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This is the second issue of Net.Data Recap! The goal is to ensure that you are aware of the various Net.Data enhancements and fixes that have been made available. Net.Data Recaps will be issued periodically, so come back and visit!
To get the features described, ensure you are on the right release of the i5/OS and that you have the latest Net.Data PTF loaded. The following enhancements are for V4R4 and subsequent releases. Note that these enhancements may not be supported or may not yet be on other platforms.
GENERAL: Net.Data Error Logging
Ensure that your Net.Data application is functioning properly by turning on Net.Data error-logging so that errors that are issued by Net.Data are logged to a file.
GENERAL: Net.Data Tracing
Having a tough time figuring out what is wrong with your Net.Data application? Try out the new Net.Data tracing facility.
GENERAL: Restrict File Searches
Restrict file searches to directories specified in MACRO_PATH, EXEC_PATH, and INCLUDE_PATH INI file configuration variables by setting DTW_RESTRICT_PATH_SEARCH to YES or NO in the Net.Data INI file. For example:
DTW_RESTRICT_PATH_SEARCH YES
The default is NO. When DTW_RESTRICT_PATH_SEARCH is set to YES, Net.Data will restrict searches for files specified in the %INCLUDE statement, or the %EXEC block, or the URL to directories specified in the INCLUDE_PATH, EXEC_PATH, and MACRO_PATH INI file variables, respectively. Previously, Net.Data would attempt to find the file by using the path as-is if the file was not found in any of the directories, and setting DTW_RESTRICT_PATH_SEARCH to YES would eliminate this step.
GENERAL: Override Error Messages
You can now override error messages that are not caught by message blocks in a macro by simply specifying DTW_DEFAULT_ERROR_MESSAGE in the INI file. For example:
DTW_DEFAULT_ERROR_MESSAGE "Unexpected error occurred. Please try again."
The error message must begin and end with a double quote (") and cannot span multiple lines.
Usually, you would have error-logging enabled to capture the error. Otherwise, the error will be lost.
BUILT-IN FUNCTION: New Flatfile Built-in Functions
New flatfile built-in functions, including the ability to create files in any ccsid (a DTWF_OPEN enhancement), read a file into a variable (DTWF_READFILE), write to a file from a variable (DTWF_WRITEFILE), copy from one file to another (DTWF_COPY), and determining the existence of a file (DTWF_EXISTS). More information can be found in the Net.Data Reference manual.
In addition to the new functions, changes have been made with FFI_PATH file searches.
BUILT-IN FUNCTION: DTW_DATATYPE
Use DTW_DATATYPE to determine if a variable represents a number, a string, or a Net.Data table.
BUILT-IN FUNCTION: DTW_EVAL
Use DTW_EVAL to evaluate complex mathematical operations using one built-in function call instead of performing multiple mathematical built-in function calls.
BUILT-IN FUNCTION: DTW_PAD
Use DTW_PAD to pad a string with a character.
BUILT-IN FUNCTION: DTW_ISNUMERIC
Use DTW_ISNUMERIC to determine if a string represents an integer.
BUILT-IN FUNCTION: New Logging Built-in Functions
Introducing new built-in functions, DTW_LOG_TRACEMSG and DTW_LOG_ERRORMSG. More information can be found in the Net.Data Reference manual.
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