What's New
March 2012: EPA Version 1 Release 7.03 Ships
NOTE: This release provides support for new IBM products. It is NOT being automatically shipped. To request a copy, please call us at 847-297-2020 or
send an e-mail to dsheehan@edge-information.com
EPA 1.7.3 adds the following new and enhanced functions:
- Support for z/OS v1.13 includes:
- Changes in the reporting of run-time option CSECTs: CEExOPT. Specifically, the changes are:
- USERMOD updates to the CEEDOPT CSECT will no longer be a supported method of changing the default run-time options after z/OS V1.13. The CEEOCB is the control block that contains the run-time options. As of z/OS V1.12, the OCB has a flag that indicates if the block contains the IBM Supplied options or User Supplied options.
- There is a new run-time option, PAGEFRAMESIZE, that is now reported in the EPA Detail Report for CEExOPT CSECTs. NOTE: This option is related to an IBM Statement of Direction and is provided for PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. See IBM LE manuals for details, usage, values, etc.
- Support for XL C/C++ as provided in z/OS V1.13.
- Support for Enterprise PL/I v4.2.
- Additional enhancements in EPA reporting include:
- There have been some rare cases where the Linker/Binder IDR record has been corrupted and caused S0C7 ABENDs. This has most often been seen for old modules that have been processed by Panvalet. The Panexec process is the most likely suspect. The corruption occurs in the part of the IDR that contains the Linkedit TIME field. To avoid the ABEND, the EPA has now been changed to eliminate the Linkedit TIME reporting if it appears that field is corrupt.
- The reporting of the C/C++ TARGET compiler option in the Detail Report has been changed to replace the HEX value of the TARGET platform with an interpreted value using the rules in the __TARGET_LIB__ macro. These rules are provided in the C/C++ Language Reference Manual. The HEX value is still used to report this information in the MACHINE File. Thus, for example, the prior printed reporting of this information as two separate options:
TARGET(LE) TARGET(410B0000)
is now replaced by one:
TARGET(LE ,Z/OS V1R11M00)
- There is one known problem with reporting of options for C/C++. The options that can be reported are controlled by a version value in the 'Saved Options String' (SOS) created by the compiler. The most current value of the SOS is '3' but in some cases, the compiler is not reporting the version that matches the options that should be reported. Because the EPA must depend on the SOS Version, some options may not appear although they should be there. The EPA reports the SOS version as 'SOS= 2' (for SOS Version 2) so you will know the options that the EPA can report. IBM is aware of this problem and the EPA will report the correct options as indicated by the SOS version. The SOS Version is also reported in the MACHINE file (MRSOSVER at +216).
- External Analyzer Changes in 1.7.3 include:
- IBM no longer supports CEEDOPTs that contain User Supplied run-time options, usually created by the ++USERMOD process. A new OCO E/A is provided to report potential unsupported CEEDOPTs that should be replaced by modifications to PARMLIB. Note that this change in IBM support does not involve CEEUOPT usage as a way to modify the run-time options for an individual application.
- Changes were made to the suite of E/As that report supported PL/I applications that use DB2. The changes made were simply to add recognition of code generated by Enterprise PL/I V4.x
as supported in a DB2 environment.
- The name of the execution JCL member in UserCode for EPLIBCP has been changed from EPLIBCPJ to EPLIBCPR to be consistent with the EPA naming conventions as an 'execution-only' job.
- AFTREGP will report both PL/I V3 and V4 in the detail listing as 'Enterprise PL/I V3' because of space limitations in the report line.
- To provide consistency, all E/As in the UserCode library have been updated to show they were distributed in the EPA V1.7.3 package.
- All four manuals have been reissued with updates and corrections.
October 2011: EPA Price Increase
Effective January 1, 2012, Edge Information Group will increase fees for the Edge Portfolio Analyzer, our first increase since 2009.
We strive hard to maintain our modest fee structure while continuing to enhance and improve the EPA
to remain current with the IBM environment as well as be responsive to customer suggestions to provide information about your production
program portfolio. As always, existing customers will not have their Maintenance Fees increased by more than 10%.
Click here to download the
EPA 2012 Price List
March 2011: EPA Version 1 Release 7.02 Ships
This release provides support for new IBM products. It is NOT being automatically shipped. To request a copy, please call us at 847-297-2020 or
send an e-mail to dsheehan@edge-information.com
EPA 1.7.2 adds the following new and enhanced functions:
- z/OS V1.12: The changes are primarily related to an update to the control block (OCB) that IBM uses to report
LE run-time options. No new options are reported, but the OCB level changed and required EPA updates.
- Enterprise PL/I V4.1 is now recognized and reported in the Summary Report. There are two changes to the
TEST(SEPARATE) and GONUMBER compiler options that dictate the location of some debug information as in the object
code or in a separate side-file. The location of the XREF and the GONUMBER information is now reported in
the Detail Report and MACHINE file.
- While probably not of wide interest, we have added recognition of C FOR VM/ESA V3 (5654-033) because
some components are in IMS V9 and V10 libraries. Without this update, those components show up as Not Recognized.
- IBM has made a Statement of Direction that will remove support for the use of USERMODs for default LE run-time
options. The EPA now reports all the details about the Options Control Block (OCB) to allow finding and dealing with
any existing CEEDOPT CSECTs that have not been created by IBM and that will need to be handled to conform to the new rules.
