BASEstar_Open_Client________________________________ Release Notes March 1997 This document contains the release notes for BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1 for OpenVMS, DIGITAL UNIX, HP-UX, Windows NT, Windows 95 and MS Windows systems. Revision/Update Information: This is a new document for the current release. Software Version: BASEstar Open Version 3.1 Digital Equipment Corporation Maynard, Massachusetts ________________________________________________________________ March 1997 © Digital Equipment Corporation 1997. All Rights Reserved. Possession, use, or copying of the software described in this documentation is authorized only pursuant to a valid written license from DIGITAL or an authorized sublicensor. Digital Equipment Corporation makes no representations that the use of its products in the manner described in this publication will not infringe on existing or future patent rights, nor do the descriptions contained in this publication imply the granting of licenses to make, use, or sell equipment or software in accordance with the description. The postpaid Reader's Comments forms at the end of this document request your critical evaluation to assist in preparing future documentation. The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation: Alpha AXP, BASEstar, DEC, DECmessageQ, DECnet, DECnet-DOS, DECosap, DEComni, DIGITAL, DIGITAL UNIX, FMS, LN03, MicroVAX, NAS, OpenVMS, OpenVMS Alpha, PATHWORKS, PDAS, Rdb/VMS, ReGIS, ThinWire, TK, ULTRIX, VAX, VAXcluster, VAX COBOL, VAX FORTRAN, VAX Pascal, VAX RMS, VMS/ULTRIX Connection, VT, and the DIGITAL logo. The following are third-party trademarks: Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. 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X/Open is a registered trademark of the X/Open Company Limited This document was prepared using VAX DOCUMENT, Version 2.1. _________________________________________________________________ Contents Preface................................................... v 1 Introduction and General Release Notes 1.1 Differences/Enhancements With Respect to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.0.......................... 1-1 1.2 BASEstar Open Documentation Set.................. 1-2 1.3 Pre-requisites................................... 1-3 2 Installation Release Notes 2.1 Installing BASEstar Open Client on OpenVMS Platforms........................................ 2-1 2.2 Installation Verification Procedure (UNIX platforms)....................................... 2-1 3 Modified Functionality (not relevant for Windows 95) 3.1 New Syntax for Supplying the Address of an Unnamed_Variable................................. 3-1 3.2 Static Libraries (UNIX only)..................... 3-1 3.3 BSTR_REALM Environment Variable (Windows NT and Windows 95 only)................................. 3-1 4 Restrictions 4.1 Privileges Required for Starting a Thread (Windows 95 only)................................ 4-1 4.2 Graphic Configuration Utility (Windows NT and Windows 95 only)................................. 4-1 4.3 DDE Bridge (PC-based platforms only)............. 4-1 4.3.1 Supported Datatypes ........................... 4-1 4.3.2 Warm Links Not Supported ...................... 4-2 iii 4.4 Fields in a Structure_Datatype................... 4-2 4.5 Checking the Mapping Path........................ 4-2 4.6 Checking Filter Expressions...................... 4-2 4.7 Datatype Congruency Checks....................... 4-2 4.8 Device Variable Address Checks................... 4-2 4.9 Device Time Format Not Converted................. 4-2 4.10 Time Datatype.................................... 4-3 4.11 Spaces Not Accepted in File or Directory Names... 4-3 5 Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5.1 PUT VALUE DATA_POINT Problem..................... 5-1 5.2 Arrays of BIT Datatypes.......................... 5-1 5.3 Incorrect Error Message When Attempting to Map to a Data_Point in a Different Domain............... 5-2 5.4 Incorrect Expression Calculation................. 5-2 5.5 Crash During Execution of bstr_context_set_default......................... 5-3 5.6 Error in Trigger FIL_PARAMETERS Parameter........ 5-3 5.7 Error When Declaring an Event with a VISIBLE_CHAR Array Parameter.................................. 5-5 5.8 Executing a PUT VALUE Command on a Data_Point of the VARIABLE_LENGTH Array Type................... 5-5 5.9 Abnormal Behavior of the bstr_get_object_type_info Procedure.............. 