Service Pack 1 for WebFOCUS 5 Is Out

By Diane Sklar

By the time the last WebFOCUS Release 5 CD was pressed and sent to our product distribution center, work already had begun on Service Pack 1 for Release 5. In fact, Information Builders plans to issue a new service pack every 60 days. As I write this, the final build of WebFOCUS Service Pack 1 (a.k.a. 5.2.1) has been done. By the time you read this, it will have been in the distribution center for some time, and we will be on our way to creating Service Pack 2. So every time you read this bimonthly newsletter, a new service pack will be in the warehouse. The primary purpose of service packs is to fix bugs reported by customers or found by our internal Quality Assurance forces. However, service packs also provide limited new functionality strategic to the product line. Service Pack 1 is a good example of the mixture of bug fixes and new functionality. This article covers the new features of Service Pack 1.

Installation

Service Pack 1, and all future service packs, can be installed in two ways. The first option is to download the service pack containing the changed modules from techsupport.ibi.com and apply it to an existing WebFOCUS 5 installation. In this case, the changed modules are replaced in their current location and the file install.cfg is written to the root product directory (Report Caster52 or WebFOCUS52). Inside the file is a record of the product name and the service pack level. In addition, the original versions of the overlaid files are copied to the directory CSP1_backup. If you prefer a full version of WebFOCUS 5 that includes the Service Pack 1 changes, you may order the CD from us. You may install this version in a new location or you may uninstall Release 5 and install 5.2.1 in the same location.

New Features

Most of the programming and testing effort for 5.2.1 went into certifying the mainframe-based reporting server. This server has been cleared for use with a WebFOCUS client on any non-mainframe platform and for use with Developer Studio 5.2.1. The mainframe server itself comes in two flavors:

	The traditional OS/390 server that exists in the land of ISPF and PDS libraries
	The Unix System Services server that runs in the Unix partition of OS/390 and z/OS – this is new with 5.2.1

Developer Studio plays nicely with either the USS or traditional OS/390 server. The USS server has the same code base and the full capabilities of any Windows NT or Unix hierarchical file system server.

With the traditional OS/390 server, users can edit files directly on the server whether it is configured for EDAPATH or APP PATH search logic. From APP PATH, there is full editing of all file types and the availability of all tools. With EDAPATH, users may do the following:

	Develop FOCEXECs directly on OS/390 using Report Painter and Report Assist
	Develop master files using the File Tool
	Develop Web pages using a text editor

When an application is created on the traditional OS/390 server from Developer Studio, eight PDS files are created to contain procedures, masters, style sheets, images, HTML pages, maintain procedures and maintain forms.

In the Managed Reporting thin client environment (i.e., in the browser running the Managed Reporting applets) Service Pack 1 offers a new facility to end users. Custom Reports gives a user the ability to develop reports in a Java^TM-based text editor. We anticipate that Custom Reports will be favored at sites that have had legacy FOCUS for a while and users are comfortable with text editors. For a full description of Custom Reports, see "Managed Reporting 5.2.1 Introduces Edit and JOIN for Analytical Users."

The Financial Reporting Platform has two important new features. First, the Financial Reporting Platform is now fully certified with WFServlet as the client program. Second, is an enhancement to drag-and-drop in the financial Report Painter. As in Release 5, you still may drag-and-drop items from the hierarchical tree on the right of the financial report painter into the WYSIWYG report canvas on the left. But in Release 5 you could only drop the item at the bottom of the report, while in 5.2.1 you may drop items in between other items already positioned on the WYSIWYG canvas.

Finally, we polished Developer Studio itself and added a few conveniences. One of these comes into play when developing an HTML form in the Resource Layout tool. You may now develop drop-down boxes and radio buttons whose displayed values are different from the passed parameter value. Other conveniences built into the Developer Studio are easier to experience than to describe. So install Service Pack 1 today and share the experience.