MDOpen 8.7 RDi Installation

These instructions provide the customer with the necessary information to install and configure the MDOpen Eclipse based plug-in product from Midrange Dynamics.

General Information

General MDOpen Client Information

MDOpen 8.7+ consists of a java plug-in for use within Rational Developer for i. If using a non-RDi version of Eclipse, MDOpen 8.6 needs to be used instead. The plug-in provides an Eclipse Perspective named MDOpen. Within the MDOpen Perspective, MDCMS functions are provided within specific views for each function.
Additionally, the MDOpen plug-in provides Context Menu options from within other Eclipse Perspectives for the seamless management of objects by MDCMS from the programmer's preferred development perspective, Git perspective or X-Analysis.
MDOpen provides nearly every developer function that is available within the MDCMS emulator client. Additionally, MDOpen is required when managing non-native objects and is much more convenient when managing IFS objects.

General MDOpen Server Information

MDOpen connects to MDCMS database libraries that reside on 1 or more IBMi partitions. All MDCMS information is retrieved from, and stored to, these libraries, so that all MDCMS interfaces (MDOpen, MDWorkflow or emulator) use the same database.

When a connection is established with an IBM i partition, a job is submitted under the user profile in the connection definition to the job queue defined within the MD Job Settings (option 12 from the MDCMS Setup Menu) for property MDOpen/MDWorkflow Job Queue.

The default CCSID of the job is defined in the system settings (option 11 from the MDCMS Setup Menu). This can be overridden for a specific user in the MDSEC user definition. If issues are encountered with source editing or compiling due to incorrect characters, it is likely because of the CCSID value. In which case, change it to the value used for the interactive jobs of your developers.

The name of the job will be MDRPnnnnnn. The name and CCSID of a specific connection is visible in the Repository Location parameters from within the MDOpen eclipse perspective.

Installation and Configuration of MDOpen

Prerequisites

• Java JDK 7 or newer (with Java EE)
• Rational Developer for i minimum version of 9.5
• 1 or more IBMi systems with MDCMS installed
• A valid MDOpen License Key for each IBMi system. If you are unsure of your License Key status you will need to check with your systems administrator or the person who installed and licensed the MDCMS product.
• MDCMS must be on at least version 8.6 to use MDOpen 8.7+. MDOpen 8.7 is compatible with MDCMS 8.6 and MDOpen 8.6 and MDOpen 8.7 can be used concurrently as 2 separate perspectives.

Installing a Specific Version of MDOpen for the First Time

Each version of MDOpen that has different compatibility rules for MDCMS will have its own update site to avoid a mismatch.

Installing from the Cloud

MDOpen Update Server Regions

Take the following steps within RDi:

1. Within RDi, navigate to Help->Install New Software... and click the Add... button
2. Enter value for Name, such as MDOpen 8.6
3. Copy preferred site address from the table above, and paste into the Location field, replacing http://
4. Click the OK button
5. If the URL is not already displayed in the Work with drop down list, select it from the list
6. Select MDOpen and click Next
7. Click Next from the Review list
8. Accept the terms of the license agreement and click Finish. Eclipse then downloads the newest package
9. Typically, a Security Warning will be displayed indicating that the software contains unsigned content. Click OK to continue the update.
10. Restart RDi

Installing from a Zip File

MDOpen Zip Download Locations

Take the following steps within RDi:

1. Download the zip file from the table above
2. Within RDi, navigate to Help->Install New Software... and click the Add... button
3. Enter value for Name, such as MDOpen 8.7
4. Click the Archive... button and select the downloaded file
5. Click the OK button
6. If the File is not already displayed in the Work with drop down list, select it from the list
7. Select MdOpen and click Next
8. Click Next from the Review list
9. Accept the terms of the license agreement and click Finish.RDi then downloads the newest package
10. Probably, a Security Warning will be displayed indicating that the software contains unsigned content. Click OK to continue the update.
11. Restart RDi

Updating an Installed Version of MDOpen

MDOpen may be updated in order to correct problems or add additional features. To check for and update MDOpen to a newer build of the same MDCMS version/release, take the following steps within RDi:

1. If the MDOpen software site was installed from a zip file, a newer version of the zip file must replace the existing zip file, or the location of the zip file must be changed to point to the new zip file.
2. If the new cloud version of MDOpen requires pulling the package from a different update site, select Menu option Window->Preferences->Install/Update->Available Software Sites and edit the MDOpen Site to point to the site for the new version.
3. Select Menu option Help/Check for Updates
4. If MdOpen is listed, ensure it is selected and click Next
5. Click Next from the Review list
6. Accept the terms of the license agreement and click Finish. RDi then downloads the newest package
7. Probably, a Security Warning will be displayed indicating that the software contains unsigned content. Click OK to continue the update.
8. Restart RDi
9. If not already open, open the MDCMS Perspective (Window => Open Perspective => Other => MDCMS)
10. Reset the MDCMS Perspective by Right-Clicking on the MDCMS Perspective button in the upper-right corner of the IDE and selecting option Reset

Uninstall MDOpen

If MDOpen is no longer necessary, it can be uninstalled within RDi using the following steps:

1. Close the MDCMS Perspective by Right-Clicking on the MDCMS Perspective button in the upper-right corner of the IDE and selecting option Close
2. Select Menu option Help/About Rational Developer for i
3. Click Installation Details
4. Left-Click MdOpen. If MdOpen is not in the list, then it may be a version older than 7.2. In this case, manually delete the jar file from the plugins or dropins folders.
5. Click Uninstall…
6. Click Finish

The Configuration Steps

1. Start RDi
2. Click the + icon in the MDOpen Connections View. One (1) Repository Location is required per managed IBMi partition.

Repository Configuration Properties