Re: It's COBOL, Jim, but not as we know it...

Pete Dashwood wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
Pete Dashwood wrote:
I spent a few hours on Sunday enhancing the String2Num component and
putting it where it can be downloaded.

I've put together a "package" which includes the original white
paper I wrote on components, with String2Num as a demo, and
reviewed and revised the whole lot.

If you download this "package" you will obtain the following:

1. A useful component that you can test easily on your own machine.
(Web pages are provided to allow you to run it locally as a client,
or on a local server like IIS as server side code. The implications
of both are examined, and background is provided.) The component can
be called from Java, VB, C#, C++ and any language which implements
the COM interface, including OO COBOL, of course. A mainframe
version may be made available as well. You are free to deploy this
component in your own applications if you want to.
2. Examples and explanations (including sample COBOL code).

3. Discussion of why components are NOT modules, and why OO COBOL
and OO concepts are really worth looking at. (Even if you are
working in a mainframe environment).

4. A help file that enables you to see at a glance all the methods,
properties, and events used by the component.

5. What the Component Object Model (COM) is, and how it evolved.
Decide for yourself why it is important.

6. A revised and updated version of the original "Components 101 -
A trip for COBOL programmers" white paper.

The paper and the component were originally published on the
"aboutlegacycoding" Web site. Approximately 300 people downloaded
the component and around 14000 read the white paper. (figures from
the web master, Buddy Wray.) The current package is better than the
original. GETTING IT:

1. You will be taken to an automatic logon and then redirected to
the download when logon is successful. (You can cancel out at any
time and you can remove your registration from my server any time
you want to. There are two reasons I need you to logon: 1. So I can
know who has a copy if I want to update/upgrade the component. 2.
So I can recognise whether you have visited before (your login is an
identifier). Beyond that, your email address is not used in any way.

2. You will be downloading a Zip file that is around 14 MB. Expect
it to take around 10 minutes if you have normal broadband. Dial up
connections should be left overnight...

3. There are two ReadMe1st files in the Zip archive; one .pdf and
one .doc. The content is identical, but I urge you to read one of
them before extracting the Zip file.

OK, here's the link:
http://primacomputing.co.nz/cobdata/security.aspx?SourcePage=x&request=S2N
(This link is ONLY published here in CLC at the moment, but I'll set
a page on the cobdata server when I get time...)

Please comment on the material, good or bad, and post any
observations or questions here.

(I'm offering a no-prize to the first person who breaks it or gets a
wrong result : - ))


I win! "The Page cannot be found" or I get the COBDATA main page.

Maybe... I need a few details before I can pay out the no-prize... :-)

What Browser? When did you access? Does this ALWAYS happen? Did you
actually see the login page?

I just clicked the link and it worked perfectly. We have been doing
some work on the server but it should not affect this.

Here's what SHOULD happen:

1. You click the link in the newsgroup message.(ONLY ONCE... don't
double click it...)

2. The logon page opens, followed a few seconds later by the cobdata
page opening in the background. (You should maximize the login page
if it isn't already.)

3. You login or register. It succeeds. You click "Resume" and the
standard download dialog for the ZIP file appears.

4. You download. Close the page. The standard cobdata page remains.

(since Sunday, there have been 7 successful downloads.)

Here's what CAN happen:

1. Both the login and COBDATA main page appear simultaneously. This
has to do with browser delay and/or server workload. If it happened,
it shouldn't happen consistently. Everything will still work, but it
could be confusing to a user.

2. The login page may be minimized and all you see is the COBDATA
main page. This has to do with Browser settings or tabs if you are
using a tabbed browser.

3. The COBDATA page is obscuring the login page. Minimize the COBDATA
page and it should reveal the login page.

Here's my comment on what you reported:

1. First off, sorry it didn't work. I can't reproduce the error. This
doesn't mean I don't believe you... : - ).

2. The "page not found" represents a 404 error code.This is different
from you not having permission (none should be required), and would
normally occur if the URL was wrong, or the page had been removed
from the site. (Neither of these things has happened.) Is there any
chance that the string following the ? or the first & have been
stripped out or removed from the link? Could you try pasting the link
into the address bar of your browser?
3. If you got to the login but the download failed, it might be
because it is a ZIP file, and your browser is not configured to allow
this type of file, or your firewall is blocking it.

4. I can't envisage circumstances where you would be blocked from
access to the login file, if you clicked the link provided. Does the
"Page not found" message reference the login page or the ZIP file?

5. The site uses transient cookies which expire after 24 hours. Can
you make sure that cookies are enabled for
http://primacomputing.co.nz ? If these are suppressed, you will not
necessarily get a message (I'll look at changing this when I get
time) and results would just be unpredictable.
The no-prize was really for people who use the component, but I
appreciate you letting me know you are having access problems with
the site.
If none of the above suggestions work, mail me privately and I'll
give you another pathway to it.


Finally got it.

First, my Google pop-up blocker killed the login page, where it went
belly-up and sank to the bottom.

Second, once I over-rode the pop-up blocker (hoping that you would have no
reason to promote Netflix or American Express), the credentials page opened
as a second, non-primary, tab in IE 7.



.

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