NetRexx 4.04

As always, you can build NetRexx 4.04 from the repositories at github or sourceforge, and that only requires a working Java jre - or download the preview (at the bottom of this page).

What you already get over NetRexx 4.03 is the following:

A fix for a bug in Address

Under specific circumstances the address statement could generate a duplicate internal variable when catching an InterruptedException. This did not come out during the beta phase for 4.03, and has been fixed by Marc Remes.

Rexx built-in-functions

For want of a better name, class RexxRexx offers the full set of NetRexx built-in-methods in the classic function notation. Like ooRexx, you can use this notation without including anything in simple scripts like these:

file: half.rexx
/* rexx */
parse arg number
if datatype(number,'whole')
then say number%2 + number //2
else say ' argument is not a whole number'

Exit the NetRexx Workspace with … ’exit'

Ever been in plokta mode? (Short for ‘press a lot of keys to abort’) This happens in VI, Prolog, APL, etc, a lot, and we had this problem until recent in nrws, the NetRexx Workspace. For the previously mentioned tools you will have to remember ‘wq!’, ‘halt.’, and ‘)off’ - do you know what it is in nrws? (me neither).

Well, starting with release 4.04 you can just type exit.

Apart from this, there are a few other things:

  • resolved an error in the startup timer of nrws; timer display is now default
  • the default now is to display the command timer instead of the window number
  • the default prompt changed to ‘Ready;’ (but both options can still be changed in an $HOME/nrws.properties file)
  • the pipelines processor is now loaded by default - type in a pipeline like you do on VM/CMS, and it will be executed blindingly fast (just look at the timing display on the right)

More to come

Please use the issue tracker to log issues and requests.

Download the preview

A regularly updated preview is downloadable from here. This is a drop-in replacement for the NetRexxF.jar file; if you rename the old one and put this in its place, everything will work as before, only you will have the 4.04 alpha preview.