the RPC server may be different from the name of the stub subprogram.
If the Natural client calls a Natural RPC server, the library name of the IDL file is only evaluated by the Natural RPC server if the Natural client has set the Logon option.
Please note that the term stub subprogram, which in earlier versions of EntireX was also used to refer to application-dependent, Workbench-generated pieces of code for issuing and receiving remote procedure calls, will no longer be used. In the EntireX documentation, these objects are now referred to as interface objects. In the Natural Remote Procedure Call documentation, however, the term stub subprogram is still prevailing. It will be replaced in one of the next versions of Natural RPC.
The following enhancement is provided with Natural SAF Security Version 4.2.6:
Until EntireX Version 7.2.1, the following Natural SAF Security
application programming interfaces (APIs) were delivered with EntireX:
NA2NPAX, NA2NRES, NA2NREX and
NA2NLOGZ. As their replacements, the following APIs are delivered
with Natural SAF Security:
| EntireX API | Replacement API |
|---|---|
NA2NPAX |
NSFNPAX in library
SYSSEC.
|
NA2NRES |
NSFNRES in library
SYSSEC.
|
NA2NREX |
NSFNREX in library
SYSSEC.
|
NA2NLOGZ |
NSFNLOGZ in library
SYSSAFOS.
|
The EntireX APIs can still be used, and internally each of them invokes the corresponding replacement API. However, it is recommended that the replacements be used instead.
NSFNPAX, NSFNRES and NSFNREX are
described in the section
Application
Programming Interfaces of the Natural SAF
Security documentation. NSFNLOGZ provides encryption of
8-character password based values of password and user ID with EntireX's broker
encryption performed in Adabas before exits.
The following enhancements are provided with Natural Security Version 4.2.6:
The following enhancements are provided in Administrator Services:
If a startup transaction is specified in a Natural Security library profile, it will be executed after a successful logon to the library. In a Natural Development Server environment, however, when a library is selected from the tree view in the mapped environment, the execution of a startup transaction may not be desired. A new Administrator Services option NDV Startup Inactive, which can be set in the Library and User Preset Values, allows you to suppress the execution of startup transactions in a mapped environment.
A new logon-records maintenance function allows you to list logon records in the chronological order of time-stamps, that is, the date/time when the logons occurred.
The information stored in the logon records has been expanded to
include user type and system-file information (FUSER,
FNAT, FDIC). With this Natural Security version, this
information can only be retrieved via the application programming interface
NSCXR; see the example program PGMXR006 in the
library SYSSEC.
The following enhancements are provided for users:
The function Copy User has been enhanced: You can enter the name of the new user not only in the new profile but already in the window which is displayed when you invoke the Copy function. This name is then written into the new profile (where you can still change it, of course).
A new user exit, NSCUSEX2,
is provided in the library SYSSEC. It allows you to review the
changes you have made to a list of group members. It is invoked when you use
the user-maintenance function
Edit Group
Members and CATALOG the changes to the
group. It displays a list of the group's members, indicating which members have
been added to the group and which have been removed from it.
The following enhancements are provided for libraries:
The function Copy Library has been enhanced: You can enter the name of the new library not only in the new profile but already in the window which is displayed when you invoke the Copy function. This name is then written into the new profile (where you can still change it, of course).
UNIX shell commands can be executed from within a Natural program by
invoking the Natural user exit SHCMD via the statement CALL
SHCMD. With Natural Security you can now control for each library the
execution of UNIX shell commands from within Natural programs by
allowing/disallowing the execution of the CALL SHCMD statement in
the Command
Restrictions section of library profiles.
The following enhancements are provided for utilities:
In the security profiles for the
SYSERR
utility, you can now control the use of SYSERR direct commands.
You can allow or disallow each command for all users, or allow it for Natural
Security administrators only.
The session option Utilities option in the default
profiles of utilities SYSMAIN and SYSOBJH has been
enhanced: In addition to the existing values Y and N,
you can specify the new value O: This is identical to
Y, but has the following additional effect:
If you use SYSMAIN or SYSOBJH to process the
contents of a library in whose library profile the general option
Utilities is set to O (= processing permitted
for owners), and you as an owner require a countersignature, the
countersignature prompt will be suppressed; instead, the library will be
excluded from SYSMAIN/SYSOBJH processing.
This enhancement is only relevant online, because in batch mode countersignatures cannot be processed anyhow.
A new function allows you to convert your old NATLOAD,
NATUNLD and SYSTRANS utility profiles into
corresponding SYSOBJH utility profiles. It is described under
Conversion of Utility
Profiles in the Natural Security
documentation.