- STACK and STATIC sizes are now reported in the Detail Report. This information has been provided in the
MACHINE file for several releases, but based on user requests, it is now in the human-readable report.
- STACK size is now reported for LE conforming COBOL, PL/I and C/C++ components. This is the amount of
storage that is requested upon entry to the program. If the calling path is known, this value can be used
to help estimate the total STACK requirements for the run-time unit and, if necessary, to modify the
LE CEEUOPT value to improve application performance.
- STATIC size is now reported for Enterprise PL/I programs. This should be the same value that can
be found by looking at the CSECT the same name but ending in a '2' rather than a '1' in the CSECT name.
The value is in decimal when reported for the code CSECT and in hex when reported for the STATIC CSECT.
- Some minor changes have been added to the Summary Report to improve the granularity of the view of the inventory.
- Minor revisions and corrections have been made to all 4 manuals.
November 2009: EPA Version 1 Release 7.01 Ships
This release provides support for four new IBM products as well as corrections and updates to the documentation.
NOTE: This release is NOT being automatically shipped. To request a copy, please call us at 847-297-2020 or
send an e-mail to dsheehan@edge-information.com
EPA 1.7.1 reports on the following new IBM products:
- z/OS V1.11 (primarily reporting of changes in LE run-time options).
- Enterprise COBOL V4.2
- Enterprise PL/I V3.9
- XL C/C++ (as provided in z/OS V1.11)
All four manuals have been reissued with updates and corrections
February 2009: EPA Version 1 Release 7.00 Ships
This is a complete refresh of the Edge Portfolio Analyzer. All components have been reviewed and have at least minor revisions since the previous update. Likewise all of the documentation has been updated.
Some file sizes and formats have changed, so please consult the documentation before attempting to "combine" data with that of previous releases.
All customers with a current Maintenance contract will automatically receive the new release.
Those whose Maintenance has expired can reinstate Maintenance and receive the release. Contact
us for details.
Based on user feedback, this release provides documentation only as PDFs on the CD-ROM and
not with an additional hardcopy as in the past. If you would like a printed set of the manuals, please
contact our office.
- System Support
-
- Operating System
EPA V1R07.00 supports all releases of z/OS through v1.10.
It also continues to execute on prior OS/390 releases. When
analyzing programs generated by C/C++ under z/OS v1.10, the
EPA uses some hardware instructions of the Extended-Immediate
feature that are only available on z9 level systems.
- 64-Bit Processors
Because of the design of the EPA, we are not aware of any
issues related to 64-bit support. All of our current and
future development is on z/OS operating in the 64-bit mode
and this release has been tested on a z10 complex. Therefore,
while we are confident that there will be no problems, we
will continue to validate this environment.
- COBOL Compiler
The EPA supports the latest releases of Enterprise COBOL
through V3.4.1 and V4.1
- PL/I Compiler
The EPA supports the latest relases of Enterprise PL/I
through V3.8. This release of the EPA includes extraction of
all significant compiler options recorded in the load
modules.
- C/C++ Compiler
The EPA supports C/C++ compilers as delivered in z/OS
releases through v1.10. The compiler provided with z/OS v1.10
now provides information needed for the EPA to report on key
compiler options.
- LE Components
We have continued to improve our recognition of LE
components including those provided as part of z/OS v1.10
- MACHINE File Changes
-
- Record Length Increase
The record length of the MACHINE file has been increased
from 400 to 500 bytes to handle in increase in the number of
C/C++ compiler options we are now able to extract.
- Record Definition Impact for Existing Files
To minimize the impact on programs analyzing the existing
data files, such as our External Analyzers, we tried to
minimize changes to the format of the existing 400 byte
record structure. However, several fields were significantly
impacted and you should consult the PDOM Appendix before
mixing V1.6 level programs with V1.7 level data.
- BLKSIZE Change
The file now uses the DFSMS optimum blocksize of
27500.
- PDSE Abend Bypass
- Since the EPA does not process data directly from a PDSE, its
default behavior when encountering one is to generate an ABEND U004.
Since the presence of an ABEND will disrupt a conditionally executed
job stream, specifying PARM='/0' will change the ABEND to a Return
Code of 64. This feature is categorized as 'experimental' and is not
described in the documentation. Based on user feedback, we will
incorporate it into the standard product.
- New External Analyzers
-
- DB2 Unsupported Programs - DB2UCBx / DB2UPLx
These E/As respectively identify COBOL and PL/I programs
that are not supported when migrating to DB2 V8 or V9.
- DB2 Supported Programs - DB2SCBx / DB2SPLx
These E/As respectively identify COBOL and PL/I programs
that are supported when migrating to DB2 V8 or V9.
- Programs containing CICS Component - CICSCBx / CICSPLx
This E/A is intended to highlight CICS TS V3.x migration
issues with COBOL and PL/I respectively.
- Enterprise COBOL Migration Issues - COBNLEx
The E/A identifies programs that require migration
attention because they contain COBOL components that were
not compiled by and LE-conforming compiler or were compiled
with the CMPR2 compiler option.
- COBOL Run-Time Component Sources - COBORTP OCO
-
This reports whether the COBOL run-time components came
from OS/VS, COBOL II or LE library. The results of this E/A
show load modules that require relinking.
