Linoma Software Issues New Release of RPG Toolbox Conversion Utility

by Alex Woodie

Linoma Software last week issued a major new release of RPG Toolbox, a programmer productivity tool for maintaining RPG code and converting it to RPG IV or the new free-form syntax. RPG Toolbox Version 3.11 contains several enhancements, including a new command supporting the free-format spec. It also bundles several older enhancements and fixes issued since the last major release of RPG Toolbox, Version 3.0, last fall.

Originally released by Linoma in September 2001, the RPG Toolbox gathers several RPG programmer productivity tools, most notably Linoma's RPG IV conversion utility, called CVTILERPG. The RPG Wizard component of the RPG Toolbox provides the primary facilities for converting older definitions, operations, built-in functions, subroutines, and other elements of RPG programs, to RPG IV, the latest available RPG syntax, or to free-format syntax (with OS/400 V5R1 and later OS/400 versions). The RPG Toolbox also contains SEU Plus, which augments IBM's code editor with 70 additional SEU line commands and function keys for helping programmers to do their job faster and more efficiently, and more than 140 predefined snippets of RPG source code.

With RPG Toolbox Version 3.11, Linoma says it has added two major enhancements to the RPG Wizard component of the kit, including a new keyword, CVTKLIST, that enables the conversion of key lists into data structures or free-form search within file I/O operations. The other major enhancement, the new CVTMOVEA command, allows the conversion of eligible MOVEA (move array) operations, the company says.

The new release also contains several other enhancements to the RPG Wizard that were delivered as minor, unannounced releases of the product over the last few months. These enhancements include improved support for the conversion of more MOVE, MOVEL, Z-ADD, Z-SUB, MULT, DIV, ADD, and SUB operations; new commands that convert SCAN operations to %SCAN built-in functions and convert MVR operations to %REM built-in functions; new intelligence that prevents arithmetic operations from being converted if the result is too large for its field; and enhanced support for the German language.

SEU Plus also has been enhanced with a new option that lets users choose the color and modification markers to use when adding comments with Linoma's custom line commands. A comprehensive list of the enhancements and fixes that Linoma has made to RPG Toolbox is available on the company's Web site.

RPG Toolbox Version 3.11 is available now. The product is sold on a per-CPU basis, starting at $995 for the P05 and P10 processor, and topping out at $1,995 for the P40 and P50 groups. Licenses for the RPG Toolbox include a free copy of Bryan Meyers' book RPG IV Jump Start. For more information, go to www.linomasoftware.com.

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