5-5 5.10 Filter Parameter Error........................... 5-6 5.11 Watchdog Crash................................... 5-6 5.12 DEE Bridge Unable to Receive Unsolicited Data_Point Changes............................... 5-6 5.13 DDE Bridge Browser Cannot Access Mapped_Data_Points............................... 5-6 5.14 CLI Segmentation Fault (UNIX only)............... 5-7 6 Known Problems 6.1 Threads and the send_to_user_port Internal Routine (OpenVMS only)........................... 6-1 6.2 Threads and Sequence Numbers (OpenVMS only)...... 6-1 6.3 Using bstr_initialize After bstr_finish.......... 6-1 6.4 Inconsistency of Timer and Trigger Attributes on PODB............................................. 6-2 6.5 Hostname Length Restriction...................... 6-2 6.6 Unaligned Access Error........................... 6-2 iv 6.7 Concurrent put_value Operations on Mapped_Data_Points............................... 6-2 6.8 Assigning a Default Value to a Data_Point........ 6-3 6.9 Cannot Specify Producer in a Different Domain.... 6-3 6.10 LOAD CONFIGURATION Command....................... 6-3 7 Documentation Release Notes 7.1 The BASEstar Open Application Programming Interface........................................ 7-1 7.1.1 General ....................................... 7-1 v _________________________________________________________________ Preface Kit Identification You can identify this kit by the identifier that BASEstar Open Client processes print on the log files: o OpenVMS: "BASEstar Open Client" o DIGITAL UNIX "BASEstar Open V3.1 (BSTBASE310)" o HP-UX "BASEstar Open Client V3.1" o MS Windows "BASEstar Open Client V3.1-00" o Windows NT/Windows 95 "BASEstar Open Client V3.1-00" v 1 _________________________________________________________________ Introduction and General Release Notes The structure of this document is as follows: o Chapter 1 provides a basic introduction to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1. o Chapter 2 contains release notes relevant to the installation of BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1. o Chapter 3 describes all release notes concerning modified functionality with respect to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.0 (not applicable to Windows 95 platforms). o Chapter 4 describes all restrictions that apply to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1. o Chapter 6 describes the problems known to exist in BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1. o Chapter 7 contains all release notes concerning documentation issues specific to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1. 1.1 Differences/Enhancements With Respect to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.0 ________________________ Note ________________________ This section does not apply to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1 for Windows 95. ______________________________________________________ The new features provided by BASEstar Open Version 3.1 are as follows: o Support for BASEstar Open Client on Windows 95 platforms Introduction and General Release Notes 1-1 Introduction and General Release Notes 1.1 Differences/Enhancements With Respect to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.0 o A Timer object that allows you to associate a time-based condition with a Trigger object, so that the Trigger fires when the Timer expires. You can also configure BASEstar Open to inform associated objects when a Timer expires. o Support for multi-threaded applications. This new feature allows you to link applications with the BASEstar Open shared library and run them on client Nodes of the same platform. o Implementation of the put/get value functionality in the Graphic Configuration utility (Windows NT and Windows 95 only). 1.2 BASEstar Open Documentation Set This manual describes a software component or aspects of the BASEstar Open family of products. The complete set of documents relating to the BASEstar Open family is as follows: o BASEstar Open: - BASEstar Open Introduction - BASEstar Open Reference Guide - BASEstar Open Command Language Interface - BASEstar Open Application Programming Interface - BASEstar Open Messages - Platform-specific installation and management guides - BASEstar Open Guide to DCM-Modeled Device Connectivity (for supported platforms) o BASEstar CIMfast (for supported platforms): - BASEstar CIMfast User's Guide - BASEstar CIMfast Programmer's Reference Guide - BASEstar