Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

 

Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

 Note
Before using this information and the product it supports, be sure to read the general information under “Notices” on page
27.

Second Edition (June 2015)

This edition applies to IBM COBOL for AIX, V3.1 or later compilers until otherwise indicated in new editions. Make
sure you are using the correct edition for the level of the product.
You can view or download softcopy publications free of charge at www.ibm.com/shop/publications/order/.
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2010, 2015.
US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract
with IBM Corp.
Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . 1 COMP-X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Runtime errors because of uninitialized variables
Chapter 2. Format changes . . . . . . 3 being converted to a display type . . . . . . . 17
Redefined data items and OCCURS clauses. . . . 18
File suffix .cob for COBOL source . . . . . . . 3
Modifying boolean PICTURE character strings and
Free-format COBOL source files . . . . . . . . 3
boolean literals . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Alphanumeric literals longer than 160 characters in
COBOL source files . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Extra and misplaced periods in COBOL source . . . 4 Chapter 6. PROCEDURE DIVISION
User-defined words . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
REPORT SECTION and SCREEN SECTION . . . . 7 Moving national data items to alphanumeric data
Embedded null characters in variables . . . . . . 8 items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Format of floating point literals . . . . . . . . 8 Undefined symbol errors for C functions being
RECORD SEQUENTIAL file organization . . . . . 9 called . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
COBOL programs containing an ACCEPT statement 23
Chapter 3. IDENTIFICATION DIVISION BINARY formatted data in an ACCEPT statement 23
changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 NULL parameters in CALL statements . . . . . 24

Chapter 4. Hyphens in an ASSIGN Chapter 7. Output for positive numbers 25

statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 5. DATA DIVISION changes . . 15
OCCURS clauses in level 01 . . . . . . . . . 15

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 iii

iv Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX
Chapter 1. Introduction
When you plan to migrate COBOL source programs from non-IBM® compilers to
IBM compilers, you can read the IBM extensions for language assistance. In
addition, you can use the source conversion utility (scu) to help with the source
program conversion.

This document presents topics to help you migrate COBOL source programs to
IBM COBOL for AIX®, V3.1 or later.

COBOL programs created using a COBOL compiler other than the IBM COBOL for
AIX compiler will normally have some source code differences that will need to be
modified to become compatible with IBM COBOL for AIX. These differences are
often the result of implementer extensions to Standard COBOL, but might also be
due to differences in the operating system, or maybe for items in the COBOL
standard that are specified as "implementor defined", or some combination of
these. The number of differences will depend largely on how many extensions to
Standard COBOL were coded in the COBOL source members that you are
migrating.

In this document, the term Standard COBOL 2002 refers to ISO/IEC 1989:2002(E)
Information technology — Programming languages — COBOL. This does not
imply that IBM COBOL for AIX has implemented the new features found in
Standard COBOL 2002 (although some have been implemented), we are simply
using Standard COBOL 2002 to help you to identify extensions to Standard
COBOL that you might encounter as you do your migration, differences between
IBM COBOL for AIX and Standard COBOL, and to help you to determine the
changes you might need to make to resolve these. It will be useful for you to refer
to the IBM COBOL for AIX Language Reference and Programming Guide when
modifying COBOL code. You can find these books at the IBM COBOL for AIX
Library website: www.ibm.com/software/awdtools/cobol/aix/library/.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 1

2 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX
Chapter 2. Format changes
To run your source programs on IBM COBOL for AIX, make the required format
changes to your source programs.

File suffix .cob for COBOL source

You can now compile a COBOL program by using a .cob suffix in addition to the
.cbl suffix.

IBM COBOL for AIX supports the .cob suffix for COBOL source files.

See the following example:

$ cob2 -o tcCobol tcCobol.cob
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, no statements flagged.

Free-format COBOL source files

IBM COBOL for AIX suppresses some messages that are related to enforcing
fixed-format source code.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains
free-format COBOL source, you will receive the error messages in the following
example:
$ cat tcFreeFormat.cbl
000100 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000200 PROGRAM-ID. FreeFormat.
000300 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000400 DATA DIVISION.
000500
000600 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000700 BEGIN-MY-PROGRAM.
000800 DISPLAY "COBOL ON AIX 5.1.0...".
000900 STOP RUN.
$ cob2 tcFreeFormat.cbl
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
6 IGYPS0017-E "PROCEDURE" should begin in area "A". It was
processed as if found in area "A".
8 IGYPS0009-E "DISPLAY" should not begin in area "A". It was
processed as if found in area "B".
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 2 2
End of compilation 1, program FREEFORMAT, highest severity: Error.
Return code 8

You can rewrite your source in fixed format, or use scu to convert your source
from free-format source to fixed-format source:
$ cat sol-tcFreeFormat.cbl
000001 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000002 PROGRAM-ID. FreeFormat.
000003 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000004 DATA DIVISION.
000005 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000006
000007 BEGIN-MY-PROGRAM.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 3

 000008
000009 DISPLAY "COBOL ON AIX 5.1.0...".
000010 STOP-MY-PROGRAM.
000011 STOP RUN.

