Rational Developer for System z

PDP LPEX COBOL editor

The PDP LPEX editor provides additional functions on top of those already provided by the standard LPEX editor. You can modify the COBOL code while clearly seeing the origin of all the code lines (generated lines, macro lines or specific code lines), the deleted or overwritten lines, and the potential problems detected by the reconciliation.

To see the content of this editor, you must have generated an instance. Then in the Design Explorer view, right-click on the corresponding .cbl file, which contains the generated COBOL. Select Open with > PDP COBOL System z LPEX editor.
Tip: You must be familiar with the concepts explained in Generating and modifying the COBOL of a Program, Screen or Server before reading this help.

Here you can modify the generated code to adapt it to your particular needs. Modifying the generated code includes inserting code in the generated code, removing generated code or overwriting generated code.

You can also insert formatted comment lines which correspond to micropatterns. When the instance is generated again, these lines are recognized and expanded with information fetched from the design of the instance. You can use micropatterns to add internal resources (Data Elements) to a Program, Macro, Screen or Server.

To help you make these user-specific changes, all the advanced functions of the LPEX COBOL editor are available: cut/copy/paste, a great array of possible selections, filter view, debug, compare with, local syntax check, content assist...).

The specific changes are emphasized by a specific color (which you can change by selecting Window > Preferences > LPEX editor > Appearance). For example, a DATE-COMPILED line might be colored because the date coming from the Pacbase source is different from the same line output by the local generator. As long as you do not decide otherwise, the line coming from Pacbase is kept.

The PDP coloring, on top of the LPEX coloring, identifies the origin of the lines. If a line is:
  • Gray, it is a generated line,
  • Khaki, it is a Macro line.
You can change these PDP default colors by selecting Window > Preferences > PDP.
Note: You can also change the default generation skeleton language in the Preferences. The new language is taken into account upon the next generation.
Two symbols might be displayed in the margin:
  • information is displayed if code lines have been deleted or overwritten. If you click this symbol, you can see the deleted line or the line overwritten by the current line.
  • warning is displayed by the reconciliation (the process which integrates, after a generation, the new design of an instance with the user-specific changes) on each line where it has detected a potential problem. Such a problem occurs, for example, when the reconciliation is not sure where it must place the specific code because several locations are possible, or when the overwritten generated code has changed.

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