Glossary
The terms in this glossary are defined in accordance with their meaning in
COBOL. These terms might or might not have the same meaning in other languages.
This glossary includes terms and definitions from the following publications:
- ANSI INCITS 23-1985, Programming languages - COBOL, as
amended by ANSI INCITS 23a-1989, Programming Languages - COBOL - Intrinsic Function Module for COBOL, and ANSI INCITS 23b-1993, Programming Languages - Correction Amendment for COBOL
- ANSI X3.172-2002, American National Standard Dictionary for Information Systems
American National Standard definitions are preceded by an asterisk (*).
This glossary includes definitions developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. for
their Java and J2EE glossaries. When Sun is the source of a definition, that is
indicated.
A
- * abbreviated combined relation condition
- The combined condition that results from the explicit omission of a common
subject or a common subject and common relational operator in a consecutive
sequence of relation conditions.
- abend
- Abnormal termination of a program.
- * access mode
- The manner in which records are to be operated upon within a file.
- * actual decimal point
- The physical representation, using the decimal point characters period (.)
or comma (,), of the decimal point position in a data item.
- * alphabet-name
- A user-defined word, in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION, that assigns a name to a specific character set or collating
sequence or both.
- * alphabetic character
- A letter or a space character.
- alphabetic data item
- A data item that is described with a PICTURE character string
that contains only the symbol A. An alphabetic data item has USAGE
DISPLAY.
- * alphanumeric character
- Any character in the single-byte character set of the computer.
- alphanumeric data item
- A general reference to a data item that is described implicitly or
explicitly as USAGE DISPLAY, and that has category alphanumeric,
alphanumeric-edited, or numeric-edited.
- alphanumeric-edited data item
- A data item that is described by a PICTURE character string that
contains at least one instance of the symbol A or X and at
least one of the simple insertion symbols B, 0, or /.
An alphanumeric-edited data item has USAGE DISPLAY.
- * alphanumeric function
- A function whose value is composed of a string of one or more characters
from the alphanumeric character set of the computer.
- alphanumeric group item
- A group item that is defined without a GROUP-USAGE NATIONAL
clause. For operations such as INSPECT, STRING, and UNSTRING,
an alphanumeric group item is processed as though all its content were
described as USAGE DISPLAY regardless of the actual content of the
group. For operations that require processing of the elementary items within
a group, such as MOVE CORRESPONDING, ADD CORRESPONDING, or
INITIALIZE, an alphanumeric group item is processed using group
semantics.
- alphanumeric literal
- A literal that has an opening delimiter from the following set: ',
“, X', X”, Z', or Z“.
The string of characters can include any character in the character set of
the computer.
- * alternate record key
- A key, other than the prime record key, whose contents identify a record
within an indexed file.
- ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
- An organization that consists of producers, consumers, and
general-interest groups and establishes the procedures by which accredited
organizations create and maintain voluntary industry standards in the United
States.
- argument
- (1) An identifier, a literal, an arithmetic expression, or a
function-identifier that specifies a value to be used in the evaluation of a
function. (2) An operand of the USING phrase of a CALL or INVOKE
statement, used for passing values to a called program or an invoked method.
- * arithmetic expression
- An identifier of a numeric elementary item, a numeric literal, such
identifiers and literals separated by arithmetic operators, two arithmetic
expressions separated by an arithmetic operator, or an arithmetic expression
enclosed in parentheses.
- * arithmetic operation
- The process caused by the execution of an arithmetic statement, or the
evaluation of an arithmetic expression, that results in a mathematically
correct solution to the arguments presented.
- * arithmetic operator
- A single character, or a fixed two-character combination that belongs to
the following set:
| Character |
Meaning |
| + |
Addition |
| - |
Subtraction |
| * |
Multiplication |
| / |
Division |
| ** |
Exponentiation |
- * arithmetic statement
- A statement that causes an arithmetic operation to be executed. The
arithmetic statements are ADD, COMPUTE, DIVIDE, MULTIPLY,
and SUBTRACT.
- array
- An aggregate that consists of data objects, each of which can be uniquely
referenced by subscripting. An array is roughly analogous to a COBOL table.
- * ascending key
- A key upon the values of which data is ordered, starting with the lowest
value of the key up to the highest value of the key, in accordance with the
rules for comparing data items.
- ASCII
- American National Standard Code for Information Interchange. The standard
code uses a coded character set that is based on 7-bit coded characters (8
bits including parity check). The standard is used for information
interchange between data processing systems, data communication systems, and
associated equipment. The ASCII set consists of control characters and
graphic characters.
IBM has defined an extension to ASCII (characters 128-255).
- assignment-name
- A name that identifies the organization of a COBOL file and the name by
which it is known to the system.
- * assumed decimal point
- A decimal point position that does not involve the existence of an actual
character in a data item. The assumed decimal point has logical meaning but
no physical representation.
- * AT END condition
- A condition that is caused during the execution of a READ, RETURN,
or SEARCH statement under certain conditions:
- A READ statement runs on a sequentially accessed file when no
next logical record exists in the file, or when the number of
significant digits in the relative record number is larger than the size
of the relative key data item, or when an optional input file is not
present.
- A RETURN statement runs when no next logical record exists
for the associated sort or merge file.
- A SEARCH statement runs when the search operation terminates
without satisfying the condition specified in any of the associated WHEN
phrases.
B
- basic document encoding
- For an XML document, one of the following encoding categories that the XML
parser determines by examining the first few bytes of the document:
- ASCII
- EBCDIC
- Unicode UTF-16, either big-endian or little-endian
- Other unsupported encoding
- No recognizable encoding
- big-endian
- The default format that the mainframe and the AIX workstation use to store
binary data and UTF-16 characters. In this format, the least significant
byte of a binary data item is at the highest address and the least
significant byte of a UTF-16 character is at the highest address. Compare
with little-endian.
- binary item
- A numeric data item that is represented in binary notation (on the base 2
numbering system). The decimal equivalent consists of the decimal digits 0
through 9, plus an operational sign. The leftmost bit of the item is the
operational sign.
- binary search
- A dichotomizing search in which, at each step of the search, the set of
data elements is divided by two; some appropriate action is taken in the
case of an odd number.
- * block
- A physical unit of data that is normally composed of one or more logical
records. For mass storage files, a block can contain a portion of a logical
record. The size of a block has no direct relationship to the size of the
file within which the block is contained or to the size of the logical
records that are either contained within the block or that overlap the
block. Synonymous with physical record.
- breakpoint
- A place in a computer program, usually specified by an instruction, where
external intervention or a monitor program can interrupt the program as it
runs.
- Btrieve file system
- A key-indexed record management system that allows
applications to manage records by key value, sequential access method, or
random access method. Btrieve is IBM's name for the Pervasive.SQL file
system, a separate product available from Pervasive Software. IBM COBOL for Windows
supports COBOL sequential and indexed file input-output language through the
Btrieve file system.
- buffer
- A portion of storage that is used to hold input or output data
temporarily.
- built-in function
- See intrinsic function.
- byte
- A string that consists of a certain number of bits, usually eight, treated
as a unit, and representing a character or a control function.
- byte order mark (BOM)
- A Unicode character that can be used at the start of UTF-16 or UTF-32 text
to indicate the byte order of subsequent text; the byte order can be either
big-endian or little-endian.