CIMfast Guide to DECmessageQ Support - BASEstar CIMfast Guide to SQL Support o DEComni API: - DEComni API and MMS User Guide 1-2 Introduction and General Release Notes Introduction and General Release Notes 1.2 BASEstar Open Documentation Set - DEComni API Guide to Using Omni Directory Services (for supported platforms) - DEComni API Guide to Using OmniView (for supported platforms) - DEComni API Omni Definition Facility User Guide (for supported platforms) o Device Access Software documentation - Specific manuals for each supported device 1.3 Pre-requisites BASEstar Open Client runs on the following architecture and software configurations: o UNIX: - An Alpha processor (DIGITAL UNIX) or any PA-RISC (700 series or 800 series) processor (HP-UX). The BASEstar Open Client Software Product Description (SPD) provides a comprehensive list of the processors supported, together with any restrictions. - DIGITAL UNIX Version 3.2C (or higher) for DIGITAL UNIX platforms, or HP-UX Version B 10.01 for HP-UX platforms. o OpenVMS: - A VAX or Alpha processor The SPD contains a comprehensive list of the processors supported, together with any restrictions. - OpenVMS Version 6.1 or 6.2 - TCP/IP Services Version 3.3 - DEC Rdb Version 6.0 (optional) o Windows NT: - Windows NT Version 3.51 or higher Version 3.51 and Version 4.0 support TCP/IP Services - this is already bundled with the operating system, and MUST be installed. Introduction and General Release Notes 1-3 Introduction and General Release Notes 1.3 Pre-requisites o MS Windows: - MS Windows Version 3.1 or 3.11 - PATHWORKS v5.1 - MS Windows v3.11 for Workgroups with TCP/IP. By the time the product is shipped, the versions of these pre-requisites may have changed. 1-4 Introduction and General Release Notes 2 _________________________________________________________________ Installation Release Notes 2.1 Installing BASEstar Open Client on OpenVMS Platforms For information about how to install BASEstar Open Client on an OpenVMS system, refer to the BASEstar Open Server for OpenVMS Inst. & Management Guide. 2.2 Installation Verification Procedure (UNIX platforms) To run the BASEstar Open Client Installation Verification Procedure (IVP) and the setup procedures, you must configure TCP/IP on the node where you intend to install the product. To check that your node is configured properly, type the following command: $ telnet `hostname` If you do not receive the login prompt, ask your system manager to check that TCP/IP has been configured correctly on your system. Installation Release Notes 2-1 3 _________________________________________________________________ Modified Functionality (not relevant for Windows 95) This chapter describes all release notes concerning modified functionality with respect to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.0. 3.1 New Syntax for Supplying the Address of an Unnamed_Variable The Device Services server makes a series of assumptions regarding the numeric value supplied as the address attribute of an Unnamed_Variable when address_type is NUMERIC. As a result, it can establish whether the value is a decimal, octal or hexadecimal constant. For further information about this functionality, and the syntax that you must use to enter the numeric value for address, refer to the BASEstar Open Command Language Interface. 3.2 Static Libraries (UNIX only) As of Version 3.1 of BASEstar Open Server, the kit will no longer include the libbstr.a and libbstrcma.a static libraries. Instead, the product will support shareable libraries which will be delivered directly to the customer. For full details of the shareable libraries supported by BASEstar Open Version 3.1, refer to the BASEstar Open Application Programming Interface. 3.3 BSTR_REALM Environment Variable (Windows NT and Windows 95 only) As of Version 3.1 of BASEstar Open, the current Realm takes its name from the value of the BSTR_REALM variable (if set) in your environment. It thus overrides the name of the Realm entered via the REALM Setup... option in the Customize menu of the BASEstar Open Manager. Modified Functionality (not relevant for Windows 95) 3-1 Modified Functionality (not relevant for Windows 95) 3.3 BSTR_REALM Environment Variable (Windows NT and Windows 95 only) Note that you can also use the realm argument specified with bstr_initialize to set up a Realm in a user application. If the argument is not NULL, it contains the name of the Realm in which the application runs. 3-2 Modified Functionality (not relevant for Windows 95) 4 _________________________________________________________________ Restrictions This chapter describes all restrictions that apply to BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1. 