Alphanumeric literals longer than 160 characters in COBOL source

files
The length of an alphanumeric literal, excluding the separators that delimit the
literal, must be greater than zero and less than or equal to 160 alphanumeric
character positions.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains one or
more alphanumeric literals longer than 160 characters, you will receive the error
message in the following example:
$ cat tcAlphanumeric160.cbl
000100 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000200 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000300 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000400
000500 DATA DIVISION.
000600 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000700
000800 01 VARIABLE PIC N(300) VALUE "BEGIN = = = = = = =
000900- " = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
001000- " = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
001100- " = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
001200- "= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = END".
001300
001400 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
001500 DISPLAY VARIABLE.
001600 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o tcAlphanumeric160 tcAlphanumeric160.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
8 IGYDS0026-E An alphanumeric literal that was longer than 160
characters was specified. The literal was
truncated to 160 characters.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 1 1
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Error.
Return code 8

According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 8.3.1.2.1.2, the length of an

alphanumeric literal, excluding the separators that delimit the literal, must be
greater than zero and less than or equal to 160 alphanumeric character positions.

Change your COBOL source to follow Standard COBOL 2002. You can change your
code to split long literals. As shown in the following example, MOVE “longliteral”
to ITEM-1 can be split:
MOVE “long” to ITEM-1(1:4).
MOVE “literal” to ITEM-1(5:).

Extra and misplaced periods in COBOL source

You must remove extra or misplaced periods in the fixed-format source.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains extra and
misplaced periods, you will receive the error messages in the following example:

4 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

 $ cat tcPeriods.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000070 PERFORM GREETING.
000080 .
000090
000100 PERFORM END-PROGRAM.
000110
000120 GREETING
000130 .
000140
000150 DISPLAY "HELLO FROM IBM.".
000160 END-PROGRAM.
000170 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o tcPeriods tcPeriods.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
8 IGYPS0009-E ". " should not begin in area "A". It was processed
as if found in area "B". Same message on line: 13
8 IGYPS0019-W No COBOL statement was found between periods.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 3 1 2
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Error.
Return code 8

According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 6.2, Fixed-form reference format,

fixed-format source cannot include extra or missing periods in the source.

Change your COBOL source to follow Standard COBOL 2002, or use scu to remove
extra and misplaced periods:
$ cat sol-tcPeriods.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000070 PERFORM GREETING.
000080
000090
000100 PERFORM END-PROGRAM.
000110
000120 GREETING.
000130
000140
000150 DISPLAY "HELLO FROM IBM.".
000160 END-PROGRAM.
000170 STOP RUN.

User-defined words
Within a source element, a user-defined word can be used as only one type of
source element.

Example 1

In the following example, the procedure name is the same as the program
identifier:

Chapter 2. Format changes 5

 $ cat tcSameName.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. GREETING.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000070
000080 MY-PARAGRAPH.
000090 PERFORM GREETING.
000100 PERFORM END-PARAGRAPH.
000110
000120 GREETING.
000130 DISPLAY "WELCOME TO IBM COBOL FOR AIX 5.1.0...".
000140
000150 END-PARAGRAPH.
000160 DISPLAY "HAVE A NICE DAY!".
000170 STOP RUN.
$ cob2 -o tcSameName tcSameName.cbl
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
9 IGYPA3007-S "GREETING" was not defined as a procedure-name. The
statement was discarded.
12 IGYPS2007-E "GREETING" was defined as both a procedure-name and
another data type. The procedure-name definition was
discarded.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 2 1 1
End of compilation 1, program GREETING, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

Example 2

In the following example, GREETING is used as both a data name and a procedure
name:
$ cat tcSameName2.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070
000080 01 GREETING PIC X(20) VALUE "FROM IBM.".
000090 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000100 MY-PROGRAM.
000110 PERFORM GREETING.
000120 PERFORM END-PROGRAM.
000130
000140 GREETING.
000150 DISPLAY "HELLO " GREETING.
000160 END-PROGRAM.
000170 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o tcSameName tcSameName.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
9 IGYPA3007-S "GREETING" was not defined as a procedure-name. The
statement was discarded.
12 IGYPS2007-E "GREETING" was defined as both a procedure-name and
another data type. The procedure-name definition was
discarded.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 2 1 1
End of compilation 1, program GREETING, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

6 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

 According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 8.3.1.1, User-defined words, within a
source element, a user-defined word might be used as only one type of
user-defined word. Further rules for uniqueness are specified in section 8.4.1,
Uniqueness of reference.

Change your COBOL source to follow Standard COBOL 2002.

For Example 1:
$ cat sol-tcSameName.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. GREETING.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000070
000060 MY-PARAGRAPH.
000080 PERFORM HELLO.
000090 PERFORM END-PARAGRAPH.
000100
000110 HELLO.
000120 DISPLAY "WELCOME TO IBM COBOL FOR AIX 5.1.0...".
000130
000140 END-PARAGRAPH.
000150 DISPLAY "HAVE A NICE DAY!".
000160 STOP RUN.

For Example 2:
$ cat sol-tcSameName2.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070
000080 01 GREETING PIC X(20) VALUE "FROM IBM.".
000090 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000100 MY-PROGRAM.
000110 PERFORM MY-GREETING.
000120 PERFORM END-PROGRAM.
000130
000140 MY-GREETING.
000150 DISPLAY "HELLO " GREETING.
000160 END-PROGRAM.
000170 STOP RUN.

REPORT SECTION and SCREEN SECTION

IBM COBOL for AIX does not support REPORT SECTION or SCREEN SECTION.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains REPORT
SECTION or SCREEN SECTION, you will receive the error messages in the following
example:
$ cat tcReportScreenSection.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 REPORT SECTION.
000070 01 TYPE IS PAGE HEADING.

Chapter 2. Format changes 7

 000080 01 TYPE IS PAGE FOOTING.
000090
000100 SCREEN SECTION.