- COBOL SEARCH ALL Behavior - CBSRCHP
COBOL programs containing the SEARCH ALL statement may
behave differently depending on the z/OS release or LE
maintenance level. This locates programs that may experience
changed behavior.
- EasyTrieve Plus Components - EZTPLSx
The E/A reports any Easytrieve Plus components found in
the MACHINE file.
- External Analyzers Changes
-
- MACHINE Record Format
All E/As have been modified to incorporate the new data
format of the MACHINE file.
- Improved Program Consistency
With the exception of SYSDATP (seldom used since Y2K
days), all non-OCO E/As are provided in both COBOL and PL/I
versions and all implement the new table oriented format.
Many programs have been modified so that the output of the
COBOL and PL/I versions of an E/A are the same.
- PL/I Batch Compile - EPLIBCP [OCO Only]
This E/A was changed to conform to changes required by
the recent release of Enterprise PL/I including turning on
the XPLINK LE run-time option and an increased region size.
- AFP Resgister Exposure Improvements - AFPREGx OCO,/li>
This identifies Enterprise PL/I and/or C/C++ programs
that use Additional Floating Point Registers (AFP) in a CICS
environment. It has been revised to more completely report
AFP usage and possible risk exposures.
- External Analyzers Dropped
-
- MROLDNEW and MRNEWOLD
In the past, when we changed the format of the MACHINE
record we provided these programs to reformat the records.
However, because of the nature of the changes this time, we
recommend that EPA V1.7.0 be used to reprocess the entire
library. Accordingly, we did not supply these conversion
program with this release.
To find out more about EPA V1R07.00, click here for the
General Information Manual
October 2008: EPA Price Increase
Effective January 1, 2009, Edge Information Group will increase fees for the Edge Portfolio Analyzer, our first increase since 2006.
We strive hard to maintain our modest fee structure while continuing to enhance and improve the EPA
to remain current with the IBM environment as well as be responsive to customer suggestions to provide information about your production
program portfolio. As always, existing customers will not have their maintenance fees increased by more than 10%.
Click here to download the
EPA 2009 Price List
March 2008: IBM Case Study Documents EPA as the Solution for National Grid
IBM released a Business Partner Case study featuring the role the Edge Portfolio Analyzer played
in providing a solution for National Grid, which recently acquired KeySpan Energy, a supplier of
natural gas and electricity for the Northeastern United States.
The Edge Portfolio Analyzer enabled National Grid to integrate the KeySpan applications to make
efficient use of IBM's Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) available in the current versions of
CICS TS Version 3.1 and DB2 Version 8.
Read the entire Case Study by downloading the PDF
IBM Case Study
December 2007: EPA 6.05 Enhancements
The Edge Portfolio Analyzer has been enhanced to
support the newly announced Enterprise COBOL V4.1.0.
For details about the new compiler, see the IBM
Announcement Letter 207-339, dated December 11, 2007.
The EPA also now reports three new compiler options
introduced in the new compiler release.
Please let us know if you will be installing the new
compiler so we can send you this update.
October 2007: EPA 6.04 Enhancements
This modification of the EPA adds:
- Support for z/OS 1.9 including updates and changes for
LE Run-Time Options such as the CEEDUMP option.
- Identifies Enterprise PL/I v3.7 in the Summary Report.
This release also reports on some of the new compiler options.
Fuller support of v3.7 will be added in the future.
- If the EPA is executed specifying a PDSE as input, it will abend with a
U0004. Previously, the EPA would attempt to process the input and claim
the members were corrupt.
- Added enhancements to facilitate DB2 Migration.
In order to exploit the new functions of DB2 V8 [New
Function Mode (NFM)], COBOL and PL/I applications are
required to be compiled with the Enterprise compilers
at the V3.2 level or higher. But, since IBM service
for these compilers is only provided at V3.4 or later,
and because the V3.4 level is also the minimum level
required for DB2 V9, these new E/As will report as
unsupported, any program compiled with compilers prior
to V3.4. It is also important to recognize that to
migrate a program to DB2 V9, that program must have
already been migrated to DB2 V8 NFM. Therefore, it is
likely that you will want your inventory of DB2
applications compiled with an Enterprise compiler at
V3.4 or later so they can exploit the benefits of the
new features of DB2 V8 and/or V9. These E/As are
provided to allow a complete assessment of your DB2
inventory to assure that those applications are ready
for DB2 V9.
- DB2UCBx: Report COBOL components found in a load
module that also contains a DB2 component
when the COBOL component is not supported
for DB2 Version 8 and/or Version 9.
- DB2SCBx: Report COBOL components that are supported
when found in a module with DB2.
- DB2UPLx: Similar to the COBOL report above, this E/A
reports unsupported PL/I components in a
DB2 V8 and/or V9 environment.
- DB2SPLx: Similar to the COBOL report above, this E/A
reports supported PL/I components in a
DB2 V8 and/or V9 environment.
* Note: The 'x' above will be either a 'C' or a 'P' to indicate
the source language of the E/A. All four E/As are
provided in both COBOL and PL/I source versions. The
reports from the two languages are identical
- Executing the EPA with PARM='/S' will ignore all member names flagged
as an ALIAS. This allows the resulting MACHINE file to be used with
ReLinkP to create only the primary member name for relinked modules.
