IBM Mainframe Forum

[StanislavL]

Sorry, maybe my question is stupid...
I didn't touch real MF from 1993 It was real MF, with real 3270... and there was a key with a "¬" , PL/1 "NOT" character.
I had no PC, I didn't know the word "Internet", and couldn't imagine this problem

Now I use x3270/c3270 to access my virtual MF, and there is no such key on my keyboard. I can do "copy-paste", but later I see some extra characters in the text.
I tried to use the characters "^" and "~" instead - PL/1 translator "understand" that it means "NOT", nevertheless RC=8

Is there any way to write an expression "IF A NOT-EQUAL B" ?
Maybe any replacement exists ? (I tried "<>" and "><" - it doesn't work)
Maybe I use a bad telnet3270-cliend ? Which one is "good" ? (Which OS, codepage?)
Is there any solution ?....

[dick scherrer]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

Yup, the "logical not" - on a "real" 3270, i believe it was an "uppercase 6" - but that is from memory rather than some actual reference. . .

Now I use x3270/c3270 to access my virtual MF

Possibly there is a mapping issue with this virtual mainframe?

On an IBM mainframe, x'5F' is the "not" character.

I tried to use the characters "^" and "~" instead

No, i wouldn't expect these to work.

I tried "<>" and "><" - it doesn't work

What happens when you use <>? Does the compiler raise a syntax error? If yes, please post the error message along with the message id.

Is there any solution ?....

I don't speak pl/i, but if all else fails, you might try something like:

Select all

if a = b
 then  "do nothing";
 else  "whatever is done when not=";
   

[StanislavL]

Hi!

Yup, the "logical not" - on a "real" 3270, i believe it was an "uppercase 6" - but that is from memory rather than some actual reference. . .

Maybe... I have a book with a picture, but it's far from here.

Possibly there is a mapping issue with this virtual mainframe?

This character passes through : PC OS (Linux) -> telnet3270-client (x3270,c3270) -> emulator(hercules) -> MF OS,
and I can't even count all the translation tables ... It seems to me that hercules it is not responsible for this problem.

i'd like to know WHAT CHARACTER do people USUALLY use when they need EBCDIC '5F'
google didn't answer me, so, I can suppose that nobody else has the same problem
(At the same time I have to solve heaps of other problems, there is no time to think seriously about this one)

I tried to use the characters "^" and "~" instead

No, i wouldn't expect these to work.

Any other idea ? It seemd to me that '^' was the best candidate...

What happens when you use <>? Does the compiler raise a syntax error? If yes, please post the error message along with the message id.

IBM1352I E 4.1 The statement element < is invalid. The statement will
be ignored.

I don't speak pl/i, but if all else fails, you might try something like:

Select all

if a = b
 then  "do nothing";
 else  "whatever is done when not=";
   

Yes, it will work. But I'm afaid that any employer will refuse to talk to me after seen this code

(I hate PL, I always used assembler. But I need PL now... )

[StanislavL]

P.S. i've just found 2 solutions:
1. editor command "hex"
2. I switch to french keyboard, press ALT + "~/`" key and get a "normal" "¬" character
( In russian it's called "through a**hole" )

But a normal way must exist!

[dick scherrer]

Hello,

But a normal way must exist!

We can only hope

I've not looked hard, but i've not seen anything other than editing in hex or doing a copy/paste. Long ago, the client used an emulator that allowed mapping ALL of the 3270 keys rather than just the interrupt and cursor movement keys.

[Mahalakshmi R]

Hi,

For my terminal, we are using the key "ALT+6" for the symbol "¬" / "NOT".