$ cob2 -o tcReportScreenSection tcReportScreenSection.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
6 IGYDS0148-S "REPORT" is a reserved word related to language not
supported by this compiler. The statement was discarded.
6 IGYDS1089-S "REPORT" was invalid. Scanning was resumed at the
next area "A" item, level-number, or the start of the next
clause.
10 IGYDS0009-E "SCREEN" should not begin in area "A". It was
processed as if found in area "B".
10 IGYDS1089-S "SCREEN" was invalid. Scanning was resumed at the next
area "A" item, level-number, or the start of the next clause.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 10 4 6
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

For details about REPORT SECTION and SCREEN SECTION, see Standard COBOL 2002,
section 13.7, Report section, and section 13.8, Screen section.

Embedded null characters in variables

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains a variable
with embedded null characters, null characters will be removed.

See the output of MY-DATA in the following example. The null characters are
removed.
$ cat tcBlankReplaceNull.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. "TEST-CASE".
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000050 DATA DIVISION.
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000080 77 MY-DATA PIC X(5) VALUE X"4F4E00004E".
000120 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000125 DISPLAY MY-DATA "<-".
000130 STOP RUN.
$ cob2 tcBlankReplaceNull.cbl
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, no statements flagged.
$ a.out
ONN<-

Format of floating point literals

IBM COBOL for AIX uses this format for floating point literals: [+|-] <mantissa>E
[+|-] <exponent>.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source programs containing
floating point literals that do not use an E-notation; for example, if 1500.0 is used
instead of 1.5E3, you will receive the error messages in the following example:
$ cat tcFloatingFormat.cbl
000100 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000200 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000300 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000400 DATA DIVISION.
000500

8 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

 000600 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000700 01 FLOAT1 COMP-1 VALUE 1357.9.
000800 01 FLOAT2 COMP-1 VALUE 2468.0.
000900
001000 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
001100 DISPLAY "FLOAT 1 IS " FLOAT1.
001200 DISPLAY "FLOAT 2 IS " FLOAT2.
001300 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o tcFloatingFormat tcFloatingFormat.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
7 IGYGR1080-S A "VALUE" clause literal was not compatible with the
data category of the subject data item. The "VALUE"
clause was discarded.
Same message on line: 8
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 2 2
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

You can also use scu to convert such format of floating point literals.

RECORD SEQUENTIAL file organization

IBM COBOL for AIX does not support RECORD SEQUENTIAL file organization.

If your source contains the RECORD SEQUENTIAL file organization, you will receive
the error messages in the following example.

Change RECORD SEQUENTIAL to LINE SEQUENTIAL, and then compile again. You can
also use scu to replace RECORD SEQUENTIAL with LINE SEQUENTIAL.
$cat tcRecordSequential.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000031
000032 INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
000033 FILE-CONTROL.
000034 SELECT CONTACTS
000035 ASSIGN TO "MYFILE.DAT"
000036 ORGANIZATION IS RECORD SEQUENTIAL.
000037
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050 FILE SECTION.
000051 FD CONTACTS
000052 RECORD CONTAINS 20 CHARACTERS.
000053 01 CONTACT-RECORD.
000054 05 FNAME PIC X(10).
000055 05 LNAME PIC X(10).
000073
000090 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000100 PERFORM OPEN-FILE.
000110 PERFORM INPUT-DATA.
000120 PERFORM SAVE-DATA.
000130 PERFORM CLOSE-FILE.
000140 PERFORM END-PROGRAM.
000150
000160 INPUT-DATA.
000170 DISPLAY "ENTER FIRST NAME.".
000180 ACCEPT FNAME.
000190 DISPLAY "ENTER LAST NAME.".
000200 ACCEPT LNAME.
000210

Chapter 2. Format changes 9

 000220 OPEN-FILE.
000230 OPEN OUTPUT CONTACTS.
000240
000250 SAVE-DATA.
000260 WRITE CONTACT-RECORD.
000270
000280 CLOSE-FILE.
000290 CLOSE CONTACTS.
000300
000310 END-PROGRAM.
000320 STOP RUN.
cob2 -o tcRecordSequential tcRecordSequential.cbl
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
9 IGYDS0093-S "RECORD" was found in the "ORGANIZATION" clause.
The clause was discarded.
9 IGYDS1335-S Expected a data-name in a "RECORD KEY" clause, but
found "SEQUENTIAL". The clause was discarded.
13 IGYGR1216-I A "RECORDING MODE" of "F" was assumed for file
"CONTACTS".
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 3 1 2
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

10 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

Chapter 3. IDENTIFICATION DIVISION changes
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION must be the first division in each COBOL source
program, factory definition, object definition, and method definition.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains an
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION not as the first division in a COBOL source program,
you will receive the error messages in the following example:
$ cat tcIdentificationDivision.cbl
000010 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000020 DATA DIVISION.
000030
000040 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000050 01 GREETING GLOBAL PIC X(50) VALUE "HELLO FROM IBM...".
000060 01 GOODBYE GLOBAL PIC X(50) VALUE "HAVE A NICE DAY...".
000070
000080 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000090 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000100
000110 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000120 DISPLAY GREETING.
000130 DISPLAY GOODBYE.
000140 STOP RUN.$

cob2 -o tcIdentificationDivision tcIdentificationDivision.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
1 IGYDS1101-S Expected "IDENTIFICATION DIVISION" header, but found
"ENVIRONMENT". "IDENTIFICATION DIVISION" header was assumed
before "ENVIRONMENT".
8 IGYDS1003-E A "PROGRAM-ID" paragraph was not found. Program-name
"CBLNAM01" was assumed.
39 IGYSC0136-E End of source file was encountered or an "END
PROGRAM" marker for a containing program was found,
but an "END PROGRAM" marker for program "TEST-CASE"
was not found. "END PROGRAM TEST-CASE" was assumed.
39 IGYSC0136-E End of source file was encountered or an "END
PROGRAM" marker for a containing program was found,
but an "END PROGRAM" marker for program "CBLNAM01"
was not found. "END PROGRAM CBLNAM01" was assumed.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe
Terminating
Printed: 4 3 1
End of compilation 1, program CBLNAM01, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

