ILE COBOL Language Reference
ILE COBOL basic formats are presented in a uniform system of syntax
notation. This notation, designed to assist you in writing COBOL source
statements, is explained in the following paragraphs:
- COBOL keywords and optional words appear in uppercase letters; for
example:
MOVE
They must be spelled exactly as shown. If any keyword is missing,
the compiler considers it as an error.
- Variables representing user-supplied names or values appear in all
lowercase letters; for example:
parmx
- For easier text reference, some words are followed by a hyphen and a digit
or a letter, as in:
identifier-1
This suffix does not change the syntactical definition of the
word.
- Arithmetic and logical operators (+, -, *, /, **, >, <, =, >=, and
<=) that appear in syntax formats are required. These operators are
special character reserved words. For a complete listing of
ILE COBOL reserved words, see Appendix E, ILE COBOL Reserved Word List.
- All punctuation and other special characters appearing in
the diagram are required by the syntax of the format when they are
shown; if you leave them out, an error occurs in the program.
- You must write the required clauses and the optional clauses (when used)
in the order shown in the diagram unless the associated rules explicitly state
otherwise.
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