4.1 Privileges Required for Starting a Thread (Windows 95 only) A process thread in a user application that calls bstr_ initialize must have all privileges (READ,WRITE,DELETE). Failure to assign these privileges to the thread causes the application to crash. 4.2 Graphic Configuration Utility (Windows NT and Windows 95 only) The following features and services are not yet implemented in the bstrcnfg application: o Reset: to clean the current configuration o Search: to search for objects by class o The Load Snapshot and Save Snapshot menu options 4.3 DDE Bridge (PC-based platforms only) 4.3.1 Supported Datatypes The DDE Bridge supports only BASEstar Open simple datatypes, and arrays (fixed or variable length) of the VISIBLE_CHAR and OCTET type. In all cases, a NULL (0) character indicates the end of the string. The absolute maximum length of a string is 8192 bytes. Restrictions 4-1 Restrictions 4.3 DDE Bridge (PC-based platforms only) 4.3.2 Warm Links Not Supported The DDE bridge can only handle hot links with Data_Points; there is no support for warm links. For example, you cannot use LinkMode=3 (Notify) to link a Visual Basic object to the value of a BASEstar Open Data_Point. However, the DDE bridge does support the LinkMode=1 (automatic) and LinkMode=2 (manual) Visual Basic attributes. 4.4 Fields in a Structure_Datatype After creating a Structure_Datatype, it is not possible to modify or delete a field in the datatype. You must delete the datatype and then recreate it with the required fields. 4.5 Checking the Mapping Path When creating or modifying a Mapped_Data_Point, BASEstar Open does not perform validity checks on the mapping_path attribute. 4.6 Checking Filter Expressions When creating or modifying a Filter, BASEstar Open does not perform validity checks on the mapping_path attribute. 4.7 Datatype Congruency Checks When creating or modifying a Trigger, BASEstar Open does not check the datatype congruency of Filter and Event parameters with the Filter expression and the Event datatype. 4.8 Device Variable Address Checks When creating or modifying a Named_ or Unnamed_Variable, BASEstar Open does not check the address. 4.9 Device Time Format Not Converted If the type of a Device_Data_Point or the type of field in a Device_Data_Point is TIME, BASEstar Open does not convert the corresponding value to the BASEstar Open internal format. Therefore, the BASEstar Open time routines do not work. 4-2 Restrictions Restrictions 4.10 Time Datatype 4.10 Time Datatype The Time datatype is not fully managed in a heterogeneous environment UNIX handles time zone and daylight saving time when returning the system time, whereas OpenVMS and MS Windows ignore it. At present, BASEstar Open does not manage this discrepancy and therefore time-related information may not be accurate in case of interoperability. To summarize: o Interoperability UNIX <-> OpenVMS: the exchanged time may not be valid o Interoperability UNIX <-> MS Windows: the exchanged time may not be valid o Interoperability MS Windows <-> OpenVMS: time can be exchanged 4.11 Spaces Not Accepted in File or Directory Names BASEstar Open cannot handle file or directory names that contain space characters. This limitation extends to the names of snapshot and work directories (if the user decides to modify the default name). Restrictions 4-3 5 _________________________________________________________________ Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) This chapter describes all BASEstar Open Client Version 3.0 bugs that have been fixed in Version 3.1. 5.1 PUT VALUE DATA_POINT Problem In previous versions of BASEstar Open, if you executed a PUT VALUE DATA_POINT command on a Data_Point whose value needed to be aligned, BASEstar Open sometimes corrupted the last part of the value. There were problems on both sides (client and server) concerning the length of the put_value message sent by the client to the server. The problem no longer exists in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. 