According to Standard COBOL 2002, section E4.1.1, Source level organization, a

source unit is a set of COBOL statements as specified in this document and
consists of an IDENTIFICATION DIVISION followed optionally by any of the
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION, DATA DIVISION, or PROCEDURE DIVISION, or a combination of
those divisions.

Change your COBOL source to follow Standard COBOL 2002:

$ cat sol-tcIdentificationDivision.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 11

 000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070 01 GREETING GLOBAL PIC X(50) VALUE "HELLO FROM IBM...".
000080 01 GOODBYE GLOBAL PIC X(50) VALUE "HAVE A NICE DAY...".
000090
000100 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000110 DISPLAY GREETING.
000120 DISPLAY GOODBYE.
000130 STOP RUN.

12 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

Chapter 4. Hyphens in an ASSIGN statement
If a hyphen exists in the environment variable or data name specified in an ASSIGN
statement, the value of the environment variable or the data name is processed as
described in this topic.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains a hyphen
in the ASSIGN statement, you will receive the error message in the following
example:
$ cat tcHyphenAssign.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. "TEST-CASE".
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000050 INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
000060 FILE-CONTROL.
000070 SELECT DATA-INFO
ASSIGN TO "SYS-FILENAME"
ORGANIZATION IS LINE SEQUENTIAL.
000080 DATA DIVISION.
000090 FILE SECTION.
000100 FD DATA-INFO.
000110 01 INFO-1 PIC N(132).
000120 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000130 STOP RUN.
$ cob2 -o tcHyphenAssign tcHyphenAssign.cbl
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
12 IGYGR1387-S File system id SYS was specified for a file with
"ORGANIZATION LINE SEQUENTIAL". The file system id was changed
to NAT.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 1 1
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12$

As described in the COBOL for AIX Language Reference, the format of the ASSIGN
clause is '<file-system-ID>-<system-file name>'. If a hyphen exists in the environment
variable or the data name value, the first 3 characters to the left of the leftmost
hyphen are treated as the file system identifier. The character string to the right of
the leftmost hyphen is then used as the system file name, possibly including drive
and path names.

In the previous example, the compiler takes the first 3 characters to the left of the
leftmost hyphen; in this case, SYS is treated as the file system identifier. The
character string to the right of the leftmost hyphen is then used as the system file
name, in this case, FILENAME, is used as the system file name.

If no hyphen exists, or the character string to the left of the leftmost hyphen has
fewer than 3 characters, the entire character string is used as the system file name,
possibly including drive and path names.

Specifying S-FILENAME in the ASSIGN clause works instead because the number of
characters before the hyphen is fewer than 3 characters. Alternatively, you can
specify SYSFILENAME in the ASSIGN clause.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 13

 $ cat sol-tcHyphenAssign.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. "TEST-CASE".
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000050 INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
000060 FILE-CONTROL.
000070 SELECT DATA-INFO
ASSIGN TO "SYSFILENAME"
ORGANIZATION IS LINE SEQUENTIAL.
000080 DATA DIVISION.
000090 FILE SECTION.
000100 FD DATA-INFO.
000110 01 INFO-1 PIC N(132).
000120 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000130 STOP RUN.

IBM COBOL for AIX also handles LINE SEQUENTIAL by using the native (NAT) file
system identifier. The same behavior results if you specified STL-FILENAME.

14 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

Chapter 5. DATA DIVISION changes
To run your source programs on IBM COBOL for AIX, make the required DATA
DIVISION changes to your source programs.

OCCURS clauses in level 01

According to Standard COBOL 2002, you must follow the syntax rules for the
OCCURS clause.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains an OCCURS
clause in level 01, you will receive the error messages in the following example:
$ cat tcOccursClause.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000061
000062
000063 01 EMPLOYEES OCCURS 100 TIMES.
000064 05 FNAME PIC X(10).
000065 05 LNAME PIC X(10).
000066 05 SALARY PIC 9(5).
000067000068 77 COUNTER PIC 9.
000070
000071 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000072 MOVE "DAVID" TO FNAME(1).
000073 MOVE "SMITH" TO LNAME(1).
000074 MOVE "60000" TO SALARY(1).
000075 MOVE "JENNY" TO FNAME(2).
000076 MOVE "HU" TO LNAME(2).
000077 MOVE "55000" TO SALARY(2).
000078
000080 DISPLAY-RESULT.
000081 PERFORM VARYING COUNTER FROM 1 BY 1 UNTIL COUNTER > 2
000082 DISPLAY "EMPLOYEE: " FNAME IN EMPLOYEES(COUNTER)" "
000083 LNAME IN EMPLOYEES(COUNTER)" "
000084 "Salary: " SALARY IN EMPLOYEES(COUNTER)
000085 END-PERFORM.
000086 STOP-PROGRAM.
000090 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o tcOccursClause tcOccursClause.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
9 IGYDS1063-E An "OCCURS" clause was found in the definition of a
level-1 item. The "OCCURS" clause was discarded.
17 IGYPS2120-S Expected a reference-modification specification but
found ")". The "MOVE" statement was discarded. Same
message on line: 18 19 20 21 22
26 IGYPS2120-S Expected a reference-modification specification but
found ")". The "DISPLAY" statement was discarded.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 8 1 7
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 15

