Compaq COBOL
User Manual

Contents (summary)
Preface	Preface
Chapter 1	Developing Compaq COBOL Programs
Chapter 2	Handling Numeric Data
Chapter 3	Handling Nonnumeric Data
Chapter 4	Handling Tables
Chapter 5	Using the STRING, UNSTRING, and INSPECT Statements
Chapter 6	Processing Files and Records
Chapter 7	Handling Input/Output Exception Conditions
Chapter 8	Sharing Files and Locking Records
Chapter 9	Using the SORT and MERGE Statements
Chapter 10	Producing Printed Reports
Chapter 11	Using ACCEPT and DISPLAY Statements for Input/Output and Video Forms
Chapter 12	Interprogram Communication
Chapter 13	Using Compaq COBOL in the Alpha or VAX Common Language Environment
Chapter 14	Using the REFORMAT Utility
Chapter 15	Optimizing Your Compaq COBOL Program
Chapter 16	Managing Memory and Data Access
Appendix A	Compiler Implementation Specifications
Appendix B	Compaq COBOL on Three Platforms: Compatibility and Migration
Appendix C	Programming Productivity Tools
Appendix D	Porting to Compaq COBOL from Other Compilers (Alpha)
	Index
	Figures
	Examples
	Tables

Contents

Preface

Preface Preface

Chapter 1

1 Developing Compaq COBOL Programs

     1.1     Developing Programs on Tru64 UNIX

         1.1.1         Creating a Compaq COBOL Program on Tru64 UNIX

         1.1.2         Compiling a Compaq COBOL Program on Tru64 UNIX

             1.1.2.1             Format of the COBOL Command on Tru64 UNIX

             1.1.2.2             COBOL Command Flags

             1.1.2.3             External File Handler Support

             1.1.2.4             Specifying Multiple Files and Flags

             1.1.2.5             Compiling Multiple Files

             1.1.2.6             Debugging a Program

             1.1.2.7             Output Files: Object, Executable, Listing, and Temporary Files

             1.1.2.8             Naming Output Files

             1.1.2.9             Temporary Files

             1.1.2.10             Examples of the COBOL Command

             1.1.2.11             Other Compilers

             1.1.2.12             Interpreting Messages from the Compiler

         1.1.3         Linking a Compaq COBOL Program on Tru64 UNIX

             1.1.3.1             Specifying Object Libraries for Linking

             1.1.3.2             Specifying Additional Object Libraries

             1.1.3.3             Specifying Types of Object Libraries

             1.1.3.4             Creating Shared Object Libraries

             1.1.3.5             Shared Library Restrictions

             1.1.3.6             Installing Shared Libraries

             1.1.3.7             Interpreting Messages from the Linker

         1.1.4         Running a Compaq COBOL Program on Tru64 UNIX

             1.1.4.1             Accessing Command-Line Arguments

             1.1.4.2             Accessing Environment Variables

             1.1.4.3             Errors and Switches

         1.1.5         Program Development Stages and Tools

     1.2     Developing Programs on OpenVMS

         1.2.1         Creating a Compaq COBOL Program on OpenVMS

         1.2.2         Compiling a Compaq COBOL Program on OpenVMS

             1.2.2.1             Format of the COBOL Command on OpenVMS

             1.2.2.2             Compiling Multiple Files

             1.2.2.3             Debugging a Program

             1.2.2.4             Separately Compiled Programs (Alpha)

             1.2.2.5             COBOL Qualifiers

             1.2.2.6             Common Command-Line Errors to Avoid

             1.2.2.7             Compiling Programs with Conditional Compilation

             1.2.2.8             Interpreting Messages from the Compiler

             1.2.2.9             Using Compiler Listing Files

         1.2.3         Linking a Compaq COBOL Program

             1.2.3.1             The LINK Command

             1.2.3.2             LINK Qualifiers

             1.2.3.3             Specifying Modules Other than Compaq COBOL Modules

             1.2.3.4             Specifying Object Module Libraries

             1.2.3.5             Creating Shareable Images

             1.2.3.6             Interpreting Messages from the Linker

         1.2.4         Running a Compaq COBOL Program

             1.2.4.1             Accessing Command-Line Arguments at Run Time (Alpha)

             1.2.4.2             Accessing System Logicals at Run Time (Alpha)

             1.2.4.3             Accessing Input and Output Devices at Run Time

             1.2.4.4             Debugging Environment

             1.2.4.5             Interpreting Run-Time Messages

     1.3     Compaq COBOL and Alpha Architecture System Resources

         1.3.1         Compilation Performance

         1.3.2         Tuning OpenVMS Alpha for Large Compaq COBOL Compiles

             1.3.2.1             Optimizing Virtual Memory Usage

             1.3.2.2             Optimizing Physical Memory Usage

             1.3.2.3             Improving Compile Performance with Separate Compilation (OpenVMS Alpha)

         1.3.3         Choosing a Reference Format

             1.3.3.1             Terminal Reference Format

             1.3.3.2             Converting Between Reference Formats

     1.4     Program Run Messages

         1.4.1         Data Errors

         1.4.2         Program Logic Errors

         1.4.3         Run-Time Input/Output Errors

         1.4.4         I/O Errors and RMS (OpenVMS)

     1.5     Using Program Switches

         1.5.1         Setting and Controlling Switches Internally

         1.5.2         Setting and Controlling Switches Externally

     1.6     Special Information for Year 2000 Programming