xTrace Release 2.6.5 is now available to download.

A significant enhancement introduced in this release is a change to the xTrace runtime and source code post-processor that almost eliminates the runtime overhead associated with trace support when the application is executed without the user wishing to actively trace the code. 

This enhancement makes it feasible to always generate the code with trace enabled for development environments without the trade-off of the increased CPU consumption due to the additional trace logic in the generated code.

Starting a trace session merely involves starting the xTrace Monitor client to immediately be able to trace through the application rather than having to regenerate the code with trace with the time and effort that this involves.

The GuardIEn Implemented PADs feature provides a mechanism for storing the action block statements extracted from the generated source code as part of a system update generation step.

If you use Minor Versions in GuardIEn, there is no need to also use Implemented PADs, but we have noticed that some projects may not have disabled the use of Implemented PADs (or even be aware of their existance) when they enabled Minor Version support.

It is recommended that you consider disabling the use of Implemented PADs and cleanup the PAD folder if you use Minor Versions. They are disabled by setting the MAXPUPAD project property to a value of 0.

Release 8.8 Service Pack 1 is now available to download. You can view the release notes here: https://www.iet.uk/Download/RelNotes.htm

IET recommend that you install the service pack to obtain the latest fixes.

Rapide 2.0 will be retired on 1st June 2022. It is recommended that you plan to upgrade to Release 3.0 prior to this date.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Instead of posting cards, we are making a donation to our wonderful local hospice Dorothy House.

   

A remote-code execution vulnerability has been found in the Apache log4j logging library. 

This library is widely used in java applications and is used within the Rapide runtime. 

Rapide has been updated to include the latest 2.15.0 version of log4j and this is included in the following updated releases of the software which are now available to download:

• Rapide 3.0.2
  
• GuardIEn web client 8.8.0 (updated to show 8.8.0a in the home page)
  
• GuardIEn web client 8.7.5 (updated to show 8.7.5 in the home page)
  

New releases are available for Rapide:

• Rapide 2.0.1
  
• Rapide 3.0.1
  

The GuardIEn CSE->MVS build processes use FTP to transfer generated code & include files as well as submit jobs. 

The functions are developed in exits to enable customisation, and on the Windows platform, the sample exits use the standard Windows ftp.exe command line client. 

Increasingly customers are moving away from ftp to more secure versions like sftp, ftps or require features not offered by ftp.exe, for example passive mode.

One popular alternative to the windows command line utility is WinSCP. To make it easier for customers to use this instead of ftp.exe without needing to modify the exit source code, the sample exits (gdcsejcl, gdftpsrc and gdftpinc) have been amended to also support WinSCP, with the choice controlled by an environment variable.

These new exits will be available in Release 8.8.1, but should you have a need to replace ftp.exe before availability of 8.8.1, contact IET and we can send you the updated exit source code.

A recent thread in the Gen knowledgebase (High z/OS CPU utilisation for Gen action blocks generated with trace) highlighted a general problem with the performance of code generated with trace related to passing view data to the trace runtime. [/url]

[url=https://www.iet.uk/xTrace/index.html]xTrace has a feature that overcomes this performance penalty. If you are not actively tracing an action block, the code that moves the data to and from the trace runtime is bypassed. 

As a result, the performance overhead of running the application that has been generated with trace whilst you are not actively tracing is significantly reduced.

If you would like to know more about xTrace and how it can improve the tracing and testing of your Gen z/OS applications, please visit our web site or get in touch to discuss a free trial.

Release 8.8 of the IET DevOps Suite (includes GuardIEn and other products previously installed with GuardIEn) is now available.

Highlights of the new release are detailed below and full details are available in the Release Notes which can be downloaded from here: https://www.iet.uk/Download/RelNotes.htm

64 bit Windows Servers

• The Windows servers are now 64-bit.
  

• Release 8.7 introduced a new web service API for the CSE installations that allowed programmatic access to GuardIEn Change Requests, Release Pack and System Update functions. In this release, the range of APIs has been extended to provide an API for C, Java and .Net via standard CA Gen proxies. The GuardIEn API is a separate download that contains the proxy interfaces and web service WSDL.
  

• To accommodate longer passwords and passphrases, the length of the GuardIEn userid password, encyclopaedia connection password and encyclopaedia FTP password has been changed to 100 characters and spaces are now supported in the password.
  

• In previous releases, text searches that used a SQL LIKE (for example searching text or names in Object List+ or names in Deliverable List) automatically appended a trailing ‘%’ in the search string. This reduced flexibility in the searches, for example by not allowing a search for a specific end string. A trailing % is no longer appended to the search string if it already contains a ‘%’ or ‘&’, so if you want to search for a string that is in the middle of a value, you will need to add a trailing %, i.e. search for ‘%XXX%’ not ‘%XXX’