5.2 Arrays of BIT Datatypes Previous versions of BASEstar Open contained a bug concerning arrays of BIT datatypes, as illustrated in the following scenario: SET SCOPE VOLATILE CREATE ARRAY BITS16 -datatype BIT -num_of_elem 16 -log CREATE UNNAMED null.bit16 -datatype UNSIGNED_16 -address "W0" \ -addrtype SYMBOLIC -log CREATE DEVICE bit16 -datatype BITS16 -vmd null -var_name bit16 \ -var_class UNNAMED -update SOLICITED -access ALWAYS -log BSTR> PUT VALUE UN null.bit16 (Unsigned 16) : 1 BSTR> GET VALUE D bit16 array[16] of BIT 0 1 2 3 4 ------+--------------------------------------------- 0 | 10000000 00000000 Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5-1 Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5.2 Arrays of BIT Datatypes BSTR> PUT VALUE UN null.bit16 (Unsigned 16) : 2 BSTR> GET VALUE D bit16 E-BSTR_S_CANNOT_ACCESS_EXTERNAL: Cannot access the external variable E-BSTR_S_INVALID_VALUE: Invalid value The problem no longer exists in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. 5.3 Incorrect Error Message When Attempting to Map to a Data_Point in a Different Domain BASEstar Open does not allow you to create a Mapped_Data_ Point that maps to a Data_Point in a different Domain, as in the example below: SET CONTEXT /DOM2 CREATE MAPPED_DATA_POINT DP1_MAP -datatype INTEGER_16 \ -mapped /DOM1/DP_1 However, previous versions of BASEstar Open did not display an error message if you attempted to perform this operation. BASEstar Open Version 3.1 displays the following error message in response to the same operation: E-BSTR_S_BAD_PARAMETER: Invalid parameter value E-BSTR_S_DOMAIN_NOT_ALLOWED: Object 'DP_1' must belong to domain '/DOM2' 5.4 Incorrect Expression Calculation In BASEstar Open Version 3.0, the following behavior was possible when using expressions: 5-2 Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5.4 Incorrect Expression Calculation BSTR> CREATE DATA_POINT a -datatype UNSIGNED_8 BSTR> CREATE DATA_POINT b -datatype UNSIGNED_8 BSTR> CREATE DATA_POINT c -datatype UNSIGNED_8 -expression "a - || b" BSTR> CREATE DATA_POINT cc -datatype UNSIGNED_8 -expression "a- | b" BSTR> GET VALUE DATA a 0 BSTR> GET VALUE DATA b 0 BSTR> GET VALUE DATA c 0 BSTR> GET VALUE DATA cc 0 BSTR> PUT VALUE DATA a (Unsigned 8): 1 BSTR> GET VALUE DATA c 0 BSTR> GET VALUE DATA cc 1 In short, the value of the c Data_Point was wrongly indicated as 0 instead of 1. This problem was due to the incorrect implementation of the Logical Or and Bitwise Or operations, and has been fixed in Version 3.1. 5.5 Crash During Execution of bstr_context_set_default Previous versions of BASEstar Open were subject to crashing if you attempted to execute bstr_context_set_default(ctx) without specifying a slash (/) before ctx, This problem is no longer present in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. 5.6 Error in Trigger FIL_PARAMETERS Parameter When creating a Trigger with an associated Filter, if you specify "implicit" parameters in the Filter expression (i.e. parameters indicated by the #V, #OV, #S, and #OS keywords, representing the current value, previous value, current status and previous status of the Data_Point to which the Trigger is linked), you must make sure that they correspond to the filter_parameters attribute of the Trigger. Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5-3 Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5.6 Error in Trigger FIL_PARAMETERS Parameter This attribute lists any "explicit" parameters of the Filter (indicated in the expression by the #1, #2...#n keywords), as shown in the example below: CREATE EVENT EV_INT32 -param ( INTEGER_32 ) ! CREATE DATA_POINT DP_INT32 -data INTEGER_32 CREATE DATA_POINT DP_INT16 -data INTEGER_16 ! CREATE FILTER FLT -expr (#V GT 10 AND #1 EQ 5) ! CREATE TRIGGER TR_INT32 -Data_Point DP_INT32 -event EV_INT32- -filter FLT \ -fil_param ( DP_INT16 ) -eve_param ( DP_INT32 ) In previous versions of BASEstar Open, this led to problems if you executed bstr_object_get_attributes on the Trigger. The Data Services server also displayed the "implicit" parameters of the filter_parameters attribute, even though they were not specified when you created the Trigger: SHOW TRIGGER TR_INT32 OBJECT NAME : /TR_INT32 OBJECT CLASS : TRIGGER CREATION TIME : Tue Apr 9 15:09:05 1996 MODIFICATION TIME : Tue Apr 9 15:09:05 1996 PRIORITY : 0 STATE : ENABLED TRIGGER_EVALUATION : ON_VALUE_CHANGE DATA_POINT : /DP_INT32 FILTER : /FLT FIL_PARAMETERS : /DP_INT32 <------------------ /DP_INT16 EVENT : /EV_INT32 EVE_PARAMETERS : /DP_INT32 This problem has been rectified in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. 