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  2. FIX: You cannot define a method parameter as an unsigned numeric data type (PIC 9) in the Transaction Integrator Designer of Microsoft Host Integration Server 2004

FIX: You cannot define a method parameter as an unsigned numeric data type (PIC 9) in the Transaction Integrator Designer of Microsoft Host Integration Server 2004

View products that this article applies to.

Symptoms

You cannot define a method parameter as an unsigned numeric data type (PIC 9) in the Transaction Integrator (TI) Designer of Microsoft Host Integration Server 2004.

In Host Integration Server 2004, when you import or open a Microsoft Host Integration Server 2000 COMTI type library that contains unsigned data definitions, you do not receive any warning messages. Additionally, the TI Designer converts the data definitions to signed data definitions.

When you use the COBOL Wizard in the TI Designer to import a data definition, you receive a warning message, and a description of the conversion action appears in the Task List pane in Microsoft Visual Studio. For example, you use the COBOL Wizard to import the following data definition.
01  Input-data.
           05  <ParameterName>  PIC 9(9).
           05  Name PIC X(20).
When you import this data definition, you receive the following warning message:
Import has finished with warnings.
Additionally, the following description appears in the Task List pane in Microsoft Visual Studio:
UnSigned.DLL: 05 ParameterName PIC 9(9). is a non-signed data type which is not supported by Transaction Integration. It has been imported as a signed data type.
Any unsigned numeric fields, such as PIC 9 COMP and PIC 9 COMP-3, also generate this warning, and the TI Designer changes the fields to signed fields.

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Cause

A change was made in Host Integration Server 2004 to only allow signed numeric parameters.

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Resolution

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support
Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.
   Date         Time   Version     Size     File name
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   31-Jan-2005  18:16               42,943  Ibmcobol.xml
   31-Jan-2005  22:58  6.0.1933.0  368,640  Microsoft.hostintegration.tidesigner.app.dll
   31-Jan-2005  22:58  6.0.1933.0   90,112  Microsoft.hostintegration.tidesigner.ctrl.dll
   31-Jan-2005  22:58  6.0.1933.0  462,848  Microsoft.hostintegration.tidesigner.wizards.dll
Note Because of file dependencies, the most recent hotfix that contains these files may contain additional files.

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Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

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More information

For data that is returned from the mainframe, there is no change in the way that TI behaves at runtime regardless of whether you apply this hotfix. TI does not support returning unsigned Microsoft Windows data types to the client program. However, when the TI Runtime sends the signed data to the mainframe, the data that the TI Runtime sends to the host program is changed because the sign bit is set. This behavior may affect the mainframe side for DISPLAY data if the COBOL program just moves the incoming data to a PIC X field.

For example, the hexadecimal representation for PIC S9 DISPLAY data that has a value of +1 is hexadecimal C1. And the hexadecimal representation for PIC 9 DISPLAY data that has a value of 1 is hexadecimal F1. In EBCDIC, a C1 represents the character A for a PIC X field. And an F1 represents the character 1. Therefore, if a PIC 9 field receives hexadecimal C1 from TI and the data is moved directly to a PIC X field, the PIC X field displays the character A instead of the intended character 1.

This hotfix lets you use the definition of unsigned numeric DISPLAY data types. Also, the TI Runtime will send the unsigned data to the host program. This hotfix is for numeric DISPLAY data types only. You still cannot configure other numeric data types, such as COMP and COMP-3, as unsigned. After you apply this hotfix, you receive the following warning message in the Task List pane of visual studio when you configure an unsigned data type:
UnSigned.DLL: ParameterName is an unsigned type. Transaction Integrator does not support unsigned numeric Windows data types. In some cases using unsigned host data types could cause incorrect results due to signed values being transformed into their absolute value.
This warning message notifies you that the TI Runtime will send the absolute value of the parameter to the host program if the Microsoft Windows-based client program tries to send a negative value for the parameter. This behavior is the same behavior that you experience when you use unsigned data types in Microsoft Host Integration Server 2000.

This hotfix is for numeric DISPLAY data types only. All other numeric data types will be converted automatically to signed data types. You cannot configure these other numeric data types as unsigned data types.

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
824684� Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

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Keywords: KB891297, kbbug, kbfix, kbqfe, kbHotfixServer, kbautohotfix

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Article Info
Article ID : 891297
Revision : 2
Created on : 10/9/2011
Published on : 10/9/2011
Exists online : False
Views : 344