 According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 13.16.36.2, Syntax rules for the OCCURS
clause, the OCCURS clause cannot be specified in a data description entry that has
any of the following items:
v A level-number of 01, 66, 77, or 88
v A variable-occurrence data item subordinate to it

Change your COBOL source to follow Standard COBOL 2002. For example, if you
change the code in the previous example by using the definition of EMPLOYEES
that is moved from level 01 to level 03, it compiles without messages.
$ cat sol-tcOccursClause.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000061
000062 01.
000063 03 EMPLOYEES OCCURS 100 TIMES.
000065 05 FNAME PIC X(10).
000066 05 LNAME PIC X(10).
000067 05 SALARY PIC 9(5).
000068
000069 77 COUNTER PIC 9.000070
000071 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000072 MOVE "DAVID" TO FNAME(1).
000073 MOVE "SMITH" TO LNAME(1).
000074 MOVE "60000" TO SALARY(1).
000075 MOVE "JENNY" TO FNAME(2).
000076 MOVE "HU" TO LNAME(2).
000077 MOVE "55000" TO SALARY(2).
000078
000080 DISPLAY-RESULT.
000082 PERFORM VARYING COUNTER FROM 1 BY 1 UNTIL COUNTER > 2
000084 DISPLAY "EMPLOYEE: " FNAME IN EMPLOYEE(COUNTER) " "
000085 LNAME IN EMPLOYEE(COUNTER) " "
000085 "Salary: " SALARY IN EMPLOYEE(COUNTER)
000086 END-PERFORM.
000087 STOP-PROGRAM.
000120 STOP RUN.

COMP-X
IBM COBOL for AIX does not support COMP-X.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains COMP-X,
you will receive the error message in the following example:
$ cat tcCompX.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070 01 STU-ID PIC S9(4) COMP-X VALUE ZERO.

$ cob2 -o tcCompX tcCompX.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
7 IGYDS1089-S "COMP-X" was invalid. Scanning was resumed at the
next area "A" item, level-number, or the start of
the next clause.

16 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

 Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 1 1
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

Change COMP-X to COMP-5, and make corresponding changes to the PICTURE clause.
You must keep the same allocated storage for the data item.

The following table shows the COMP-5 storage allocation:

Table 1. COMP-5 storage allocation
Picture Storage representation
S9(1) through S9(4) Binary halfword (2 bytes)
S9(5) through S9(9) Binary fullword (4 bytes)
S9(10) through S9(18) Binary doubleword (8 bytes)
9(1) through 9(4) Binary halfword (2 bytes)
9(5) through 9(9) Binary fullword (4 bytes)
9(10) through 9(18) Binary doubleword (8 bytes)

Runtime errors because of uninitialized variables being converted to a

display type
You will receive runtime error messages if you move variable from one area of
storage to another area where the variable being moved has not been initialized or
it does not contain valid data.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains an
uninitialized variable, you will receive the error messages in the following
example:
$cat tcConvert2DisplayType.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. "TEST-CASE".
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000050 DATA DIVISION.
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070 01 EMP-INFO.
000080 05 EMP-ID PIC S9(5) sign is trailing separate.
000090 01 EMP-ID2 PIC S9(4).
000100 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000120 MOVE EMP-ID OF EMP-INFO TO EMP-ID2.
000130 STOP RUN.
$ cob2 -o tcConvert2DisplayType tcConvert2DisplayType.cbl
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, no statements flagged.
$ tcConvert2DisplayType
IWZ040S An invalid separate sign was detected.
Message routine called from offset 0x48 of routine
iwzWriteERRmsg. iwzWriteERRmsg called from offset
0xb4 of routine _iwzcBCD_CONV_ZndTS_To_ZndTO.
_iwzcBCD_CONV_ZndTS_To_ZndTO called from offset
0x130 of routine TEST-CASE.
IWZ901S Program exits due to severe or critical error.
IOT/Abort trap(coredump)

Initialize EMP-ID of EMP-INFO to 0:

Chapter 5. DATA DIVISION changes 17

 $ cat sol-tcConvert2DisplayType.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. "TEST-CASE".
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000050 DATA DIVISION.
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070 01 EMP-INFO.
000080 05 EMP-ID PIC S9(5) SIGN IS TRAILING SEPARATE
VALUE ZERO.
000090 01 EMP-ID2 PIC S9(4).
000100 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000120 MOVE EMP-ID OF EMP-INFO TO EMP-ID2.
000130 STOP RUN.

In addition to initializing EMP-ID to 0, you can compile by using -qwsclear, which

clears a program’s WORKING-STORAGE to binary zeros when the program is
initialized. The storage is cleared before any VALUE clauses are applied. However,
this approach is not preferred because of performance considerations.