5-4 Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5.7 Error When Declaring an Event with a VISIBLE_CHAR Array Parameter 5.7 Error When Declaring an Event with a VISIBLE_CHAR Array Parameter In previous versions of BASEstar Open, if you declared an Event with a VISIBLE_CHAR Array_Datatype parameter containing 127 or more elements, subscribed to an Enbox whose notification_format field was set to FORMATTED_ STRING, the Event Services server responsible for handling the Event accessed non-allocated areas of memory. The results were unpredictable. This problem has been rectified in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. 5.8 Executing a PUT VALUE Command on a Data_Point of the VARIABLE_LENGTH Array Type In previous versions of BASEstar Open, an attempt to execute a PUT VALUE command on a Data_Point of the VARIABLE_LENGTH array type, in which the number of significant elements specified was less than the maximum size of the array, the Data & Device Services server accessed non-allocated areas of memory, with unpredictable results. Occasionally, the operation was successful; in other cases, the server crashed with a segmentation violation fault. The problem no longer exists in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. 5.9 Abnormal Behavior of the bstr_get_object_type_info Procedure In previous versions of BASEstar Open, if you supplied the bstr_get_object_type_info procedure with the reference of a Data_Point, it returned the size of the Data_Point interms of the number of bytes occupied, together with a reference to the datatype object of the Data_Point in question. However, if you attempted to use the datatype reference, several problems became evident. For example, the first attempt to execute bstr_object_get_attributes resulted in a BSTR_S_INTERNAL_ERROR; a subsequent attempt was successful. This problem no longer exists in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5-5 Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5.10 Filter Parameter Error 5.10 Filter Parameter Error When associating an expression to a Filter in previous versions of BASEstar Open, the formal parameters (#1, #2, ... #n) merely functioned as place-holders. This problem has been corrected in Version 3.1 by treating these symbols as parameters (1st parameter, 2nd parameter, ... nth parameter) in the -FILTER_PARAMETERS list. For example, if the expression is of the #1 GT 0 AND (#1 LT 10)) type, you will only need to specify a single element in -FILTER_PARAMETERS. 5.11 Watchdog Crash In previous versions of BASEstar Open Client, there was a tendency for the Watchdog to crash (protection fault) while attempting to establish a connection with the server system. This was due to the inability of the Watchdog to handle server hostnames of more than 30 characters in length. This problem no longer exists in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. 5.12 DEE Bridge Unable to Receive Unsolicited Data_Point Changes In BASEstar Open Version 3.1, the DDE Bridge was able to read and write Data_Points following a timestamp, but was unable to receive unsolicited Data_Point changes. This problem no longer exists in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. 5.13 DDE Bridge Browser Cannot Access Mapped_Data_Points BASEstar Open Version 3.1 prevented you from using the DDE Bridge browser to access a Mapped_Data_Point, even if it is defined as a simple datatype. In BASEstar Open Version 3.1, it is possible to select all varieties of Data_Point (Data_Point, Device_Data_Point, Mapped_Data_Point) from the DDE Bridge browser. 5-6 Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5.14 CLI Segmentation Fault (UNIX only) 5.14 CLI Segmentation Fault (UNIX only) In previous versions of BASEstar Open, the CLI sometimes crashed with a segmentation fault when executing PUT VALUE and GET VALUE commands. This problem no longer exists in BASEstar Open Version 3.1. Bug Fixes (not relevant for Windows 95) 5-7 6 _________________________________________________________________ Known Problems This chapter describes the problems known to exist in BASEstar Open Client Version 3.1. 6.1 Threads and the send_to_user_port Internal Routine (OpenVMS only) In the internal routine send_to_user_port, a pointer receives the value of a variable in a critical region and then uses it outside. Since it is possible for the variable to be reallocated by another thread, this may cause unpredictable side-effects. 