Pre-release

BREXX/370 V2R5M3

This is release V2R5M3 of BREXX/370 for MVS3.8j.

There are multiple BREXX zip files available depending on the version
of MVS you are running.

The BREXX ZIP file contains the following:

• BREXX.V2R5M3.XMIT
• BREXX370_Users_Guide.pdf - Contains the BREXX/370 Installation
  instructions and the REXX programming reference.
• /html - Contains the same contents as BREXX370_Users_Guide.pdf but is
  in html form.
• BREXX.V2R5M3.jcl - Same as BREXX.V2R5M3.XMIT above but
  delivered as an EBCDIC jcl file with the XMIT file included in the file
  itself. When submitted, this JCL will unxmit the included BREXX xmit file
  to BREXX.V2R5M3.INSTALL. Since the file is in EBCDIC you might need
  to modify your 3505 reader to read ebcdic. See below for the commands.
  You can then submit the JCL file with:
  cat BREXX.V2R5M3.jcl|ncat <hercules host ip address> 3505

Changing 3505 from ASCII to EBCDIC:

To change the 3505 card reader in hercules from ASCII to EBCDIC you need to
issue the following commands in the hercules console (or webserver):

1. Detach the current reader: detach c
2. Reattach the reader: attach c 3505 3505 sockdev ebcdic trunc eof

To change it back:

1. Detach the current reader: detach c
2. Reattach the reader: attach c 3505 3505 sockdev ascii trunc eof

BREXX V2R5M3 Fix Level 02

It suppresses unnecessary RAKF messages during authorisation-level checks.
Zip file contains

1. authorised BREXX LLIB
2. non-authorised BREXX LLB

After unzipping, choose your version

1. unzip the file
2. upload it
3. receive (UNPACK) the xmit file
   There is an example batch job in the zip file BREXX.RECEIVE.TXT, change it accordingly
4. copy the unpacked files to your BREXX library (typically SYS2.LINKLIB)

BREXX/370 V2R5M3L01

• SDROP add an optional position parameter
• DIR function has now an optional second parameter.
• Fixed ADDRESS xxx error, which throws a signal error rc ne 0, although
• corrected 0C4 which sometimes occurred at ending of REXX
• free stdin, stdout, stderr allocations at end of REXX
• CONDITION() function added. Special request by Volker Bandke
• corrected 0C4 which might occur by setting a default value for stems
• corrected IN FMTLIST or FMTMON curso might lose the last position
• MTTX fix, array items were not released, newly added, leaving the old in place
• Adding some set theory functions
• Corrected error in SKEEP function
• added -- as an inline comment

BREXX/370 V2R5M3

The new BREXX V2R5M3 Fix release. It contains new functions, for example, the new Key/Value Database approach, new JES2 functions, and more.
5. February BREXX Installation Manual updated.

BREXX/370 V2R5M2 DEBUG

This is a debug version to track down an EXECIO problem. Install it only at the request of the brexx team.

1 unzip the FIX archive brexxv2r5m2fbg1..zip
/2 upload the xmit file
/3 run an XMIT receive on the uploaded dataset (see sample in the installation guide)
/4 copy BREXX, RX, and REXX into SYS2.LINKLIB (all other loadlib members are unchanged).
/5 run execio rexx

BREXX/370 V2R5M2

Some new functions and features.

BREXX V2R5M1L002

We decided to lift the strict release concept and insert fix-level releases in between. This allows us to release more often new sub-features without adjusting release internal stuff and the documentation. The RX command will show as BREXX/370 V2R5M1 L002 (Jul 17 2022)
Added new features are:
String Arrays, (double) Linked-Lists, LIFO, and FIFO stacks.

The features are documented in a separate PDF.

It is recommended to run the full install.

The TestRX JCL contains samples of all new functions.

BREXX370_V2R5M1L002.zip is just for debugging a submit problem reported by Soldier of Fortran, not for normal use!

BREXX/370 V2R5M1

RAKF requirement removed
This version also supports MVS version without installed RAKF
RAKF restrictions lifted
We have removed the rigid RAKF checking during the BREXX startup, which caused unnecessary ABENDS for non-authorized users (e.g. HERC03, HERC04).
Some of the BREXX functions which require access to system resources (SVC244, DIAGCMD) are no longer available to non-authorized users, they will be reported as unknown functions.

Matrix and Integer Arrays
Added are mathematical Matrix functions and integer arrays. Both allow high-performance access and large-sized matrices and integer arrays outside the standard stem notation. For details look into the BREXX370_Users_Guide_V2R5M1.pdf. These implementations are outside the REXX standard!

Fix01 10. May 2022 problem during cleanup of a REXX TCP script. At the end it might end with an error in the ESTAE routine.
The problem has been fixed.
1 unzip the FIX archive BREXX.M2R5M1.FIX01.zip
/2 upload the appropriate xmit file (BREXX.M2R5M1.FIX01.APF.LINKLIB or BREXX.M2R5M1.FIX01.LINKLIB)
/3 run an XMIT receive on the uploaded dataset (see sample in the installation guide)
/4 copy BREXX, RX, and REXX into SYS2.LINKLIB (all other loadlib members are unchanged).
/5 Test new modules

BREXX/370 V2R5M0

See the change log for a detailed list of improvements.

Subsequent FIX packs always include the fixes of the previous packs.
All FIX packs will later be combined into one service release.

• BREXX370_V2R5M0_FIX_01 (22. October 2021)
  fixes #99 - a problem in EXECIO which doesn't work after a DIR() statement has been executed.

/1 unzip the FIX archive
/2 upload xmit file
/3 run an XMIT receive on the uploaded dataset (see sample in the installation guide)
/4 copy BREXX, RX, and REXX into SYS2.LINKLIB (all other loadlib members are unchanged).
/5 Test new modules

BREXX/370 V2R4M0

New/changed functions in date/time area

• TIME precision is microseconds or milliseconds
• Date integrated into kernel replaces RXDATE implementation
• WAIT timer is now in 1/1000 of a second (before it was 1/100 of a second)
• DATETIME function
• TIMESTAMP Unix Epoch Time function

LOCK/UNLOCK functions to lock a resource to avoid concurrent usage

New Host environments LINKMVS, LINKPGM, LINK, ISPEXEC