Valence 1_2_20090513_0

[richard.milone]

This is the first general release of Valence 1.2. If you are currently trialing a previous version of Valence or if you had a previous version on trial that has expired, you may download Valence 1.2 and start over with a fresh 90-day trial. For existing Valence customers you may download and install this new version, apply your existing license key and follow the migration procedure below. To download Valence visit http://www.cnxcorp.com/valence/try/

Version: 1_2_20090513_0

Release Date: 2009-05-13

System Requirements:

• Any hardware running the IBM i operating system V5R3 or higher.
• If at V5R3, then 5722-AC3 Cryptographic Access Provider is also required. V5R4 or higher, Cryptographic Access Prover is not required.
• A personal computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista, MacOSX or Linux (for installation only).
• A compatible browser on client computers (this version of Valence has been extensively tested with Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3 and Safari 4).

New Features:

• User Login Feature – You can now optionally configure Valence for users to log in with their standard IBM i user and password. This would be the same credentials that the user would enter on the green screen. Valence will follow all the same rules that apply to the green screen, including maximum log in attempts, changing an expired password, etc. This feature is turned off by default.
• Enhanced Portal Administration Programs – The portal administration programs were previously a "load all" type. All administration programs now use paging grids to better handle large data sets. Administration programs also have advance search capabilities and the ability to group records by any column.
• Speed and Memory Management Improvements – Core functionality of retrieving, parsing and formatting data have been improved to make Valence even faster than before. Management of components within the browser have also been improved.
• Ext JS 2.2.1 – Valence now comes with the Ext JS 2.2.1 JavaScript Framework. This is an upgrade from the previous 2.0.1. This update of Ext JS brings many new capabilities and stability to Valence.
• vvFormat_jsonNameValuePair – This new procedure in the Valence RPG Toolkit makes it much easier to put together ad-hoc JSON formatted strings.
• vvFormat_toJSONTreePtr – This new procedure in the Valence RPG Toolkit allows for trees with large data above the 32K limit of vvFormat_toJSONTree.
• vvFormat_inArray – This new procedure in the Valence RPG Toolkit makes it easy to receive an array of data sent from the browser.
• Install from MacOSX and Linux – Previously it was required that you install Valence to your IBM i from a Windows computer. In addition to Windows, we are now supplying installation builds that can run from MacOSX and Linux. Just select the desired type when you download Valence 1.2.

Bugs Corrected:

• Potential Loss of Data on Nav Tree Save – Previously the Navigation Tree data was sent from the browser with a series of Ajax calls. If the user interrupted this process, data on the Navigation Tree could be lost. Valence 1.2 now uses the new vvFormat_inArray procedure to get the tree data from the browser so that the tree can be built from a single Ajax call.
• Character Set Problems with Non-English CCSID’s – In some cases data formatting problems would occur on non-English systems. This has been corrected.

Migrating from Valence 1.0/1.1:

If you already have Valence 1.0 or Valence 1.1 installed you may run the Valence 1.2 installation program and it will not interfere with your existing installation, provided that you have no server instances running on port 7012 (the Valence 1.2 default port). To migrate your Valence Portal data (users, groups, options, navigation trees, etc) to Valence 1.2, do the following:

1. End the old Valence server instance with "ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*HTTP) HTTPSVR(VALENCE11)". Replace "VALENCE11" with the correct name of your server instance.
2. End the new Valence server instance with "ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*HTTP) HTTPSVR(VALENCE12)"
3. Sign on to your IBM i green screen as QSECOFR (or any profile with security officer authority).
4. Add the VALENCE12 library to your library list with "ADDLIBLE VALENCE12".
5. Type VVCNV12 on a command line and prompt it with F4.
6. Enter your "from" and "to" library and press Enter.
7. Start the server instances again with the "STRTCPSVR" command.

This process copies and converts portal data only. If you have custom directives in your existing Apache server instance configuration you will need to apply those changes to the new server instance and then restart the instance. Also be sure to update your library lists in the portal Environments program to reflect the new VALENCE12 library name.

NOTE: Valence 1.2 runs on port 7012 by default. If you have a significant number of users linked to 7011 or other port numbers you can simply end the old server instance and change Valence 1.2 to use that same port number. Then your user links would not need to be changed.

Reinstalling Valence 1.2:

If you have already installed Valence 1.2, this installation will completely overwrite that version, including all data in the Valence database files in library VALENCE12, and any modifications you may have made in ifs folder /valence-1.2. This means any users, options, groups, authorizations, etc. that have been configured in Valence will be lost. You may want to save the VALENCE12 library if you have significant data you want to retain so it can be copied back later.

You also must be sure there are no locks on the VALENCE12 library and that the VALENCE12 server instance is ended. Use the "ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*HTTP) HTTPSVR(VALENCE12)" command to end the server instance. Use the "WRKOBJLCK OBJ(VALENCE12) OBJTYPE(*LIB)" command to see if there are any locks on the VALENCE12 library.

Support:

If you need assistance with installation please email support@cnxcorp.com.