Redefined data items and OCCURS clauses

IBM COBOL for AIX does not support a redefined data item or an OCCURS clause
for the same data item.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains a
redefined object and the OCCURS clause, you will receive the error messages in the
following example:
$ cat tcRedefineOccurs.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040
000050 DATA DIVISION.
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070
000080 01 EMPLOYEE-INFO.
000090 03 EMPLOYEE OCCURS 50 TIMES.
000100 05 NAME PIC X(10).
000110 05 AGE PIC 9(3).
000120 03 NEW-EMPLOYEE REDEFINES EMPLOYEE.
000130 05 FNAME PIC X(10).
000130 05 LNAME PIC X(20).
000140 05 AGE PIC 9(3).
000150
000160 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000170 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o tcRedefineOccurs tcRedefineOccurs.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
12 IGYDS1152-S A definition of an object of a "REDEFINES" clause
contained an "OCCURS" clause. The "REDEFINES" clause
was discarded.
13 IGYDS1073-I "NEW-EMPLOYEE" redefined a larger item.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 2 2
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 13.16.42.2, Syntax rules, the data item
being redefined cannot contain an OCCURS clause.

18 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

 Change your COBOL source to followStandard COBOL 2002. For example, if you
change the code in the previous example by adding a group item and
renumbering, it compiles without messages.
$ cat tcRedefineOccurs.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040
000050 DATA DIVISION.
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070
000080 01 EMPLOYEE-INFO.
000081 02 EMPLOYEE-GROUP-1.
000090 03 EMPLOYEE OCCURS 50 TIMES.
000100 05 NAME PIC X(30).
000110 05 AGE PIC 9(3).
000115 02 EMPLOYEE-GROUP-2 REDEFINES EMPLOYEE-GROUP-1.
000116 03 EMPLOYEE OCCURS 50 TIMES.
000117 05 FNAME PIC X(10).
000118 05 LNAME PIC X(20).
000119 05 AGE PIC 9(3).
000150
000160 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000170 STOP RUN.

Modifying boolean PICTURE character strings and boolean literals

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains a boolean
PICTURE character string and a boolean literal, you will receive error messages.

See the following example:

000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000061
000062 01 IND-AREA.
000063 05 MESSAGES OCCURS 99 TIMES PIC 1 INDICATOR1.
000064 88 MESSAGE-OFF VALUE B’0’.
000065 88 MESSAGE-ON VALUE B’1’.
000066 01 MESSAGE-SET.
000067 05 MESSAGE-1 PIC 9(2) VALUE 01.
000070
000071 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000072 SET MESSAGE-OFF(MESSAGE-1) TO TRUE.
000074
000075 IF MESSAGE-ON(MESSAGE-1)
000076 DISPLAY "IT’S TRUE"
000077 ELSE
000078 DISPLAY "IT’S FALSE"
000079 END-IF.
000080 STOP-PROGRAM.
000081 STOP RUN.

> cob2 tcBooleanLiteral.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
9 IGYDS1149-S "1" was not a valid combination of "PICTURE" string
characters. A "PICTURE" string of "S9(1)" was assumed.
9 IGYDS1089-S "INDICATOR1" was invalid. Scanning was resumed at
the next area "A" item, level-number, or the start of
the next clause.

Chapter 5. DATA DIVISION changes 19

 10 IGYDS0001-W A blank was missing before character "’" in column 47.
A blank was assumed. Same message on line: 11
10 IGYGR0145-S "B" was not defined as a "SYMBOLIC CHARACTERS" figurative
constant. "B" was discarded. Same message on line: 11
10 IGYGR1239-S Level-88 "VALUE" literal "B" was not compatible with
the data category of the conditional variable. The
literal was discarded. Same message on line: 11
10 IGYGR1239-S Level-88 "VALUE" literal "’0’" was not compatible
with the data category of the conditional variable.
The literal was discarded.
11 IGYGR1239-S Level-88 "VALUE" literal "’1’" was not compatible with
the data category of the conditional variable. The
literal was discarded.
16 IGYPS2061-S An error was found in the definition of condition-name
"MESSAGE-OFF". The reference to this condition-name was
discarded.
16 IGYPS2120-S Expected a reference-modification specification but
found ")". The "SET" statement was discarded.
18 IGYPS2061-S An error was found in the definition of condition-name
"MESSAGE-ON". The reference to this condition-name was
discarded.
18 IGYPS2120-S Expected a reference-modification specification but
found ")". The "IF" statement was discarded.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 14 2 12
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

Change the PICTURE character-string symbol to X and use hexadecimal notation for
alphanumeric literals for the values of X.
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000061
000062 01 IND-AREA.
000063 05 MESSAGES OCCURS 99 TIMES PIC X.
000064 88 MESSAGE-OFF VALUE X’00’.
000065 88 MESSAGE-ON VALUE X’01’ THROUGH X’FF’.
000066 01 MESSAGE-SET.
000067 05 MESSAGE-1 PIC 9(2) VALUE 01.
000070
000071 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000072 SET MESSAGE-OFF(MESSAGE-1) TO TRUE.
000074
000075 IF MESSAGE-ON(MESSAGE-1)
000076 DISPLAY "IT’S TRUE"
000077 ELSE
000078 DISPLAY "IT’S FALSE"
000079 END-IF.
000080 STOP-PROGRAM.
000081 STOP RUN.

> cob2 sol-tcBooleanLiteral.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, no statements flagged.
> a.out
IT’S FALSE

20 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

Chapter 6. PROCEDURE DIVISION changes
To run your source programs on IBM COBOL for AIX, make the required
PROCEDURE DIVISION changes to your source programs.