6.2 Threads and Sequence Numbers (OpenVMS only) It is possible for two different threads to generate the same sequence number for a fastway message. This causes a subsequent call to the internal procedure bstr_com_take_buffer to fail with the following error: BSTR_S_COM_INP_FAIL 6.3 Using bstr_initialize After bstr_finish If you use the bstr_finish command in a multithreaded environment, BASEstar Open fails to release all the resources allocated for calls that were interrupted. Therefore, an application cannot invoke bstr_initialize after bstr_finish. Known Problems 6-1 Known Problems 6.4 Inconsistency of Timer and Trigger Attributes on PODB 6.4 Inconsistency of Timer and Trigger Attributes on PODB At present, when you create or modify Timer object definitions on the PODB, BASEstar Open only performs basic checks on the attributes of the object (for example, it checks that an integer value is an integer value). As a result, it is possible to create Timer object definitions with invalid attributes. Likewise, BASEstar Open only performs basic checks on Trigger objects whose trigger_ evaluation attribute is set to ON_TIMEOUT. BASEstar Open performs the necessary validity checks when you create or modify Timer and Trigger objects on the VODB. However, if you load PODB object definitions onto the VODB, an incorrect Timer (or Trigger ON_TIMEOUT) attribute may cause an error when BASEstar Open attempts to create the corresponding VODB objects. 6.5 Hostname Length Restriction BASEstar Open Version 3.1 does not support hostnames that are greater than 32 characters in length. 6.6 Unaligned Access Error The CLI sometimes returns an "Unaligned Access" warning message if you attempt to access unaligned data. For example, an attempt to execute a GET VALUE DATA_POINT command on a Data_Point defined as a VARIABLE_LEN Array_ Datatype of the D_FLOAT type causes a core dump of the CLI on HP-UX systems. This is because the operating system on HP-UX systems cannot handling unaligned access operations. It is recommended that you use the +u1 compilation option when building applications on HP-UX applications. This option automatically sets the byte alignment facility. 6.7 Concurrent put_value Operations on Mapped_Data_Points If two applications attempt to modify simultaneously the value of two Mapped_Data_Points, the Data & Device Services server may fail to update the value of the mapped Device_ Data_Point in both cases. Consequently, the PLC memory will not be updated with the new value. 6-2 Known Problems Known Problems 6.7 Concurrent put_value Operations on Mapped_Data_Points A workaround exists for this problem, consisting of an alteration at configuration level or of the applications involved. 6.8 Assigning a Default Value to a Data_Point BASEstar Open does not allow you to assign a default value to a simple datatype of the F_FLOAT or D_FLOAT type. 6.9 Cannot Specify Producer in a Different Domain When creating a Data_Point, the CLI does not allow you to specify a producer Data_Point in a different Domain. If you attempt to do so, the CREATE DATA_POINT comand hangs: SET SCOPE VOLATILE CREATE DATA_POINT /D1/PROD CREATE DATA_POINT /D2/CONS -producer /D1/PROD (hangs) However, if you create the two Data_Points separately and then link them, the problem does not arise: SET SCOPE VOLATILE CREATE DATA_POINT /D1/PROD CREATE DATA_POINT /D2/CONS LINK DATA_POINT /D2/CONS -producer /D1/PROD 6.10 LOAD CONFIGURATION Command If you execute a LOAD CONFIGURATION command without specifying the version of the snapshot that you wish to load, the CLI automatically loads the first snapshot generated. Therefore, to ensure that the CLI loads the desired snapshot, specify the version number. Known Problems 6-3 7 _________________________________________________________________ Documentation Release Notes This section details any errors in the BASEstar Open documentation set. 7.1 The BASEstar Open Application Programming Interface This section lists any documentation errors in the BASEstar Open Application Programming Interface manual. 7.1.1 General Some of the BASEstar Open API functions do not fully implement all the capabilities made available by the "request control block". However, these limitations are not always highlighted in the BASEstar Open Application Programming Interface manual. For example, if you use the bstr_data_point_get_value routine with a timeout value set in the request control block, BASEstar Open returns the status code "Not implemented". Documentation Release Notes 7-1