Because your ILE COBOL programs can be run as separate threads within a job, be aware that language elements might be interpreted in two ways:
These two types of scope are important in two contexts:
The following table summarizes the reference and state scope of various ILE COBOL language elements:
| Language Element | Reference Scope | State Scope |
|---|---|---|
| ADDRESS-OF special register | Same as associated record | Program invocation instance |
| DB-FORMAT-NAME special register | Run-unit | Program invocation instance |
| DEBUG-ITEM special register | Syntax checked only | |
| Files | Run-unit | Run-unit |
| FORMAT OF special register | Same as associated identifier | Same as associated identifier |
| Index data | Program | Program invocation instance |
| LENGTH OF special register | Same as associated identifier | Same as associated identifier |
| LINAGE-COUNTER special register | Same as associated file | Same as associated file |
| LINKAGE-SECTION data | Run-unit | Based on scope of underlying data |
| LOCALE OF special register | Same as associated identifier | Same as associated identifier |
| RETURN-CODE | Run-unit | Program invocation instance |
| WHEN-COMPILED special register | Run-unit | Run-unit |
| WORKING-STORAGE data | Run-unit | Run-unit |
| SORT-RETURN special register | Run-unit | Program invocation instance |
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