Moving national data items to alphanumeric data items

You cannot move a national data item to an alphanumeric data item.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains a MOVE
statement from a national data item to an alphanumeric data item, you will receive
the error message in the following example:
$ cat tcNational2Alphanumeric.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. ND2AD.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000050
000060 DATA DIVISION.
000070 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000080
000090 01 DataNational PIC N(100).
000100
000110 01 DataAlphanumeric PIC X(100).
000120
000130 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000140 MOVE DataNational TO DataAlphanumeric.
000150 STOP-MY-PROGRAM.
000160 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o tcNational2Alphanumeric tcNational2Alphanumeric.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
14 IGYPA3005-S "DATANATIONAL (NATIONAL ITEM)" and
"DATAALPHANUMERIC (ALPHANUMERIC)" did
not follow the "MOVE" statement compatibility
rules. The statement was discarded.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 1 1
End of compilation 1, program ND2AD, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 14.8.24.2, Syntax rules for the MOVE
statement, you cannot move a national data item to an alphanumeric data item.

Change your COBOL source to follow Standard COBOL 2002.

Undefined symbol errors for C functions being called

Use the PGMNAME compiler option to control how the compiler handles
program-names.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains a call to a
C function in mixed or lowercase characters, you will receive the error messages in
the following example:

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 21

 $ cat cTest.c
void CFunction(){
printf("HELLO FROM C...\n");
}
$ cat tcCallCFunction.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000050 DATA DIVISION.
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070
000080 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000090 CALL "CFunction"
000100 DISPLAY "HELLO FROM COBOL...".
000110 STOP RUN.
$ xlc -c cTest.c
$ cob2 -o tcCallCFunction tcCallCFunction.cbl cTest.o
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, no statements flagged.
ld: 0711-317 ERROR: Undefined symbol: .CFUNCTION
ld: 0711-345 Use the -bloadmap or -bnoquiet option to obtain more
information.

IBM COBOL for AIX folds program-names to uppercase. If you have COBOL
source that contains a call to a C function in mixed or lowercase characters, this
function is folded to uppercase characters. The linker will not find the program,
and an error message is displayed to indicate an unresolved symbol.

You can use the PGMNAME compiler option to control how the compiler handles
program-names. The default is PGMNAME(UPPER), but you can use PGMNAME(MIXED) to
process the program-name as is, without truncation, translation, or folding to
uppercase. When you specify PGMNAME(MIXED), use the literal format of the
program-name; that is, make the program-name a literal string such as
“programname”, or you will see the following message:
IGYDS1046-E A user-defined word was found as a "PROGRAM-ID" name under
the "PGMNAME(LONGMIXED)" compiler option.

For an example about a COBOL program that calls C functions, see Example:
COBOL program calling C functions in the COBOL for AIX Programming Guide.
$ cat sol-tcCallCFunction.cbl
000010 CBL PGMNAME(LONGMIXED)
000020 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000030 PROGRAM-ID. "TEST-CASE".
000040 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000050 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
000060 DATA DIVISION.
000070 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000080
000090 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000100 CALL "CFunction"
000110 DISPLAY "HELLO FROM COBOL...".
000120 STOP RUN.
$ cob2 -o sol-tcCallCFunction sol-tcCallCFunction.cbl cTest.o
PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, no statements flagged.
$ sol-tcCallCFunction
HELLO FROM C...
HELLO FROM COBOL...

22 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

COBOL programs containing an ACCEPT statement
In IBM COBOL for AIX, the ACCEPT statement assigns an input line to the data
item.
v If the input line is shorter than the data item, the data item is padded with
spaces of the appropriate representation.
v If the input line is longer than the data item:
– When a program reads from a screen, the remaining characters are discarded.
– When a program reads from a file, the remaining characters are retained as
the next input line for the file.

If the input data is longer than the receiving area, then IBM COBOL for AIX pads
the area with spaces of the appropriate representation for the receiving area.

According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 14.8.1.3, General rules for the ACCEPT
statement, the implementer must define the size of a data transfer for each
hardware device.

BINARY formatted data in an ACCEPT statement

According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 14.8.1.3, General, the ACCEPT statement
causes the transfer of data from the hardware device. This data replaces the
content of the data item referenced by identifier-1. Any conversion of data that is
required between the hardware device and the data item referenced by
identifier-1 is defined by the implementer. The IBM COBOL for AIX
implementation allows only displayable data (display, national, numeric,
alphanumeric) which precludes binary formatted data.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains BINARY
formatted data in an ACCEPT statement, you will receive the error message in the
following example:
$ cat tcAcceptBinary.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070 01 EMPLOYEE-ID PIC S9(4) COMP-5 VALUE ZERO.
000080
000090 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000100 MY-PROGRAM.
000110 DISPLAY "PLEASE INSERT EMPLOYEE’S ID NUMBER..".
000120 ACCEPT EMPLOYEE-ID.
000130
000140 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 tcAcceptBinary tcAcceptBinary.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
12 IGYPA3018-S Identifier "EMPLOYEE-ID (BINARY INTEGER)" was used
in an "ACCEPT" statement. The statement was discarded.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 1 1
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

Change the data type from COMP-5 to DISPLAY, and make further changes to the
input source as well.

Chapter 6. PROCEDURE DIVISION changes 23

 $ cat sol-tcAcceptBinary.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070 01 EMP-ID PIC 9(4) VALUE ZEROES.
000080 01 EMPLOYEE-ID PIC S9(4) COMP-5 VALUE ZERO.
000090
000100 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000110 MY-PROGRAM.
000120 DISPLAY "PLEASE INSERT EMPLOYEE’S ID NUMBER..".
000130 ACCEPT EMP-ID.
000140 MOVE EMP-ID TO EMPLOYEE-ID.
000150 STOP RUN.

NULL parameters in CALL statements

IBM COBOL for AIX does not support NULL parameters in a CALL statement.