- bytecode
- Machine-independent code that is generated by the Java compiler and
executed by the Java interpreter. (Sun)
C
- callable services
- In Language Environment, a set of services that a COBOL program can invoke by using the
conventional Language Environment-defined call interface. All programs that share the Language Environment
conventions can use these services.
- called program
- A program that is the object of a CALL statement. At run time the
called program and calling program are combined to produce a run unit.
- * calling program
- A program that executes a CALL to another program.
- case structure
- A program-processing logic in which a series of conditions is tested in
order to choose between a number of resulting actions.
- cataloged procedure
- A set of job control statements that are placed in a partitioned data set
called the procedure library (SYS1.PROCLIB). You can use cataloged
procedures to save time and reduce errors in coding JCL.
- CCSID
- See coded character set identifier.
- century window
- A 100-year interval within which any two-digit year is unique. Several
types of century window are available to COBOL programmers:
- For windowed date fields, you use the YEARWINDOW compiler
option.
- For the windowing intrinsic functions DATE-TO-YYYYMMDD, DAY-TO-YYYYDDD,
and YEAR-TO-YYYY, you specify the century window with argument-2.
- * character
- The basic indivisible unit of the language.
- character encoding unit
- A unit of data that corresponds to one code point in a coded character
set. One or more character encoding units are used to represent a character
in a coded character set. Also known as encoding unit.
For USAGE NATIONAL, a character encoding unit corresponds to one
2-byte code point of UTF-16.
For USAGE DISPLAY, a character encoding unit corresponds to a
byte.
For USAGE DISPLAY-1, a character encoding unit corresponds to a
2-byte code point in the DBCS character set.
- character position
- The amount of physical storage or presentation space required to hold or
present one character. The term applies to any class of character. For
specific classes of characters, the following terms apply:
- Alphanumeric character position, for characters represented
in USAGE DISPLAY
- DBCS character position, for DBCS characters represented in USAGE
DISPLAY-1
- National character position, for characters represented in USAGE
NATIONAL; synonymous with character encoding unit for
UTF-16
- character set
- A collection of elements that are used to represent textual information,
but for which no coded representation is assumed. See also coded
character set.
- character string
- A sequence of contiguous characters that form a COBOL word, a literal, a PICTURE
character string, or a comment-entry. A character string must be delimited
by separators.
- checkpoint
- A point at which information about the status of a job and the system can
be recorded so that the job step can be restarted later.
- * class
- The entity that defines common behavior and implementation for zero, one,
or more objects. The objects that share the same implementation are
considered to be objects of the same class. Classes can be defined
hierarchically, allowing one class to inherit from another.
- * class condition
- The proposition (for which a truth value can be determined) that the
content of an item is wholly alphabetic, is wholly numeric, is wholly DBCS,
is wholly Kanji, or consists exclusively of the characters that are listed
in the definition of a class-name.
- * class definition
- The COBOL source unit that defines a class.
- class hierarchy
- A tree-like structure that shows relationships among object classes. It
places one class at the top and one or more layers of classes below it.
Synonymous with inheritance hierarchy.
- * class identification entry
- An entry in the CLASS-ID paragraph of the IDENTIFICATION
DIVISION; this entry contains clauses that specify the class-name and
assign selected attributes to the class definition.
- class-name (object-oriented)
- The name of an object-oriented COBOL class definition.
- * class-name (of data)
- A user-defined word that is defined in the SPECIAL-NAMES
paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION; this word assigns a name to
the proposition (for which a truth value can be defined) that the content of
a data item consists exclusively of the characters that are listed in the
definition of the class-name.
- class object
- The runtime object that represents a class.
- * clause
- An ordered set of consecutive COBOL character strings whose purpose is to
specify an attribute of an entry.
- client
- In object-oriented programming, a program or method that requests services
from one or more methods in a class.
- * COBOL character set
- The set of characters used in writing COBOL syntax. The complete COBOL
character set consists of the characters listed below:
| Character |
Meaning |
| 0,1, . . . ,9 |
Digit |
| A,B, . . . ,Z |
Uppercase letter |
| a,b, . . . ,z |
Lowercase letter |
| |
Space |
| + |
Plus sign |
| - |
Minus sign (hyphen) |
| * |
Asterisk |
| / |
Slant (virgule, slash) |
| = |
Equal sign |
| $ |
Currency sign |
| , |
Comma (decimal point) |
| ; |
Semicolon |
| . |
Period (decimal point, full stop) |
| ” |
Quotation mark |
| ( |
Left parenthesis |
| ) |
Right parenthesis |
| > |
Greater than symbol |
| < |
Less than symbol |
| : |
Colon |
- * COBOL word
- See word.
- code page
- An assignment of graphic characters and control function meanings to all
code points. For example, one code page could assign characters and meanings
to 256 code points for 8-bit code, and another code page could assign
characters and meanings to 128 code points for 7-bit code. For example, one
of the IBM code pages for English on the workstation is IBM-1252 and on the
host is IBM-1047.
- code point
- A unique bit pattern that is defined in a coded character set (code page).
Graphic symbols and control characters are assigned to code points.
- coded character set
- A set of unambiguous rules that establish a character set and the
relationship between the characters of the set and their coded
representation. Examples of coded character sets are the character sets as
represented by ASCII or EBCDIC code pages or by the UTF-16 encoding scheme
for Unicode.
- coded character set identifier (CCSID)
- An IBM-defined number in the range 1 to 65,535 that identifies a specific
code page.
- * collating sequence
- The sequence in which the characters that are acceptable to a computer are
ordered for purposes of sorting, merging, comparing, and for processing
indexed files sequentially.
- * column
- A byte position within a print line or within a reference format line. The
columns are numbered from 1, by 1, starting at the leftmost position of the
line and extending to the rightmost position of the line. A column holds one
single-byte character.
- * combined condition
- A condition that is the result of connecting two or more conditions with
the AND or the OR logical operator. See also condition
and negated combined condition.
- * comment-entry
- An entry in the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION that can be any
combination of characters from the character set of the computer.
- * comment line
- A source program line represented by an asterisk (*) in the indicator area
of the line and any characters from the character set of the computer in
area A and area B of that line. The comment line serves only for
documentation. A special form of comment line represented by a slant (/) in
the indicator area of the line and any characters from the character set of
the computer in area A and area B of that line causes page ejection before
printing the comment.
- * common program
- A program that, despite being directly contained within another program,
can be called from any program directly or indirectly contained in that
other program.
- compatible date field
- The meaning of the term compatible, when applied to date fields,
depends on the COBOL division in which the usage occurs:
- DATA DIVISION: Two date fields are compatible if they have
identical USAGE and meet at least one of the following
conditions:
- They have the same date format.
- Both are windowed date fields, where one consists only of a
windowed year, DATE FORMAT YY.
- Both are expanded date fields, where one consists only of an
expanded year, DATE FORMAT YYYY.
- One has DATE FORMAT YYXXXX, and the other has YYXX.
- One has DATE FORMAT YYYYXXXX, and the other has YYYYXX.
A windowed date field can be subordinate to a data item that is an
expanded date group. The two date fields are compatible if the
subordinate date field has USAGE DISPLAY, starts two bytes
after the start of the group expanded date field, and the two fields
meet at least one of the following conditions:
- The subordinate date field has a DATE FORMAT pattern with
the same number of Xs as the DATE FORMAT pattern of the
group date field.
