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HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation |
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HP COBOL
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A character-string is a character or a sequence of
contiguous characters that form a COBOL word, a literal, a
PICTURE character-string, or a comment-entry. Separators delimit
character-strings. The following sections describe these topics in
detail.
1.2.1 COBOL Words
A COBOL word is a character-string of not more than 31 characters that forms one of the following:
A user-defined word or system-name cannot be a reserved word. However,
a program can use the same COBOL word as both a user-defined
word and a system-name. The compiler determines the word's class from
its context.
1.2.1.1 User-Defined Words
A user-defined word is a COBOL word that you must supply to satisfy the format of a clause or statement. This word consists of characters selected from the set A to Z, 0 to 9, the currency sign ($), underline (_), and hyphen (-). Throughout this manual, and except where specific rules apply, the hyphen (-) and the underline (_) are treated as the same character in a user-defined word. The underline (_), however, can begin or end a user-defined word, and the hyphen (-) cannot. By convention, names containing a currency sign ($) are reserved for Hewlett-Packard.
Table 1-2 provides brief descriptions of the COBOL user-defined words.
| User-Defined Word | Purpose | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alphabet-Name | Assigns a name to a character set, collating sequence, or both. Alphabet-names must be defined in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph. (See Section 4.1.3 in Chapter 4, Environment Division.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Class-Name | Relates a name to a specified set of characters listed in that clause. (See Section 4.1.3 in Chapter 4, Environment Division.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Condition-Name |
Assigns a name to a value, set of
values, or range of values in the complete set of values that a data
item can have. Data items with one or more associated condition-names
are called conditional variables.
Data Division entries define condition-names. Names assigned in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph to the "on" or "off" status of switches are also condition-names. |
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| Data-Name | Names a data item described in a data description entry. When specified in a general format, data-name cannot be reference modified, subscripted, indexed, or qualified unless specifically allowed by the rules for that format. | ||||||||||||||||||
| File-Name |
Names a file connector. A
file connector
is a storage area that contains information
about a file and is the link between:
File description entries and sort-merge file description entries describe file connectors. |
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| Index-Name | Names an index associated with a specific table. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Level-Number | Is a one- or two-digit number that describes a data item's special properties or its position in the structure of a record. (See Sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.2.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Library-Name | Names a COBOL library used in a source program compilation. (See the Section 8.1.1 statement in Chapter 8.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mnemonic-Name | Associates a name with a system-name, such as CONSOLE, SYSERR, ARGUMENT-NUMBER, ENVIRONMENT-NAME, C01, OR SWITCH-8. (See Section 4.1.3 in Chapter 4.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Paragraph-Name |
Names a Procedure Division
paragraph. (See Section 2.1.3.) Paragraph-names are equivalent only if
they are identical; that is, if they are composed of the same sequence
and number of digits and/or characters.
For example:
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| Program-Name | Identifies a COBOL source program. (See the Section 3.1.1 paragraph in Chapter 3, and the section on Section 6.8.4 in Chapter 6, for a description of case-sensitivity on the Tru64 UNIX operating system. Also refer to the HP COBOL User Manual for a description of the -names lowercase , -names uppercase , and -names as_is flags.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Record-Name | Names a data item described with level-number 01 or 77. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Report-Name | Names a report produced by the Report Writer Control System (RWCS). (See the Section 5.3.42 clause in Chapter 5.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Screen-Name (Alpha, I64) | Names a screen item defined in the SCREEN SECTION of a program. (See the Section 5.3.6 section of Chapter 5.)<> | ||||||||||||||||||
| Section-Name | Names a Procedure Division section. Section-names are equivalent only if they are identical; that is, when they are composed of the same sequence and number of digits and/or characters. (See Section 2.1.2.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segmented-Key-Name | Identifies a segmented key, which is a concatenation of one or more (up to eight) data items (segments) within a record associated with an indexed file. A segmented key is a form of primary or alternate key. It offers flexibility in defining record description entries for indexed files. (Refer to the section on segmented keys in the HP COBOL User Manual.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Segment-Number | Is a 1- or 2-digit number that classifies a Procedure Division section for segmentation. In HP COBOL programs, segment-numbers specify independent and fixed segments. (See Section 6.7.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Symbolic-Character | Identifies a user-defined figurative constant. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Text-Name | Identifies library text in a COBOL library. (See the Section 8.1.1 statement in Chapter 8.) |
Within a given program, but excluding any contained program, the user-defined words are grouped into the following disjoint sets:
alphabet-names
class-names
condition-names, data-names, and record-names
file-names
index-names
library-names
mnemonic-names
paragraph-names
program-names
report-names
screen-names
section-names
segmented-key-names
symbolic-characters
text-names
All user-defined words in a program, except segment-numbers and level-numbers, can belong to only one of these sets. User-defined words in each set must be unique, except as described in the rules for uniqueness of reference. (See Section 6.2).
Except for section-names, paragraph-names, segment numbers, and level-numbers, all user-defined words must contain at least one alphabetic character. Segment-numbers and level-numbers need not be unique. Any segment-number or level-number can be the same as any other segment-number or level-number.
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