When you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that contains NULL
parameters in a CALL statement, you will receive the error message in the following
example:
$ cat tcCallNull.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070
000080 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000090 CALL "TEST-CASE2" USING NULL.
000100 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o tcCallNull tcCallNull.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
LineID Message code Message text
9 IGYPS2106-S "NULL" was found in the "CALL" statement. It was not
allowed in this context. The statement was discarded.
Messages Total Informational Warning Error Severe Terminating
Printed: 1 1
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, highest severity: Severe.
Return code 12

According to Standard COBOL 2002, section 14.4.8.2, syntax rules do not identify
NULL as a valid parameter for the CALL statement.
$ cat sol-tcCallNull.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040 DATA DIVISION.
000050
000060 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000070 01 NULLPTR USAGE POINTER VALUE NULL.
000080
000110 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000140 CALL "TEST-CASE2" USING VARIABLE.
000150 STOP RUN.

24 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

Chapter 7. Output for positive numbers
IBM COBOL for AIX output does not contain a plus sign (+) for positive numbers.

For example, when you use IBM COBOL for AIX to compile source code that
contains a positive number, the output does not display the plus sign (+):
$ cat tcPlusSign.cbl
000010 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000020 PROGRAM-ID. TEST-CASE.
000030 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
000040
000050 INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
000060
000070 DATA DIVISION.
000080 WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
000090 01 POSITIVE-NUM PIC S9(4) COMP-5 VALUE ZERO.
000100 01 NEGATIVE-NUM PIC S9(4) COMP-5 VALUE ZERO.
000110
000120 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000130 COMPUTE POSITIVE-NUM = 10 - 3.
000140 COMPUTE NEGATIVE-NUM = 3 - 10.
000150 DISPLAY "10 - 3 = " POSITIVE-NUM.
000160 DISPLAY "3 - 10 = " NEGATIVE-NUM.
000170 STOP RUN.

$ cob2 -o cat tcPlusSign tcPlusSign.cbl

PP 5724-Z87 IBM COBOL for AIX 5.1.0 in progress ...
End of compilation 1, program TEST-CASE, no statements flagged.

$ tcPlusSign
10 - 3 = 00007
3 - 10 = -00007

Note: This rule does not apply to numeric-edited items. If you use an editing sign
control symbol in a variable declared with USAGE DISPLAY or NATIONAL, such as the
plus sign (+) in the following example:
000090 01 POSITIVE-NUM PIC +9(4).
000100 01 NEGATIVE-NUM PIC +9(4).

The output is as follows:

10 - 3 = +0007
3 - 10 = -0007

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 25

26 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX
Notices
Programming interfaces: Intended programming interfaces allow the customer to
write programs to obtain the services of IBM COBOL for AIX.

This information was developed for products and services offered in the U.S.A.

IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in
other countries. Consult your local IBM representative for information on the
products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to an IBM
product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBM
product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product,
program, or service that does not infringe any IBM intellectual property right may
be used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to evaluate and verify the
operation of any non-IBM product, program, or service.

IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter
described in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you
any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to:

IBM Director of Licensing

IBM Corporation
North Castle Drive, MD-NC119
Armonk, NY 10504-1785
U.S.A.

For license inquiries regarding double-byte (DBCS) information, contact the IBM
Intellectual Property Department in your country or send inquiries, in writing, to:

Intellectual Property Licensing

Legal and Intellectual Property Law
IBM Japan, Ltd.
19-21, Nihonbashi-Hakozakicho, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 103-8510, Japan

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PUBLICATION "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
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This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.

Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be
incorporated in new editions of the publication. IBM may make improvements
and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this
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Any references in this information to non-IBM websites are provided for

convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015 27

 websites. The materials at those websites are not part of the materials for this IBM
product and use of those websites is at your own risk.

IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it
believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you.

Licensees of this program who want to have information about it for the purpose
of enabling: (i) the exchange of information between independently created
programs and other programs (including this one) and (ii) the mutual use of the
information which has been exchanged, should contact:

Intellectual Property Dept. for Rational Software

IBM Corporation
5 Technology Park Drive
Westford, MA 01886
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Such information may be available, subject to appropriate terms and conditions,

including in some cases, payment of a fee.

The licensed program described in this document and all licensed material
available for it are provided by IBM under terms of the IBM Customer Agreement,
IBM International Program License Agreement or any equivalent agreement
between us.

Any performance data contained herein was determined in a controlled

environment. Therefore, the results obtained in other operating environments may
vary significantly. Some measurements may have been made on development-level
systems and there is no guarantee that these measurements will be the same on
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should verify the applicable data for their specific environment.

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IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm the accuracy of
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Questions on the capabilities of non-IBM products should be addressed to the
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This information contains examples of data and reports used in daily business
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COPYRIGHT LICENSE:

This information contains sample application programs in source language, which

illustrates programming techniques on various operating platforms. You may copy,
modify, and distribute these sample programs in any form without payment to
IBM, for the purposes of developing, using, marketing or distributing application
programs conforming to the application programming interface for the operating

28 Migrating to IBM COBOL for AIX

 platform for which the sample programs are written. These examples have not
been thoroughly tested under all conditions. IBM, therefore, cannot guarantee or
imply reliability, serviceability, or function of these programs. The sample
programs are provided “AS IS”, without warranty of any kind. IBM shall not be
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Each copy or any portion of these sample programs or any derivative work, must
include a copyright notice as follows:

© (your company name) (year). Portions of this code are derived from IBM Corp.
Sample Programs. © Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2015.

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IBM's Online Privacy Statement at http://www.ibm.com/privacy/details in the
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Notices 29
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