- The subordinate date field has DATE FORMAT YY.
- The group date field has DATE FORMAT YYYYXXXX and the
subordinate date field has DATE FORMAT YYXX.
- PROCEDURE DIVISION: Two date fields are compatible if they
have the same date format except for the year part, which can be
windowed or expanded. For example, a windowed date field with DATE
FORMAT YYXXX is compatible with:
- Another windowed date field with DATE FORMAT YYXXX
- An expanded date field with DATE FORMAT YYYYXXX
- * compile
- (1) To translate a program expressed in a high-level language into a
program expressed in an intermediate language, assembly language, or a
computer language. (2) To prepare a machine-language program from a computer
program written in another programming language by making use of the overall
logic structure of the program, or generating more than one computer
instruction for each symbolic statement, or both, as well as performing the
function of an assembler.
- * compile time
- The time at which COBOL source code is translated, by a COBOL compiler, to
a COBOL object program.
- compiler
- A program that translates source code written in a higher-level language
into machine-language object code.
- compiler-directing statement
- A statement that causes the compiler to take a specific action during
compilation. The standard compiler-directing statements are COPY, REPLACE,
and USE.
- compiler directive
- A directive that causes the compiler to take a specific
action during compilation. COBOL for Windows has one compiler directive, CALLINTERFACE.
You can code CALLINTERFACE directives within a program to use
specific interface conventions for specific CALL statements.
- * complex condition
- A condition in which one or more logical operators act upon one or more
conditions. See also condition, negated simple condition,
and negated combined condition.
- complex ODO
- Certain forms of the OCCURS DEPENDING ON clause:
- Variably located item or group: A data item described by an OCCURS
clause with the DEPENDING ON option is followed by a
nonsubordinate data item or group. The group can be an alphanumeric
group or a national group.
- Variably located table: A data item described by an OCCURS
clause with the DEPENDING ON option is followed by a
nonsubordinate data item described by an OCCURS clause.
- Table with variable-length elements: A data item described by an OCCURS
clause contains a subordinate data item described by an OCCURS
clause with the DEPENDING ON option.
- Index name for a table with variable-length elements.
- Element of a table with variable-length elements.
- component
- (1) A functional grouping of related files. (2) In object-oriented
programming, a reusable object or program that performs a specific function
and is designed to work with other components and applications. JavaBeans
is Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s architecture for creating components.
- * computer-name
- A system-name that identifies the computer where the program is to be
compiled or run.
- condition
- Any
alteration to the normal programmed flow of an application. Conditions can
be detected by the hardware or the operating system and result in an
interrupt. They can also be detected by language-specific generated code or
language library code.
- * condition
- A status of a program at run time for which a truth value can be
determined. When used in these language specifications in or in reference to
'condition' (condition-1, condition-2,. . .) of a
general format, the term refers to a conditional expression that consists of
either a simple condition optionally parenthesized or a combined condition
(consisting of the syntactically correct combination of simple conditions,
logical operators, and parentheses) for which a truth value can be
determined. See also simple condition, complex condition, negated
simple condition, combined condition, and negated combined
condition.
- * conditional expression
- A simple condition or a complex condition specified in an EVALUATE,
IF, PERFORM, or SEARCH statement. See also simple
condition and complex condition.
- * conditional phrase
- A phrase that specifies the action to be taken upon determination of the
truth value of a condition that results from the execution of a conditional
statement.
- * conditional statement
- A statement that specifies that the truth value of a condition is to be
determined and that the subsequent action of the object program depends on
this truth value.
- * conditional variable
- A data item one or more values of which has a condition-name assigned to
it.
- * condition-name
- A user-defined word that assigns a name to a subset of values that a
conditional variable can assume; or a user-defined word assigned to a status
of an implementor-defined switch or device.
- * condition-name condition
- The proposition (for which a truth value can be determined) that the value
of a conditional variable is a member of the set of values attributed to a
condition-name associated with the conditional variable.
- * CONFIGURATION SECTION
- A section of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION that describes overall
specifications of source and object programs and class definitions.
- CONSOLE
- A COBOL environment-name associated with the operator console.
- contained program
- A COBOL program that is nested within another COBOL program.
- * contiguous items
- Items that are described by consecutive entries in the DATA DIVISION,
and that bear a definite hierarchic relationship to each other.
- copybook
- A file or library member that contains a sequence of code that is included
in the source program at compile time using the COPY statement. The
file can be created by the user, supplied by COBOL, or supplied by another
product. Synonymous with copy file.
- * counter
- A data item used for storing numbers or number representations in a manner
that permits these numbers to be increased or decreased by the value of
another number, or to be changed or reset to zero or to an arbitrary
positive or negative value.
- cross-reference listing
- The portion of the compiler listing that contains information on where
files, fields, and indicators are defined, referenced, and modified in a
program.
- currency-sign value
- A character string that identifies the monetary units stored in a
numeric-edited item. Typical examples are $, USD, and EUR. A currency-sign
value can be defined by either the CURRENCY compiler option or the CURRENCY
SIGN clause in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION. If the CURRENCY SIGN clause is not specified and the
NOCURRENCY compiler option is in effect, the dollar sign ($) is
used as the default currency-sign value. See also currency symbol.
- currency symbol
- A character used in a PICTURE clause to indicate the position of
a currency sign value in a numeric-edited item. A currency symbol can be
defined by either the CURRENCY compiler option or the CURRENCY
SIGN clause in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION. If the CURRENCY SIGN clause is not specified and the
NOCURRENCY compiler option is in effect, the dollar sign ($) is
used as the default currency sign value and currency symbol. Multiple
currency symbols and currency sign values can be defined. See also currency
sign value.
- * current record
- In file processing, the record that is available in the record area
associated with a file.
D
- * data clause
- A clause, appearing in a data description entry in the DATA DIVISION
of a COBOL program, that provides information describing a particular
attribute of a data item.
- * data description entry
- An entry in the DATA DIVISION of a COBOL program that is composed
of a level-number followed by a data-name, if required, and then followed by
a set of data clauses, as required.
- DATA DIVISION
- The division of a COBOL program or method that describes the data to be
processed by the program or method: the files to be used and the records
contained within them; internal working-storage records that will be needed;
data to be made available in more than one program in the COBOL run unit.
- * data item
- A unit of data (excluding literals) defined by a COBOL program or by the
rules for function evaluation.
- * data-name
- A user-defined word that names a data item described in a data description
entry. When used in the general formats, data-name represents a word that
must not be reference-modified, subscripted, or qualified unless
specifically permitted by the rules for the format.
- date field
- Any of the following:
- A data item whose data description entry includes a DATE FORMAT
clause.
- A value returned by one of the following intrinsic functions:
DATE-OF-INTEGER
DATE-TO-YYYYMMDD
DATEVAL
DAY-OF-INTEGER
DAY-TO-YYYYDDD
YEAR-TO-YYYY
YEARWINDOW
- The conceptual data items DATE, DATE YYYYMMDD, DAY, and DAY YYYYDDD of
the ACCEPT statement.
- The result of certain arithmetic operations. For details, see Arithmetic with date fields
(COBOL for Windows Language Reference).
