IBM Extension
IBM Extension

PROCEDURE-POINTER Phrase

A data item defined with the PROCEDURE-POINTER phrase is a procedure-pointer data item. It is a 16-byte elementary item containing the address of an entry point to an ILE procedure or program object (*PGM), such as:
  • The entry point of the outermost ILE COBOL program (an ILE procedure) in the compilation unit defined by the PROGRAM-ID statement
  • An entry point of a non-COBOL program, such as an ILE C function (an ILE procedure)
  • An entry point of a program (*PGM).
A procedure-pointer data item may only be used in:
  • The SET statement
  • A relation condition
  • The USING phrase of a CALL statement, or the Procedure Division header
  • Expressions involving ADDRESS OF and LENGTH OF
  • The CALL statement as a target
  • The argument on an intrinsic function

Like pointer data items, procedure-pointer data items must be in alignment.

Related Information:
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