- Compiler options ARCH(n) and TUNE(n) are threatening to exceed '9'. The
coding of the single-character MRARCH and MRTUNE fields has been changed
so that values 1-9, A-Z will cover 'nn' values 1-35. The printed value
will correctly print the two digits.
- New compiler options reported:
- MRPPCICS - C3 - CICS Integrated Translator specified
- MRPPDB2 - C3 - CB2 Integrated Co-Processor specified
- MRCCSID - C3 - SQL (noCCSID)
- MRPLHOOK - C3, PL - Suboptions of TEST (ALL or NONE) for COBOL programs will be reported in this field as well as original definitions for Ent. PL/I
- MRDFP - PL - FLOAT(noDFP)option for the use of decimal float by Ent. PL/I v3.7
- MRTSTNSN - PL - TEST(noSEPNAME) in Ent PL/I v3.7
- MRDSASZ * - PL - The size of the DSA requested by Ent. PL/I programs. Eventually this value will be reported for all LE conforming CSECTs.
- RTSTATSZ * - PL - The size of the PL/I Static Internal CSECT. This value is reported for both RENT and NORENT programs
* Note: These two values are only reported in the
MACHINE file at this time. A future release will
also print these values in the Detail Report.
April 2007: Article in z/Journal
Edge's Carl Gehr and Nate Murphy, of Nate Murphy International, coauthored an article
in the April/May 2007 issue of z/Journal entitled DB2 and CICS Are Moving On:
Avoiding Potholes on the Yellow Brick Road to an LE Migration.
With the announcement of CICS TS V3.1 and DB2 V8, customers who aren’t already running
their applications under the Language Environment (LE) run-time library will need to perform
a run-time migration, and probably compiler migrations, too.
To read the full article, visit the
z/Journal site.
or download a PDF by clicking
zJournal April/May 2007
December 2006: EPA with Daylight Savings Time (DST)
A provision of the United States Energy Policy Act of 2005 extends DST by four weeks,
beginning in March 2007.
Neither the EPA Analyzer nor any of the External Analyzers (E/As) are impacted by this change.
The EPA can help you identify DST exposures in your application modules by using the E/A SYSDATP.
Originally created and widely used during Y2K, SYSDATP locates components in your applications that
request the system time and/or date. Although SYSDATP does not tell you what is done with the
date/time information, it is clearly as valuable today for locating possible DST issues, especially
in load modules for which source is not available.
If you have any questions about this E/A or how the EPA and E/A extract the date/time requests,
please check the External Analyzer Users Guide, Chapter 4, for more information. As always,
we are available for questions not covered in the EAUG. Please send the questions via E-Mail to:
Support (at) Edge-Information (dot) Com
IBM provides a more detailed description of this change at:
IBM Daylight Savings Time Alert.
July 2006: EPA Release 6.03 Enhancements
This modification of the EPA adds:
- Support for z/OS 1.8
The primary change for is the reporting of one new LE run-time option in CEEUOPT
and CEEDOPT CSECTs. The STORAGE(,,CLEAR) option is now part of the base z/OS
and is also reported by the EPA.
- Support for Enterprise COBOL V3.4.1
- Identification of COBOL SEARCH ALL Verb in Load Modules
IBM HIPER APAR describes a potential problem with use of the SEARCH ALL verb
in COBOL programs after installation of PTF for APAR PQ95214. The EPA and a new
External Analyzer will identify load modules in which the potential problem exists.
- Additional Support for AFP (Additional Floating Point) Registers APAR
EPA V1R06.02, identified exposures to described by the IBM Red Alert APAR
tied to the use of the AFP registers. An IBM APAR to fix the problem can
eliminate the exposure. EPA V1.6.3 determines whether or not the compiler
that generated the code that uses the AFP registers has the fix applied and,
therefore, will protect the values in the registers. For more information
on the AFP problem, the IBM APAR.
- New External Analyzer simplifies identifying potential migration troublespots
by reporting on COBOL components that were not compiled with an
LE-conforming compiler or were compiled using the CMPR2 option.
- Two new External Analyzers ease migration to DB2 Version 8 by identifying
load modules that contain supported / unsupported levels of COBOL components.
EPA License holders with a Maintenance Agreement in effect can order this update at no charge by contacting Carl Gehr
[cgehr at edge-information.com]
November 2005: EPA Price Increase
Effective January 1, 2006, Edge Information Group will increase fees for the Edge Portfolio Analyzer, our first increase since 2001.
We strive hard to maintain our modest fee structure while continuing to enhance and improve the EPA
to remain current with the IBM environment as well as be responsive to customer suggestions to provide information about your production
program portfolio.
Click here to download the
EPA 2006 Price List
October 2005: EPA Release 6.02 Enhancements URGENT
IBM has issued an APAR alert concerning:
"Possible Data Corruption or Undetected Data Loss"
for programs running under CICS that are compiled with C/C++ and/or
Enterprise PL/I and that are using the Additional Floating Point
(AFP) registers.
The specifics of the problem can be obtained from IBM and from the
APAR descriptions:
- PK12521 Enterprise PL/I for z/OS
- PK12800 C/C++ for OS/390 V2R10
- PK12801 C/C++ for z/OS V1R4, z/OS V1R5, z/OS V1.6, z/OS V1.7
Edge is providing licensees of the EPA an enhancement to the EPA to extract the critical
infomation needed to help identify at-risk programs. We are also providing an External Analyzer
to report potential at-risk programs.