The term date field refers to both expanded date field
and windowed date field. See also nondate.
- date format
- The date pattern of a date field, specified in either of the following
ways:
- Explicitly, by the DATE FORMAT clause or DATEVAL
intrinsic function argument-2
- Implicitly, by statements and intrinsic functions that return date
fields. For details, see Date field
(COBOL for Windows Language Reference).
- DBCS
- See double-byte character set (DBCS).
- DBCS character
- Any character defined in IBM's double-byte character set.
- DBCS character position
- See character position.
- DBCS data item
- A data item that is described by a PICTURE character string that
contains at least one symbol G, or, when the NSYMBOL(DBCS)
compiler option is in effect, at least one symbol N. A DBCS data
item has USAGE DISPLAY-1.
- * debugging line
- Any line with a D in the indicator area of the line.
- * debugging section
- A section that contains a USE FOR DEBUGGING statement.
- * declarative sentence
- A compiler-directing sentence that consists of a single USE
statement terminated by the separator period.
- * declaratives
- A set of one or more special-purpose sections, written at the beginning of
the PROCEDURE DIVISION, the first of which is preceded by the key
word DECLARATIVE and the last of which is followed by the key words
END DECLARATIVES. A declarative is composed of a section header,
followed by a USE compiler-directing sentence, followed by a set of
zero, one, or more associated paragraphs.
- * de-edit
- The logical removal of all editing characters from a numeric-edited data
item in order to determine the unedited numeric value of the item.
- * delimited scope statement
- Any statement that includes its explicit scope terminator.
- * delimiter
- A character or a sequence of contiguous characters that identify the end
of a string of characters and separate that string of characters from the
following string of characters. A delimiter is not part of the string of
characters that it delimits.
- * descending key
- A key upon the values of which data is ordered starting with the highest
value of key down to the lowest value of key, in accordance with the rules
for comparing data items.
- digit
- Any of the numerals from 0 through 9. In COBOL, the term is not used to
refer to any other symbol.
- * digit position
- The amount of physical storage required to store a single digit. This
amount can vary depending on the usage specified in the data description
entry that defines the data item.
- * direct access
- The facility to obtain data from storage devices or to enter data into a
storage device in such a way that the process depends only on the location
of that data and not on a reference to data previously accessed.
- display floating-point data item
- A data item that is described implicitly or explicitly as USAGE
DISPLAY and that has a PICTURE character string that describes
an external floating-point data item.
- * division
- A collection of zero, one, or more sections or paragraphs, called the
division body, that are formed and combined in accordance with a specific
set of rules. Each division consists of the division header and the related
division body. There are four divisions in a COBOL program: Identification,
Environment, Data, and Procedure.
- * division header
- A combination of words followed by a separator period that indicates the
beginning of a division. The division headers are:
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
DATA DIVISION.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
- DLL
- See dynamic link library (DLL).
- DLL application
- An application that references imported programs,
functions, or variables.
- DLL linkage
- A CALL in a program that has been
compiled with the DLL and NODYNAM options; the CALL
resolves to an exported name in a separate module, or to an INVOKE
of a method that is defined in a separate module.
- do construct
- In structured programming, a DO statement is used to group a
number of statements in a procedure. In COBOL, an inline PERFORM
statement functions in the same way.
- do-until
- In structured programming, a do-until loop will be executed at least once,
and until a given condition is true. In COBOL, a TEST AFTER phrase
used with the PERFORM statement functions in the same way.
- do-while
- In structured programming, a do-while loop will be executed if, and while,
a given condition is true. In COBOL, a TEST BEFORE phrase used with
the PERFORM statement functions in the same way.
- document type definition (DTD)
- The grammar for a class of XML documents. See XML type definition.
- double-byte character set (DBCS)
- A set of characters in which each character is represented by 2 bytes.
Languages such as Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, which contain more symbols
than can be represented by 256 code points, require double-byte character
sets. Because each character requires 2 bytes, entering, displaying, and
printing DBCS characters requires hardware and supporting software that are
DBCS-capable.
- * dynamic access
- An access mode in which specific logical records can be obtained from or
placed into a mass storage file in a nonsequential manner and obtained from
a file in a sequential manner during the scope of the same OPEN
statement.
- dynamic CALL
- A CALL literal statement in a program that has been
compiled with the DYNAM option, or a CALL identifier statement in a
program.
- dynamic link library (DLL)
- A file that contains executable code and data that
are bound to a program at load time or run time, rather than during linking.
Several applications can share the code and data in a DLL simultaneously.
Although a DLL is not part of the executable (.EXE)
file for a program, it can be required for an executable file to run
properly.
- * EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded Decimal Interchange Code)
- A coded character set based on 8-bit coded characters.
- EBCDIC character
- Any one of the symbols included in the EBCDIC (Extended
Binary-Coded-Decimal Interchange Code) set.
- edited data item
- A data item that has been modified by suppressing zeros or inserting
editing characters or both.
- * editing character
- A single character or a fixed two-character combination belonging to the
following set:
| Character |
Meaning |
| |
Space |
| 0 |
Zero |
| + |
Plus |
| - |
Minus |
| CR |
Credit |
| DB |
Debit |
| Z |
Zero suppress |
| * |
Check protect |
| $ |
Currency sign |
| , |
Comma (decimal point) |
| . |
Period (decimal point) |
| / |
Slant (virgule, slash) |
- element (text element)
- One logical unit of a string of text, such as the description of a single
data item or verb, preceded by a unique code identifying the element type.
- * elementary item
- A data item that is described as not being further logically subdivided.
- encapsulation
- [In object-oriented programming, the technique that is used to hide the
inherent details of an object. The object provides an interface that queries
and manipulates the data without exposing its underlying structure.
Synonymous with information hiding.
- encoding unit
- See character encoding unit.
- end class marker
- A combination of words, followed by a separator period, that indicates the
end of a COBOL class definition. The end class marker is:
END CLASS class-name.
- end method marker
- A combination of words, followed by a separator period, that indicates the
end of a COBOL method definition. The end method marker is:
END METHOD method-name.
- * end of PROCEDURE DIVISION
- The physical position of a COBOL source program after which no further
procedures appear.
- * end program marker
- A combination of words, followed by a separator period, that indicates the
end of a COBOL source program. The end program marker is:
END PROGRAM program-name.
- * entry
- Any descriptive set of consecutive clauses terminated by a separator
period and written in the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION, ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION, or DATA DIVISION of a COBOL program.
- * environment clause
- A clause that appears as part of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION entry.
- ENVIRONMENT DIVISION
- One of the four main component parts of a COBOL program, class definition,
or method definition. The ENVIRONMENT DIVISION describes the
computers where the source program is compiled and those where the object
program is run. It provides a linkage between the logical concept of files
and their records, and the physical aspects of the devices on which files
are stored.
- environment-name
- A name, specified by IBM, that identifies system logical units, printer
and card punch control characters, report codes, program switches or all of
these. When an environment-name is associated with a mnemonic-name in the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION, the mnemonic-name can be substituted in any format in which
such substitution is valid.
- environment variable
- Any of a number of variables that define some aspect of the computing
environment, and are accessible to programs that operate in that
environment. Environment variables can affect the behavior of programs that
are sensitive to the environment in which they operate.
- EXE
- See executable file (EXE).
