HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

HP COBOL
Reference Manual

Function

data-name specifies a data item that your program can explicitly reference. FILLER specifies an item that cannot be explicitly referenced.

data-name

Syntax Rules

1. In the File, Working-Storage, and Linkage Sections, data-name or the key word FILLER (if present) must be the first word after the level-number in each data description entry.
2. In the Report Section, data-name need not appear in a report group description entry and the key word FILLER must not be used.

General Rules

1. If there is no data-name or FILLER clause, the compiler treats the data item as a FILLER item.
2. The key word FILLER can name a data item. However, a program cannot explicitly refer to FILLER items.
3. The key word FILLER can name a conditional variable. A program cannot refer to the conditional variable. However, it can refer to the value of the conditional variable by referring to its associated condition-names.
4. In the Report Section, data-name must be used when:
   1. data-name represents a report group to be referred to by a GENERATE or a USE statement in the Procedure Division.
   2. Reference will be made to the sum counter in the Procedure Division or Report Section.
   3. The UPON phrase of the SUM clause references a DETAIL report group.
   4. data-name provides sum counter qualification.
5. If this clause is omitted, the Report Writer Control System does not allow explicit references to the data item.

Examples

1. Elementary FILLER items:
   In this example, the program can refer only to the group item, ITEMA.

   01 ITEMA. 03 FILLER PIC X(10) VALUE SPACES. 03 PIC X(2) VALUE "AB". 03 PIC 9 VALUE 6.

2. Group FILLER items:
   In this example, the program can refer to any elementary item. However, it cannot refer to the record or to the group item that contains ITEMC and ITEMD.

   01 FILLER. 03 ITEMA PIC X(4). 03 ITEMB PIC 9(7). 03 FILLER. 05 ITEMC PIC X. 05 ITEMD PIC 9(8)V99. 03 ITEME PIC X.

3. Report Writer items:
   In this Report Writer example, the program can refer to DL-NAME and DETAIL-LINE, but not to the data beginning in LINE 10, COLUMN 25. Note that FILLER cannot be used in place of a Report Writer data-name.

   01 DETAIL-LINE TYPE IS DETAIL. 02 LINE 10. 03 DL-NAME COLUMN 1 SOURCE INPUT-NAME. 03 COLUMN 25 SOURCE INPUT-ADDRESS.

Function

The DATA RECORDS clause documents the names of a file's record description entries.

rec-name

is the name of a data record. It must be defined by a level 01 data description entry subordinate to the file description entry.

Syntax Rule

The order of appearance of multiple rec-name entries is not significant.

General Rule

The DATA RECORDS clause is for documentation only.

5.3.20 ERASE (Alpha, I64)

Function

The ERASE clause clears from the starting cursor position to the end of either the line or the screen.

Syntax Rule

The ERASE clause can be specified only for elementary screen description entries.

General Rules

1. Blanking begins at the starting position of the screen item in whose description the ERASE EOL clause is included, and continues to the end of the line.
2. Blanking begins at the starting position of the screen item in whose description the ERASE EOS clause is included, and continues through to the end of the screen.
3. If you specify neither the BLANK nor the ERASE clause, only the particular character positions corresponding to the screen item are modified when the element is displayed. The rest of the screen content remains the same.
4. The ERASE clause is ignored in an ACCEPT statement.

Additional References

Section 6.8.10 statement in Chapter 6

5.3.21 EXTERNAL

Function

The EXTERNAL clause specifies that a data item or a file connector in a defining program is common to other programs in the run unit if the program defines it identically. The group and elementary data items of an external data record and files associated with an external file connector are available to every program in the image that describes them.

Syntax Rules

1. The EXTERNAL clause can appear only in file description entries or in record description entries in the Working-Storage Section.
2. In a record description entry, only level numbers 01 and 77 can specify the EXTERNAL clause.
3. A program and any program it contains, cannot define identical data-names if their data description entries or file description entries have EXTERNAL clauses.
4. The VALUE clause or the REDEFINES clause cannot be in a data description entry that contains or is subordinate to, an entry that contains the EXTERNAL clause.
5. When using the SAME RECORD AREA clause for several files, the Record Description entries or the file description entries for these files must not include the EXTERNAL clause.
6. Entries that contain the EXTERNAL clause must be named.

General Rules

1. Data in a record either subordinate to an external FD, or named by the subject of the EXTERNAL clause, is external. Any program in the image that describes and optionally redefines this data may access and process this data subject to the following general rules.
2. If two or more programs in the image describe the same external data record, the associated data description entries (except the GLOBAL clause) must be identical. All subordinate data-names, data items, and redefinitions must also be identical.
3. A program that describes an external data record can contain a Data Description entry that redefines the complete external record. This redefinition need not be the same in other programs in the image.
4. Use of the EXTERNAL clause does not imply that the associated file-name or data-name is a global name.
5. The file connector associated with a file description entry is an external file connector.
6. If two or more programs in an image describe the same external file connector, the clauses associated with the description of that file must be functionally identical and any data items referenced by those clauses must be external.

Technical Notes

• Each external sequential file becomes a print format file.
• Each external data record becomes a PSECT (on OpenVMS systems) or a global (on Tru64 UNIX systems), whose name is the 01-level record.
  Each file connector for external files becomes a PSECT (on OpenVMS systems) or a global (on Tru64 UNIX systems), whose name is the name of the file. The records associated with this file become external data records.
  External record items and files are implemented as overlayable shared PSECTs (on OpenVMS systems) or globals (on Tru64 UNIX systems). Therefore, the same storage area is shared among all separately compiled programs for that named external record or file. The PSECT or global is created for compatibility with BASIC COMMON/MAP and FORTRAN labeled COMMON.
  On OpenVMS, for more information on overlayable PSECTs, refer to the LINK documentation in the OpenVMS documentation set. <>
  On Tru64 UNIX, for more information on globals, refer to the ld documentation in the Tru64 UNIX documentation set. <>
• On Tru64 UNIX systems, an external data item is case-sensitive. By default, an external data item is converted to lowercase for all separately compiled program units. Other programs (HP COBOL as well as other languages) must specify the data item in lowercase.
  However, if the names option is set to uppercase on the command line, other programs must specify the data item in uppercase. If the names option is set to as_is , the effect on an external data item is as if uppercase were specified. (The as_is setting is used for calling non-COBOL programs with mixed case.) <>

Additional References

• Section 5.3.25 clause
• Section 5.3.40 clause

Examples

In the following Working-Storage entries, the data items in RECORD-A are available to any program in the run unit that also describes RECORD-A and its data items. RECORD-B and the data items in it are not available to any other program.

01 RECORD-A EXTERNAL.
    03  ITEMA  PIC X.
    03  ITEMB  PIC X(22).
    03  ITEMC  PIC 999.
01 RECORD-B.
    03  ITEMA  PIC X(12).
    03  ITEMD  PIC X.
    03  ITEME  PIC 9(18).