Three important notes regarding this alert:
- Identification of at-risk programs is dependent on determining
if the AFP registers are being used. This use of these AFP
registers is dependent on the FLOAT(AFP/NOAFP) compiler option.
The EPA already extracts the setting of this option for the
Enterprise PL/I compiler. Unfortunately, the VA PL/I and none
of the C/C++ compilers have this information stored in the
load modules for extraction. The new E/A attempts to figure
out if the AFP registers are used based on the information
that is stored and that can be extracted. The E/A report
included in this EPA release attempts to distinguish between
programs known to be at risk and programs that may be at
risk based on what we can find.
- The compiler APARs listed are only the compilers that are
supported by IBM and for which IBM is providing fixes.
Programs compiled with earlier versions of these languages
are also possibly at risk. We will report programs compiled
by both these supported compilers and earlier compilers that
we believe may also have generated at-risk code.
- IBM has indicated it will provide a 'tool' to help identify
programs that are at risk. As this message is being prepared,
we do not know when the IBM tool will be available.
Click here to download a PDF file containing a sample of the report identifying this situation:
AFP Register Report(PDF format) approx 10K
Please understand that the EPA reporting is done on a best effort basis and
you will have to make your own evaluation of the potential exposure to your applications.
We welcome feedback on ways that we might improve the reporting that we provide.
Other modifications since the general release 6.0 include:
- Changes to the EPA:
- Reporting for Enterprise COBOL V3.4.
- Reporting for Enterprise PL/I V3.5.
- Reporting of Link/Bind TIME for those load modules that
contain this information.
- Improved reporting of the STORAGE option in CEExOPT including reporting the
new CLEAR suboption.
- Changes to the UserCode and External Analyzers (E/A):
- The MACHINE record definitions [MRRECxxx] have been updated to include
the new Link/Bind TIME field MRTIMBND.
- Eleven new PL/I compiler options are now reported.
- One new E/A reports Easytrieve components.
- Enhancements to three other E/As.
EPA License holders with a Maintenance Agreement in effect can order this update at no charge by contacting Carl Gehr
[cgehr at edge-information.com]
September 2005: EPA Release 6.01 Enhancements
This modification of the EPA adds:
- Reporting for Enterprise COBOL V3.4.
- Reporting of Link/Bind TIME for those load modules that
contain this information.
- Improved reporting of the STORAGE option in CEExOPT including reporting the new CLEAR suboption.
EPA License holders with a Maintenance Agreement in effect can order this update at no charge by contacting Carl Gehr
[cgehr at edge-information.com]
April 2005: Version 1 Release 6.00 Ships
Version 1 Release 6.00 of the Edge Portfolio Analyzer is now shipping.
Here are some of the enhancements made to this release:
- Operating System Support
- This release supports all releases of z/OS through 1.6.
- Compiler Support
- V1 R6.00 adds support for the following new compilers:
- Enterprise COBOL through V3.3
- Enterprise PL/I through V3.4
- C/C++ as delivered with z/OS through 1.6
- MACHINE File Size Change
- In order to provide support for Enterprise PL/I options, it was necessary for us to
increase the length of the MACHINE output file from 200 to 400 bytes. To minimize the
impact to existing External Analyzers, the format of the first 200 bytes remains unchanged.
- External Analyzer Replaces PL/I Batch Compile
- EPLIBCP replaces the batch compile function that is no longer available in Enterprise PL/I.
EPLIBCP is an object-code only (OCO) Analyzer
- External Analyzers Summarize Critical Compiler Options
- COBOPTx and PLIOPTx provide a summary of the more critical compiler options used by applications
in the specified load library or libraries. These programs produce a single summary report
indicating the usage of a given option. The counts for each option are listed by compiler group.
- External Analyzers Flag Applications At Risk for CICS TS V3.1
- CICSCBx and CICSPLx flag applications that are at risk when migrating to CICS TS V3.1 and later.
OS/VS COBOL compiled applications will fail when run under this CICS release. IBM has also
removed support for applications compiled with OS PL/I Versions 1 and 2. While these programs
may not fail at the present time, they are at risk with future releases.
- Existing External Analyzer Enhancements
- All supported External Analyzers are provided in both COBOL and PL/I source and implement
the new table-oriented format. The readability of output reports have been improved and the
report format is the same for both COBOL and PL/I versions of an External Analyzer.
For more information, download the General Information Manual.
Link to Downloads
February 2005: Preliminary Version 1 Release 6.00 General Information Manual
Now available for download is a preliminary copy of the General Information Manual, Version 1 Release 6,
which will be available in March 2005.
August 2001: EPA Price Increase
Effective January 1, 2002, Edge Information Group will increase fees for the Edge Portfolio Analyzer. This is the first increase in fees in the history of the EPA. We have been able to maintain our initial fee structure for more than eight years, since introducing the Analyzer in 1994. Unfortunately, the business environment has not been able to do the same. Rising operating and production costs have dictated a modest increase in both our licensing and maintenance fees.