- executable file (EXE)
- A file that contains programs or commands that perform
operations or actions to be taken.
- execution time
- See run time.
- execution-time environment
- See runtime environment.
- expanded date field
- A date field containing an expanded (four-digit) year. See also date
field and expanded year.
- expanded year
- A date field that consists only of a four-digit year. Its value includes
the century: for example, 1998. Compare with windowed year.
- * explicit scope terminator
- A reserved word that terminates the scope of a particular PROCEDURE
DIVISION statement.
- exponent
- A number that indicates the power to which another number (the base) is to
be raised. Positive exponents denote multiplication; negative exponents
denote division; and fractional exponents denote a root of a quantity. In
COBOL, an exponential expression is indicated with the symbol ** followed by
the exponent.
- * expression
- An arithmetic or conditional expression.
- * extend mode
- The state of a file after execution of an OPEN statement, with
the EXTEND phrase specified for that file, and before the execution
of a CLOSE statement, without the REEL or UNIT
phrase for that file.
- Extensible Markup Language
- See XML.
- extensions
- COBOL syntax and semantics supported by IBM compilers in addition to those
described in Standard COBOL 85.
- external code page
- For ASCII XML documents, the code page indicated by the
current runtime locale. For EBCDIC XML documents, either:
- The code page specified in the EBCDIC_CODEPAGE environment variable
- The default EBCDIC code page selected for the current runtime locale
if the EBCDIC_CODEPAGE environment variable is not set
- * external data
- The data that is described in a program as external data items and
external file connectors.
- * external data item
- A data item that is described as part of an external record in one or more
programs of a run unit and that can be referenced from any program in which
it is described.
- * external data record
- A logical record that is described in one or more programs of a run unit
and whose constituent data items can be referenced from any program in which
they are described.
- external decimal data item
- See zoned decimal data item and national decimal data item.
- * external file connector
- A file connector that is accessible to one or more object programs in the
run unit.
- external floating-point data item
- See display floating-point data item and national
floating-point data item.
- external program
- The outermost program. A program that is not nested.
- * external switch
- A hardware or software device, defined and named by the implementor, which
is used to indicate that one of two alternate states exists.
F
- factory data
- Data that is allocated once for a class and shared by all instances of the
class. Factory data is declared in the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION of
the DATA DIVISION in the FACTORY paragraph of the class
definition, and is equivalent to Java private static data.
- factory method
- A method that is supported by a class independently of an object instance.
Factory methods are declared in the FACTORY paragraph of the class
definition, and are equivalent to Java public static methods. They are
typically used to customize the creation of objects.
- * figurative constant
- A compiler-generated value referenced through the use of certain reserved
words.
- * file
- A collection of logical records.
- * file attribute conflict condition
- An unsuccessful attempt has been made to execute an input-output operation
on a file and the file attributes, as specified for that file in the
program, do not match the fixed attributes for that file.
- * file clause
- A clause that appears as part of any of the following DATA DIVISION
entries: file description entry (FD entry) and sort-merge file
description entry (SD entry).
- * file connector
- A storage area that contains information about a file and is used as the
linkage between a file-name and a physical file and between a file-name and
its associated record area.
- * file control entry
- A SELECT clause and all its subordinate clauses that declare the
relevant physical attributes of a file.
- FILE-CONTROL paragraph
- A paragraph in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION in which the data files
for a given source unit are declared.
- * file description entry
- An entry in the FILE SECTION of the DATA DIVISION that
is composed of the level indicator FD, followed by a file-name, and
then followed by a set of file clauses as required.
- * file-name
- A user-defined word that names a file connector described in a file
description entry or a sort-merge file description entry within the FILE
SECTION of the DATA DIVISION.
- * file organization
- The permanent logical file structure established at the time that a file
is created.
- *file position indicator
- A conceptual entity that contains the value of the current key within the
key of reference for an indexed file, or the record number of the current
record for a sequential file, or the relative record number of the current
record for a relative file, or indicates that no next logical record exists,
or that an optional input file is not present, or that the AT END
condition already exists, or that no valid next record has been established.
- * FILE SECTION
- The section of the DATA DIVISION that contains file description
entries and sort-merge file description entries together with their
associated record descriptions.
- file system
- The collection of files that conform to a specific set of data-record and
file-description protocols, and a set of programs that manage these files.
- * fixed file attributes
- Information about a file that is established when a file is created and
that cannot subsequently be changed during the existence of the file. These
attributes include the organization of the file (sequential, relative, or
indexed), the prime record key, the alternate record keys, the code set, the
minimum and maximum record size, the record type (fixed or variable), the
collating sequence of the keys for indexed files, the blocking factor, the
padding character, and the record delimiter.
- * fixed-length record
- A record associated with a file whose file description or sort-merge
description entry requires that all records contain the same number of
bytes.
- fixed-point item
- A numeric data item defined with a PICTURE clause that specifies
the location of an optional sign, the number of digits it contains, and the
location of an optional decimal point. The format can be either binary,
packed decimal, or external decimal.
- floating point
- A format for representing numbers in which a real number is represented by
a pair of distinct numerals. In a floating-point representation, the real
number is the product of the fixed-point part (the first numeral) and a
value obtained by raising the implicit floating-point base to a power
denoted by the exponent (the second numeral). For example, a floating-point
representation of the number 0.0001234 is 0.1234 -3, where 0.1234 is the
mantissa and -3 is the exponent.
- floating-point data item
- A numeric data item that contains a fraction and an exponent. Its value is
obtained by multiplying the fraction by the base of the numeric data item
raised to the power that the exponent specifies.
- * format
- A specific arrangement of a set of data.
- * function
- A temporary data item whose value is determined at the time the function
is referenced during the execution of a statement.
- * function-identifier
- A syntactically correct combination of character strings and separators
that references a function. The data item represented by a function is
uniquely identified by a function-name with its arguments, if any. A
function-identifier can include a reference-modifier. A function-identifier
that references an alphanumeric function can be specified anywhere in the
general formats that an identifier can be specified, subject to certain
restrictions. A function-identifier that references an integer or numeric
function can be referenced anywhere in the general formats that an
arithmetic expression can be specified.
- function-name
- A word that names the mechanism whose invocation, along with required
arguments, determines the value of a function.
- function-pointer data item
- A data item in which a pointer to an entry point can be stored. A data
item defined with the USAGE IS FUNCTION-POINTER clause contains the
address of a function entry point. Typically used to communicate with C and
Java programs.
G
- garbage collection
- The automatic freeing by the Java runtime system of the memory for objects
that are no longer referenced.
- * global name
- A name that is declared in only one program but that can be referenced
from the program and from any program contained within the program.
Condition-names, data-names, file-names, record-names, report-names, and
some special registers can be global names.
- group item
- (1) A data item that is composed of subordinate data items. See alphanumeric
group item and national group item. (2) When not qualified
explicitly or by context as a national group or an alphanumeric group, the
term refers to groups in general.
- grouping separator
- A character used to separate units of digits in numbers for ease of
reading. The default is the character comma.
H
- header label
- (1) A file label or data-set label that precedes the data records on a
unit of recording media. (2) Synonym for beginning-of-file label.
- hide
- To redefine a factory or static method (inherited from a parent class) in
a subclass.