The following enhancement is provided for RPC servers:
The Impersonation option in the security profiles of RPC servers has been enhanced: In addition to activating impersonation with password check, you can now activate impersonation without password check. See the section Protecting Natural RPC Servers and Services in the Natural Security documentation for details.
The following application programming interfaces (APIs) have been enhanced:
The API NSCADM has
been enhanced. It allows you to compare a preset value (as set in the
Library and
User Preset Values) with the corresponding actual value in user
profiles, and provides a list of all user profiles in which the value differs
from the preset value. For details, see example program PGMADM04
and text member TXTADM04 in the library SYSSEC.
The API NSCXR has
been enhanced. It allows you to retrieve information about the access rights to
an individual module in a library, for all users who have access to the
library. For details, see example program PGMXR018 and text member
TXTXR018 in the library SYSSEC.
The following other enhancements are provided:
Deferred countersigning allows you to perform a maintenance function, and obtain the required countersignature later.
This is possible for the functions Add, Modify, Rename and Delete of user profiles and library profiles, and if only one countersignature is required.
When you attempt to maintain a security profile and the Countersignatures screen is invoked, but none of the other owners of the security profile is available to supply his/her password, you may defer the countersigning. This means that you can proceed with your intended maintenance function and obtain the other owner's countersignature afterwards. For details on how this works, see the section Deferred Countersigning in the Natural Security documentation.
With the current version of Natural Security, deferred countersigning is available for the functions mentioned above. With subsequent versions, it is planned to make it available for further functions.
The function Copy Mailbox has been enhanced: You can enter the name of the new mailbox not only in the new profile but already in the window which is displayed when you invoke the Copy function. This name is then written into the new profile (where you can still change it, of course).
The value contained in the Natural system variable
*ETID (End-of-Transaction ID) within a Natural
session under Natural Security has changed:
With previous versions, *ETID contained
the ETID set at the Natural Security logon.
As of Version 4.2.6, *ETID contains the
ETID used for the most recent database OPEN.
The following restriction applies to the use of the Natural utility SYSDDM:
Once you have accessed a certain ConnecX Data Dictionary (CDD) using the ConnecX SQL Engine (CXX) 11.0, you will no longer be able to use the same ConnecX Data Dictionary with the ConnecX SQL Engine 1.1.3.
The following changes/enhancements are provided:
Support is provided for the following:
Support is now provided for automatic style sheet selection for different screen models. See Modifying the Font Size in the Natural Web I/O Interface documentation.
On IIS, you can now determine whether the PF key numbers are shown
next to the PF keys. This is done with the
showfkeynumbers attribute of the
screen element in sessions.xml.
See Overview of Configuration File Elements in the
Natural Web I/O Interface documentation. (This feature is
already available for J2EE.)
The screen size definition from the client style sheet on the
application server is passed to Natural and used as the default terminal screen
size. The Natural profile parameter TMODEL has been
enhanced to support variable screen sizes.
It is now possible to define different styles for output fields which are based on variables and output fields which are based on literals (J2EE only). See Defining Different Styles for Output Fields in Configuring the Client which is part of the Natural Web I/O Interface documentation.
It is now possible to define the key that is to be simulated when double-clicking an output field. See Overview of Session Options in Configuring the Client which is part of the Natural Web I/O Interface documentation.
With the next version of Natural, it will no longer be possible to use the Natural Web I/O Interface client with Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). IIS will no longer be supported.
The new Natural profile parameter WEBIO allows
you to individually enable or disable the rendering of certain features of the
Natural Web I/O Interface display. For further information, see
New
Parameters in the section Changes, Enhancements,
New Features.
The following enhancement is provided for the Natural Web I/O Interface server:
In previous versions, the amount of data that could be processed by a
PROCESS PAGE
statement in an NWO server environment was limited to 64 K. This limitation has
been removed now.
With Super Natural Version 3.5.6, the following limitation applies and the following language-specific changes should be taken into account:
Super Natural Version 3.5.6 does not support the locking mechanism of
Natural source objects which is activated with the Natural profile parameter
SLOCK. We
strongly recommend that you set SLOCK to
OFF when working in a Super Natural environment to guarantee that
SLOCK is deactivated and that no unpredictable errors
occur.
If you use or supply Super Natural Version 3.5.6 in a language other than English or German, you must make source changes in certain language-dependent modules. Language-dependent modules can be, for example, maps, subprograms or command processors.