While holding our fees during the past eight years, we have constantly improved the EPA to keep current with the IBM environment and meet more of your analysis needs. We have accomodated IBM's Language Environment (LE) since its inception. We have produced three new versions of the Analyzer and more than twenty External Analyzers to maintain EPA currency from MVS/XA through OS/390. A z/OS version is in the works. We have also increased the number of languages the EPA can analyze and stayed current with all releases of their compilers.
The new EPA fee structure beginning January 1, 2002, will be:
- Basic Site License: $22,500 (USD). ($19,000 (USD) through December 31, 2001.)
- Distributed Site License (for each additional geographical location): $12,500 (USD). ($7,500 (USD) through December 31, 2001.)
- Maintenance Support: annual fee of 15% of current site (Basic plus any Distributed) license fees. (Maintenance Support for the first year is included in site licenses at no additional charge. We limit annual increases to maintenance fees to 10% of the previous year's fee.)
Changes in Release 2000-07
This release contains new function, plus an update to many of the functions shipped in previous
releases. Improvements are primarily directed toward providing better information for use in
planning and assessing the issues for a Language Environment migration, and for use in
problem determination. In addition, there are some usability enhancements to make the EPA
and the External Analyzers easier to use.
- Distribution Enhancements
- The distribution files have grown far larger than can be accommodated on diskettes, so
the product is now delivered on CD-ROM.
- The CD-ROM also includes the EPA softcopy documentation in PDF format. This
will allow easier sharing of the manuals across a larger user community. In addition,
should you desire additional hardcopy, the PDF files can be used to print copies for
your own internal use within the guidelines of the EPA License Agreement.
- External Analyzer Improvements
- The External Analyzer User Guide will have additional information to further describe
how the EPA can be used for LE migration, OS/390 release updates and problem determination
and problem source identification.
- A new report format is introduced in this release to make them easier to read.
- The new report format will have a heading line which identifies the reports as
being produced from the Edge Portfolio Analyzer. They will also include the
report name and the date and time of the run.
- The body of the report will now be in tabular format.
- Several new External Analyzers have been provided. In a couple of cases,
there was significant overlap across some of the External Analyzers. Duplicate function
was eliminated and the old programs have been designated as obsolete. We will continue
to include the obsolete versions in the USERCODE.PDS for those customers already using them.
- A new program (LEV210x) identifies the use of the LE Callable Service
CEEGPID which has changed in OS/390 V2R10. Any programs that use the service will
require modifications to operate properly.
- One new program (DUPNAMx) identifies instances of the
same CSECT name exists with multiple compile dates and/or multiple sizes.
When there is only one copy of the source for this situation, it indicates a problem with the
application development change control process.
- The External Analyzer PLFTCHP, in conjunction with associated sorts can assist in the
identification of the target routines when PL/I V1 and PL/I V2 programs
that use the FETCH and/or RELEASE functions for dynamically CALLing other PL/I routines.
- The RLINK0x includes special functions from RLINKXP, which is now obsolete.
RLINK0x also includes an optional PARM to not replace of CICS, IMS and DB2 interfaces.
- RLINK2x has been reworked to include special functions from RLINKXP, which is now obsolete.
RLINK2x also includes an optional PARM to not replace of CICS, IMS and DB2 interfaces.
- PIISCNx has been obsoleted since its function was duplicated in the new PLESCNx.
- PV1SCNx has been expanded to report components from all releases of PL/I
Version 1 instead of just Release 4.
- Two other External Analyzers (COBLEZx, COBMIGx) have been substantially enhanced
and provide functional replacements for COBONEx and COBONLx.
- New component recognition
- COBOL for OS/390 and VM releases up through V2R2.0 are reported, including
new compiler options:
- TEST(*,SYM,[NO]SEPARATE) provided in V2R1.2 to generate the debug
information separate from the object module in the file defined by the
SYSDEBUG DD-Name.
- ARITH(EXTEND) provided in V2R2.0 that provides 31-digit decimal data.
- The EPA now reports the presence of VA PL/I for OS/390 when it has been
processed into load modules rather than program objects. [Program objects require PDSE
support which is not yet included in the EPA.]
- Default runtime options for CICS regions are specified in a CEEROPT CSECT. This
CSECT is now recognized and interpreted like CEEDOPT and CEEUOPT.
- The LE runtime options contained in CEEDOPT, CEEUOPT and CEEROPT are no
longer tied to specific releases of OS/390. It is now common for options to be retrofitted
to releases that are several levels prior to the current OS/390. Therefore, the extraction
process had to be changed to report the options based on the level of the LE control
block structure without regard to the release of OS/390 that was used to create the
option set. In addition, the entire extraction of options was revised and the reporting
clarified. The 2000/07A EPA release reports runtime options as of the initial
shipment of OS/390 V2R10. If additions or changes to runtime options are made
available by IBM subsequent to V2R10, the EPA will require updates to handle those
changes. If you find problems with option reporting, please report them to Edge
Technical Support.
- VS COBOL II runtime options carried in IGZEOPT CSECTs are now captured in the
MACHINE file when the PARM='/1' option is specified and are, therefore, available for
reporting using External Analyzers.
- The XREF will now flag any COBOL generated CSECT where the CSECT name has
been altered to not match the PROGRAM-ID that was specified in the source program.
This can help improve the correlation of source and executable code.
- The analysis and reporting of Alias information has been enhanced with the PARM='/X'
option to report False Alias names and Broken Alias chains. This information is stored in the
XREF file.