- hierarchical file system
- A collection of files and directories that are organized in a hierarchical
structure and can be accessed by using z/OS UNIX System Services.
- * high-order end
- The leftmost character of a string of characters.
I
- IBM COBOL extension
- COBOL syntax and semantics supported by IBM compilers in addition to those
described in Standard COBOL 85.
- ICU
- See International Components for Unicode (ICU).
- IDENTIFICATION DIVISION
- One of the four main component parts of a COBOL program, class definition,
or method definition. The IDENTIFICATION DIVISION identifies the
program name, class name, or method name. The IDENTIFICATION DIVISION
can include the following documentation: author name, installation, or date.
- * identifier
- A syntactically correct combination of character strings and separators
that names a data item. When referencing a data item that is not a function,
an identifier consists of a data-name, together with its qualifiers,
subscripts, and reference-modifier, as required for uniqueness of reference.
When referencing a data item that is a function, a function-identifier is
used.
- IGZCBSO
- The COBOL for Windows bootstrap routine. It must be link-edited with any module
that contains a COBOL for Windows program.
- * imperative statement
- A statement that either begins with an imperative verb and specifies an
unconditional action to be taken or is a conditional statement that is
delimited by its explicit scope terminator (delimited scope statement). An
imperative statement can consist of a sequence of imperative statements.
- * implicit scope terminator
- A separator period that terminates the scope of any preceding unterminated
statement, or a phrase of a statement that by its occurrence indicates the
end of the scope of any statement contained within the preceding phrase.
- * index
- A computer storage area or register, the content of which represents the
identification of a particular element in a table.
- * index data item
- A data item in which the values associated with an index-name can be
stored in a form specified by the implementor.
- indexed data-name
- An identifier that is composed of a data-name, followed by one or more
index-names enclosed in parentheses.
- * indexed file
- A file with indexed organization.
- * indexed organization
- The permanent logical file structure in which each record is identified by
the value of one or more keys within that record.
- indexing
- Synonymous with subscripting using index-names.
- * index-name
- A user-defined word that names an index associated with a specific table.
- inheritance
- A mechanism for using the implementation of a class as the basis for
another class. By definition, the inheriting class conforms to the inherited
classes. COBOL for Windows does not support multiple inheritance; a subclass
has exactly one immediate superclass.
- inheritance hierarchy
- See class hierarchy.
- * initial program
- A program that is placed into an initial state every time the program is
called in a run unit.
- * initial state
- The state of a program when it is first called in a run unit.
- inline
- In a program, instructions that are executed sequentially, without
branching to routines, subroutines, or other programs.
- * input file
- A file that is opened in the input mode.
- * input mode
- The state of a file after execution of an OPEN statement, with
the INPUT phrase specified, for that file and before the execution
of a CLOSE statement, without the REEL or UNIT
phrase for that file.
- * input-output file
- A file that is opened in the I-O mode.
- * INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION
- The section of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION that names the files and
the external media required by an object program or method and that provides
information required for transmission and handling of data at run time.
- * input-output statement
- A statement that causes files to be processed by performing operations on
individual records or on the file as a unit. The input-output statements are
ACCEPT (with the identifier phrase), CLOSE, DELETE,
DISPLAY, OPEN, READ, REWRITE, SET
(with the TO ON or TO OFF phrase), START, and WRITE.
- * input procedure
- A set of statements, to which control is given during the execution of a SORT
statement, for the purpose of controlling the release of specified records
to be sorted.
- instance data
- Data that defines the state of an object. The instance data introduced by
a class is defined in the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION of the DATA
DIVISION in the OBJECT paragraph of the class definition. The
state of an object also includes the state of the instance variables
introduced by classes that are inherited by the current class. A separate
copy of the instance data is created for each object instance.
- * integer
- (1) A numeric literal that does not include any digit positions to the
right of the decimal point. (2) A numeric data item defined in the DATA
DIVISION that does not include any digit positions to the right of the
decimal point. (3) A numeric function whose definition provides that all
digits to the right of the decimal point are zero in the returned value for
any possible evaluation of the function.
- integer function
- A function whose category is numeric and whose definition does not include
any digit positions to the right of the decimal point.
- interlanguage communication (ILC)
- The ability of routines written in different programming languages to
communicate. ILC support allows the application developer to readily build
applications from component routines written in a variety of languages.
- intermediate result
- An intermediate field that contains the results of a succession of
arithmetic operations.
- * internal data
- The data that is described in a program and excludes all external data
items and external file connectors. Items described in the LINKAGE
SECTION of a program are treated as internal data.
- * internal data item
- A data item that is described in one program in a run unit. An internal
data item can have a global name.
- internal decimal data item
- A data item that is described as USAGE PACKED-DECIMAL or USAGE
COMP-3, and that has a PICTURE character string that defines
the item as numeric (a valid combination of symbols 9, S, P,
or V). Synonymous with packed-decimal data item.
- * internal file connector
- A file connector that is accessible to only one object program in the run
unit.
- internal floating-point data item
- A data item that is described as USAGE COMP-1 or USAGE COMP-2.
COMP-1 defines a single-precision floating-point data item. COMP-2
defines a double-precision floating-point data item. There is no PICTURE
clause associated with an internal floating-point data item.
- International Components for Unicode (ICU)
- An open-source development project sponsored, supported,
and used by IBM. ICU libraries provide robust and full-featured Unicode
services on a wide variety of platforms, including Windows.
- * intrarecord data structure
- The entire collection of groups and elementary data items from a logical
record that a contiguous subset of the data description entries defines.
These data description entries include all entries whose level-number is
greater than the level-number of the first data description entry describing
the intra-record data structure.
- intrinsic function
- A predefined function, such as a commonly used arithmetic function, called
by a built-in function reference.
- * invalid key condition
- A condition, at run time, caused when a specific value of the key
associated with an indexed or relative file is determined to be not valid.
- * I-O-CONTROL
- The name of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION paragraph in which object
program requirements for rerun points, sharing of same areas by several data
files, and multiple file storage on a single input-output device are
specified.
- * I-O-CONTROL entry
- An entry in the I-O-CONTROL paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION; this entry contains clauses that provide information required
for the transmission and handling of data on named files during the
execution of a program.
- * I-O mode
- The state of a file after execution of an OPEN statement, with
the I-O phrase specified, for that file and before the execution of
a CLOSE statement without the REEL or UNIT phase
for that file.
- * I-O status
- A conceptual entity that contains the two-character value indicating the
resulting status of an input-output operation. This value is made available
to the program through the use of the FILE STATUS clause in the
file control entry for the file.
- is-a
- A relationship that characterizes classes and subclasses in an inheritance
hierarchy. Subclasses that have an is-a relationship to a class inherit from
that class.
- iteration structure
- A program processing logic in which a series of statements is repeated
while a condition is true or until a condition is true.
J
- J2EE
- See Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE).
- Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE)
- An environment for developing and deploying enterprise applications,
defined by Sun Microsystems, Inc. The J2EE platform consists of a set of
services, application programming interfaces (APIs), and protocols that
provide the functionality for developing multitiered, Web-based
applications. (Sun)
- Java Native Interface (JNI)
- A programming interface that allows Java code that runs inside a Java
virtual machine (JVM) to interoperate with applications and libraries
written in other programming languages.
- Java virtual machine (JVM)
- A software implementation of a central processing unit that runs compiled
Java programs.
- JVM
- See Java virtual machine (JVM).
K
- K
- When referring to storage capacity, two to the tenth power; 1024 in
decimal notation.
- * key
- A data item that identifies the location of a record, or a set of data
items that serve to identify the ordering of data.
- * key of reference
- The key, either prime or alternate, currently being used to access records
within an indexed file.
- * keyword
- A reserved word or function-name whose presence is required when the
format in which the word appears is used in a source program.
- kilobyte (KB)
- One kilobyte equals 1024 bytes.
L
- * language-name
- A system-name that specifies a particular programming language.
- last-used state
- A state that a program is in if its internal values remain the same as
when the program was exited (the values are not reset to their initial
values).
- * letter
- A character belonging to one of the following two sets:
- Uppercase letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q,
R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
- Lowercase letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q,
r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
- * level indicator
- Two alphabetic characters that identify a specific type of file or a
position in a hierarchy. The level indicators in the DATA DIVISION
are: CD, FD, and SD.
- * level-number
- A user-defined word (expressed as a two-digit number) that indicates the
hierarchical position of a data item or the special properties of a data
description entry. Level-numbers in the range from 1 through 49 indicate the
position of a data item in the hierarchical structure of a logical record.
Level-numbers in the range 1 through 9 can be written either as a single
digit or as a zero followed by a significant digit. Level-numbers 66, 77,
and 88 identify special properties of a data description entry.
- * library-name
- A user-defined word that names a COBOL library that the compiler is to use
for compiling a given source program.
- * library text
- A sequence of text words, comment lines, the separator space, or the
separator pseudo-text delimiter in a COBOL library.
- Lilian date
- The number of days since the beginning of the Gregorian calendar. Day one
is Friday, October 15, 1582. The Lilian date format is named in honor of
Luigi Lilio, the creator of the Gregorian calendar.
- * linage-counter
- A special register whose value points to the current position within the
page body.
- link
- (1) The combination of the link connection (the transmission medium) and
two link stations, one at each end of the link connection. A link can be
shared among multiple links in a multipoint or token-ring configuration. (2)
To interconnect items of data or portions of one or more computer programs;
for example, linking object programs by a linkage editor to produce an executable file.
- LINKAGE SECTION
- The section in the DATA DIVISION of the called program or invoked
method that describes data items available from the calling program or
invoking method. Both the calling program or invoking method and the called
program or invoked method can refer to these data items
- literal
- A character string whose value is specified either by the ordered set of
characters comprising the string or by the use of a figurative constant.
- little-endian
- The default format that Intel processors use to store binary data and
UTF-16 characters. In this format, the most significant byte of a binary
data item is at the highest address and the most significant byte of a
UTF-16 character is at the highest address. Compare with big-endian.
- locale
- A set of attributes for a program execution environment that indicates
culturally sensitive considerations, such as character code page, collating
sequence, date and time format, monetary value representation, numeric value
representation, or language.
- * LOCAL-STORAGE SECTION
- The section of the DATA DIVISION that defines storage that is
allocated and freed on a per-invocation basis, depending on the value
assigned in the VALUE clauses.
- * logical operator
- One of the reserved words AND, OR, or NOT. In the formation of a
condition, either AND, or OR, or both can be used as logical connectives.
NOT can be used for logical negation.
- * logical record
- The most inclusive data item. The level-number for a record is 01. A
record can be either an elementary item or a group of items. Synonymous with
record.
- * low-order end
- The rightmost character of a string of characters.
M
- main program
- In a hierarchy of programs and subroutines, the first program that
receives control when the programs are run within a process.
- makefile
- A text file that contains a list of the files for your application. The
make utility uses this file to update the target files with the latest
changes.
- * mass storage
- A storage medium in which data can be organized and maintained in both a
sequential manner and a nonsequential manner.
- * mass storage device
- A device that has a large storage capacity, such as a magnetic disk.
- * mass storage file
- A collection of records that is stored in a mass storage medium.
- MBCS
- See multibyte character set (MBCS).
- * megabyte (MB)
- One megabyte equals 1,048,576 bytes.
- * merge file
- A collection of records to be merged by a MERGE statement. The
merge file is created and can be used only by the merge function.
- method
- Procedural code that defines an operation supported by an object and that
is executed by an INVOKE statement on that object.
- * method definition
- The COBOL source code that defines a method.
- * method identification entry
- An entry in the METHOD-ID paragraph of the IDENTIFICATION
DIVISION; this entry contains a clause that specifies the method-name.
- method invocation
- A communication from one object to another that requests the receiving
object to execute a method.
- method-name
- The name of an object-oriented operation. When used to invoke the method,
the name can be an alphanumeric or national literal or a category
alphanumeric or category national data item. When used in the METHOD-ID
paragraph to define the method, the name must be an alphanumeric or national
literal.
- * mnemonic-name
- A user-defined word that is associated in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION
with a specified implementor-name.
- module definition file
- A file that describes the code segments within a load module.
- multibyte character set (MBCS)
- A coded character set that is composed of characters
represented in a varying number of bytes. Examples are: EUC (Extended Unix
Code), UTF-8, and character sets composed of a mixture of single-byte and
double-byte EBCDIC or ASCII characters.
- multitasking
- A mode of operation that provides for the concurrent, or interleaved,
execution of two or more tasks.
- multithreading
- Concurrent operation of more than one path of execution within a computer.
Synonymous with multiprocessing.
N
- name
- A word (composed of not more than 30 characters) that defines a COBOL
operand.
- national character
- (1) A UTF-16 character in a USAGE NATIONAL data item or national
literal. (2) Any character represented in UTF-16.
- national character position
- See character position.
- national data item
- A data item of category national, national-edited, or numeric-edited of USAGE
NATIONAL.
- national decimal data item
- An external decimal data item that is described implicitly or explicitly
as USAGE NATIONAL and that contains a valid combination of PICTURE
symbols 9, S, P, and V.
- national-edited data item
- A data item that is described by a PICTURE character string that
contains at least one instance of the symbol N and at least one of
the simple insertion symbols B, 0, or /. A
national-edited data item has USAGE NATIONAL.
- national floating-point data item
- An external floating-point data item that is described implicitly or
explicitly as USAGE NATIONAL and that has a PICTURE
character string that describes a floating-point data item.
- national group item
- A group item that is explicitly or implicitly described with a GROUP-USAGE
NATIONAL clause. A national group item is processed as though it were
defined as an elementary data item of category national for operations such
as INSPECT, STRING, and UNSTRING. This processing
ensures correct padding and truncation of national characters, as contrasted
with defining USAGE NATIONAL data items within an alphanumeric
group item. For operations that require processing of the elementary items
within a group, such as MOVE CORRESPONDING, ADD CORRESPONDING,
and INITIALIZE, a national group is processed using group
semantics.
- * native character set
- The implementor-defined character set associated with the computer
specified in the OBJECT-COMPUTER paragraph.
- * native collating sequence
- The implementor-defined collating sequence associated with the computer
specified in the OBJECT-COMPUTER paragraph.
- native method
- A Java method with an implementation that is written in another
programming language, such as COBOL.
- * negated combined condition
- The NOT logical operator immediately followed by a parenthesized combined
condition. See also condition and combined condition.