- When the EPA is scanning Assembler code looking for LINK and LOAD SVC usage,
there are times when the target of the LINK or LOAD can be determined. This
information is now reported in the Detail Report and also is stored in the XREF file.
- EPA error handling improvements.
- There are situations where the EPA cannot provide a complete analysis of a load
module because the module is corrupt, it is in an overlay structure, etc. In addition to
reporting these problems in the Detail Report, the problems are also captured in the
XREF file for easier extraction of the names of the problem modules.
- Three series of ABENDs have now been replaced with complain and continue logic to
allow the EPA execution to continue. The ABENDs that are removed are the U21xx and
U22xx series, plus U0887 and U0888. Details are provided in the Appendix to this
manual.
- The analysis of CEExxxx modules is under constant review. Some improvements in the reporting of the ownership and level of these components has already
been made and there will be further improvements in the future. We are attempting to
move as many MRTYPE='RT' reports to MRTYPE='LE' as possible. In addition, we
attempting to report the ship release of those LE modules that we can identify as
MRTYPE='LE'. This will be an ongoing process. For those CSECTs that are coded as
MRTYPE='LE' and that are LE conforming, the version and release of the function and
the compile date of the CSECT is reported in both the Detail Report and in the
MACHINE file. For MACHINE file reporting, see fields MRC2DAT and MRC2TIM in
Appendix D of the Program Description and Operations Manual.
June 1998: Changes in Release 1998-10
This release contains new function for both Language Environment
migration and Year 2000 inventory and assessment. In addition, there are some usability
enhancements to make the EPA and the External Analyzers easier to use.
- The distribution files have been expanded to improve
the installation process.
- Changes to ANALYZER.OBJ:
- A precompiled default USRFMT99 module is now included in the file so the warning message that
the module was not found will no longer occur. This module will be linked into the same library
as the EPA program. This does mean, though, that if you are installing into the same library as a
previous release and you have a customized USRFMT99 in the library, you should rename
your module so it will not be replaced by the dummy module.
- Changes to USERCODE.SRC [USERCODE.PDS]
- The README.1ST file that was previously only on the distribution diskette is now
included as member $README of the USERCODE file. This will make the
information in the file available to users on the host system instead of just on the diskette.
- The first member in the USERCODE.SRC file is $LOADSRC. This JCL can be
extracted from the sequential distribution file, modified and submitted to perform the
loading of the USERCODE.PDS library. The procedure for using this member is in the
Installation Cookbook.
- A new member, ZZZZZZZZ, is now provided as the last entry in the USERCODE.SRC file.
By checking to be sure this member is there, you can be sure the complete sequential file
has been provided on the diskette and has been successfully uploaded to the MVS [or
OS/390] system. This member will also be added to the USERCODE.PDS library.
- The copyright notice from the distribution diskette is also now included in the
USERCODE files as member $CPYRITE.
- New record layouts are now provided for the IDROUT file that is used to report IDR
information.
- New record layouts for use by SAS programs are now provided for all the
machine-friendly output files.
- Additional components recognized:
- COBOL for MVS and VM is now identified as Release 2 or later of COBOL/370.
- COBOL for OS/390 and VM is now identified as Version 2 of COBOL/370.
Some unique compiler options of this compiler are extracted.
- IBM Basic is now identified.
- IBM REXX Compiled code is now identified.
- Easytrieve Plus is identified, somewhat by a process of elimination, rather than the normal use
of artifacts as with other compilers.
- The presence of code processed by the CA Optimizer II is now identified.
- New runtime parameters have been added to the Analyzer:
- PARM='/D' will cause the EPA to extract IDR information from the load modules. This
information will only be reported in a new IDROUT file.
- PARM='/P' causes reporting for $PRIVATE CSECTs on SYSPRINT and in the MACHINE file.
XREF reporting will be the same as for other CSECTs. See Program Description and Operations Manual Appendix D for
descriptions of the information included in the XREF file, with and without the Who's Calling
option.
- PARM='/6' and PARM='/7' are two options that
are provided for a preliminary implementation of Panvalet Level Stamp reporting. We would
like your feedback on this option to see if it is useful. This implementation is only for
OS/VS COBOL and ANS COBOL V4. There is no support for
VS COBOL II or later. Please review the function provided by this
implementation and let Edge know if it is of any value to you.
We want your feedback before we invest any more in the implementation. See the
README for some of the information we would like to have you tell us.
- PARM='/T' is expanded to extract user specified SVCs in addition to system date
requests, LINKs and LOADs. The SVCs reported are controlled by an extension to the USRFMT99
customization module.
- The functions of USRFMT99 have been expanded:
- Assembler routines can now be identified and classified using generic selection using as subset
[the first n characters] of the CSECT name.
- SVC Reporting is controlled by an additional section added to the end of the USRFMT99
module.
- External Analyzer Enhancements:
- JCL is provided to compile and link each of the External Analyzers
shipped with the Edge Portfolio Analyzer. There are two Jobs, one for the COBOL programs
and one for the PL/I programs.
- An earlier External Analyzer reported that FETCH or RELEASE was used in a module.
In the new version (PLIFCHP), PL/I programs that use the FETCH/RELEASE statements to
dynamically load secondary modules are now identified by a new External Analyzer.
This technique identifies the specific programs that are involved.
- One new External Analyzer is a special program that can be very useful when
first beginning the analysis of a series of load libraries. This program [JCLGENx] will generate the JCL
to run the EPA program against a series of load libraries and automatically
create a numeric UID for the libraries. (An extension of this concept might be used to create a program
to run one or more External Analyzers against the output of the EPA process.)
- The PL/I version of the System Date Request program [SYSDATP] has been enhanced.
In addition, the description of the columns and the various parts of the report have been
further explained.
- Additional Edge-provided External Analyzers are now provided in both COBOL and PL/I.
All except the PL/I Fetch Analyzer are also provided in COBOL.
June 1997: Changes in Release 1997-06
This release contains several significant new enhancements that can assist in both Language Environment migration and Year 2000 inventory assessments.
- File Format Change: A "Good News" and "Bad News" Story.
- The "Bad News" is really not that bad. In order to report this new information, we expanded the MACHINE
from 160 characters to 200 characters. Some fields have also been relocated to put related items
closer together.
- The "Good News" is that we have done this in such a way that it should NOT impact anything
that current users are already doing. Old External Analyzers using the new record
definitions should continue to operate as they always have. Other programs that have been using the field
names defined in the supplied record formats should only require a recompile to work with the new record formats.
- In addition, we have provided two utility programs that will convert old format records to new,
and new format records to old. External Analyzers are also included that will, in effect,
print the MACHINE file records.
- LINK and LOAD analysis is now performed on Assembler Language CSECTs. This analysis will
detect potential LINK and/or LOAD SVCs that might be issued by the routines. This can help avoid
surprises due to unexpected enclaves being created. This analysis is performed at the same time as the
scan for System Date requests, so there is very little additional processing to get this information.
- Specification of PARM='/T' now controls the reporting of:
- TIME LINKAGE=SYSTEM in addition to LINKAGE=SVC.
- LINK/LOAD Analysis mentioned above.
- Have you ever wanted to run the Analyzer starting at a specific load module name?
With the new Resume option, you can now select the starting module for the Analyzer run.
- SETSSI is a command that the linkage editor or SuperZap can use to put identifying information into a
load module. The Analyzer will now report the value, if it is present, in any load module. The value is
reported both in the Detail Report and in the XREF file.
- Are you using Panvalet or another library tool to place an identifying constant into your OS/VS COBOL
Working Storage. With this custom feature that temporarily uses a reserved area in the newly expanded MACHINE file, you can see the value that is stored. After we see how this one works, we will release a more permanent implementation. We really want your feedback on this one!
- The Detail Report for OS/VS COBOL programs has been reworked to show, not only the positive value of
a compiler option, but both the positive and the negative values. This makes the listing consistent with the other COBOL and PL/I listings.
- As usual, there are several new components that are specifically identified:
- COBOL for MVS and VM.
- COBOL for OS/390 and VM (Version 2).
- New bootstrap module for COBOL for MVS and VM.
- Value of the MIXRES option in the VS COBOL II runtime options modules.
- IGZEOPT and IGZEOPD CSECTs.
- All of the dates in the Edge Portfolio Analyzer have been checked for Y2K
compliance. Except for dates that are simply reported AS IS (i.e., as they are in the load module), which is
generally what users want to see, all dates are now ready for the Year 2000. Note that IDR dates are,
and will continue to be stored by the compilers as two-digit years. So, that is the way we will report
them.
- All JCL procedures that reference the COBOL compiler to compile
External Analyzers have been changed to include the required PARM of NOCMPR2. All Edge provided COBOL programs require this option to avoid potential ABENDs due to inconsistent file attributes
being assumed. The requirement is not new, only the change to the procedures to specify the parameters are new.
- The XREF file is now used for more than just capturing external
references. Other information that is now in the XREF file:
- Length of the load module.
- Alias information.
- SETSSI values.
- Miscellaneous changes have been made throughout the documentation to
improve its usability.
- New External Analyzers included with 199706 are:
- A suite of three programs (ASMHL1x/ASMHL2x/ASMHL3x ) will analyze Assembler
programs. Since Assembler routines can create special situations in both a Language Environment (LE) migration and
in a Year 2000 conversion, these External Analyzers will help isolate those programs that may require special attention.
- A new External Analyzer (COBRNRx) has been added to report
invalid combinations of RES and NORES in COBOL modules. Load modules containing COBOL programs
compiled with both RES and NORES options have always been illegal; they just
happened to work in many cases with the older compilers. Also, update techniques used in
some installations often caused COBOL runtime CSECTs to be retained in load
modules that only have programs compiled with the RES option. This new program exposes
both of these situations.
- A new External Analyzer (SYSDATx) has been added to report modules and programs
that contain requests for the system date. Year 2000 projects need to identify all programs that deal with
dates. One aspect of date processing involves requests for the current system date. This new
External Analyzer lists the names of COBOL programs that use the ACCEPT FROM DATE
statement and/or PL/I programs that use the DATE, TIME and/or DATETIME Builtin functions.
In addition, Assembler programs that request the current date using the TIME macro
and/or the Store Clock (STCK) hardware instruction will be listed. A warning is also provided for
PL/I DATE BIF library routines that may require IBM maintenance to be applied.
- A COBOL version of the RLNK0x program is now included. Previously, this program
was only provided in PL/I.