- * negated simple condition
- The NOT logical operator immediately followed by a simple condition. See
also condition and simple condition.
- nested program
- A program that is directly contained within another program.
- * next executable sentence
- The next sentence to which control will be transferred after execution of
the current statement is complete.
- * next executable statement
- The next statement to which control will be transferred after execution of
the current statement is complete.
- * next record
- The record that logically follows the current record of a file.
- * noncontiguous items
- Elementary data items in the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION and LINKAGE
SECTION that bear no hierarchic relationship to other data items.
- nondate
- Any of the following:
- A data item whose date description entry does not include the DATE
FORMAT clause
- A literal
- A date field that has been converted using the UNDATE
function
- A reference-modified date field
- The result of certain arithmetic operations that can include date
field operands; for example, the difference between two compatible date
fields
- null
- A figurative constant that is used to assign, to pointer data items, the
value of an address that is not valid. NULLS can be used wherever NULL
can be used.
- * numeric character
- A character that belongs to the following set of digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9.
- numeric data item
- (1) A data item whose description restricts its content to a value
represented by characters chosen from the digits 0 through 9. If signed, the
item can also contain a +, -, or other representation of an operational
sign. (2) A data item of category numeric, internal floating-point, or
external floating-point. A numeric data item can have USAGE DISPLAY,
NATIONAL, PACKED-DECIMAL, BINARY, COMP, COMP-1,
COMP-2, COMP-3, COMP-4, or COMP-5.
- numeric-edited data item
- A data item that contains numeric data in a form suitable for use in
printed output. It can consist of external decimal digits from 0 through 9,
the decimal separator, commas, the currency sign, sign control characters,
and other editing characters. A numeric-edited item can be represented in
either USAGE DISPLAY or USAGE NATIONAL.
- * numeric function
- A function whose class and category are numeric but that for some possible
evaluation does not satisfy the requirements of integer functions.
- * numeric literal
- A literal composed of one or more numeric characters that can contain a
decimal point or an algebraic sign, or both. The decimal point must not be
the rightmost character. The algebraic sign, if present, must be the
leftmost character.
O
- object
- An entity that has state (its data values) and operations (its methods).
An object is a way to encapsulate state and behavior. Each object in the
class is said to be an instance of the class.
- object code
- Output from a compiler or assembler that is itself executable machine code
or is suitable for processing to produce executable machine code.
- * OBJECT-COMPUTER
- The name of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION paragraph in which the
computer environment, where the object program is run, is described.
- * object computer entry
- An entry in the OBJECT-COMPUTER paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION; this entry contains clauses that describe the computer
environment in which the object program is to be executed.
- object instance
- See object.
- * object of entry
- A set of operands and reserved words, within a DATA DIVISION
entry of a COBOL program, that immediately follows the subject of the entry.
- object-oriented programming
- A programming approach based on the concepts of encapsulation and
inheritance. Unlike procedural programming techniques, object-oriented
programming concentrates on the data objects that comprise the problem and
how they are manipulated, not on how something is accomplished.
- object program
- A set or group of executable machine-language instructions and other
material designed to interact with data to provide problem solutions. In
this context, an object program is generally the machine language result of
the operation of a COBOL compiler on a source program or class definition.
Where there is no danger of ambiguity, the word program can be used
in place of object program.
- object reference
- A value that identifies an instance of a class. If the class is not
specified, the object reference is universal and can apply to instances of
any class.
- * object time
- The time at which an object program is executed. Synonymous with run
time.
- * obsolete element
- A COBOL language element in Standard COBOL 85 that was deleted from
Standard COBOL 2002.
- ODBC
- See Open Database Connectivity (ODBC).
- ODO object
- In the example below, X is the object of the OCCURS DEPENDING
ON clause (ODO object).
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION
01 TABLE-1.
05 X PICS9.
05 Y OCCURS 3 TIMES
DEPENDING ON X PIC X.
The value of the ODO object determines how many of the ODO subject appear
in the table.
- ODO subject
- In the example above, Y is the subject of the OCCURS
DEPENDING ON clause (ODO subject). The number of Y ODO
subjects that appear in the table depends on the value of X.
- Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
- A specification for an application programming interface
(API) that provides access to data in a variety of databases and file
systems.
- * open mode
- The state of a file after execution of an OPEN statement for that
file and before the execution of a CLOSE statement without the REEL
or UNIT phrase for that file. The particular open mode is specified
in the OPEN statement as either INPUT, OUTPUT, I-O,
or EXTEND.
- * operand
- (1) The general definition of operand is “the component that is
operated upon.” (2) For the purposes of this document, any lowercase
word (or words) that appears in a statement or entry format can be
considered to be an operand and, as such, is an implied reference to the
data indicated by the operand.
- operation
- A service that can be requested of an object.
- * operational sign
- An algebraic sign that is associated with a numeric data item or a numeric
literal, to indicate whether its value is positive or negative.
- * optional file
- A file that is declared as being not necessarily present each time the
object program is run. The object program causes an interrogation for the
presence or absence of the file.
- * optional word
- A reserved word that is included in a specific format only to improve the
readability of the language. Its presence is optional to the user when the
format in which the word appears is used in a source unit.
- * output file
- A file that is opened in either output mode or extend mode.
- * output mode
- The state of a file after execution of an OPEN statement, with
the OUTPUT or EXTEND phrase specified, for that file and
before the execution of a CLOSE statement without the REEL
or UNIT phrase for that file.
- * output procedure
- A set of statements to which control is given during execution of a SORT
statement after the sort function is completed, or during execution of a MERGE
statement after the merge function reaches a point at which it can select
the next record in merged order when requested.
- overflow condition
- A condition that occurs when a portion of the result of an operation
exceeds the capacity of the intended unit of storage.
- overload
- To define a method with the same name as another method that is available
in the same class, but with a different signature. See also signature.
- override
- To redefine an instance method (inherited from a parent class) in a
subclass.
P
- package
- A group of related Java classes, which can be imported individually or as
a whole.
- packed-decimal data item
- See internal decimal data item.
- padding character
- An alphanumeric or national character that is used to fill the unused
character positions in a physical record.
- page
- A vertical division of output data that represents a physical separation
of the data. The separation is based on internal logical requirements or
external characteristics of the output medium or both.
- * page body
- That part of the logical page in which lines can be written or spaced or
both.
- * paragraph
- In the PROCEDURE DIVISION, a paragraph-name followed by a n
period and by zero, one, or more sentences. In the IDENTIFICATION
DIVISION and ENVIRONMENT DIVISION, a paragraph header followed
by zero, one, or more entries.
- * paragraph header
- A reserved word, followed by the separator period, that indicates the
beginning of a paragraph in the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION and ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION. The permissible paragraph headers in the IDENTIFICATION
DIVISION are:
PROGRAM-ID. (Program IDENTIFICATION DIVISION)
CLASS-ID. (Class IDENTIFICATION DIVISION)
METHOD-ID. (Method IDENTIFICATION DIVISION)
AUTHOR.
INSTALLATION.
DATE-WRITTEN.
DATE-COMPILED.
SECURITY.
The permissible paragraph headers in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION
are:
SOURCE-COMPUTER.
OBJECT-COMPUTER.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
REPOSITORY. (Program or Class
CONFIGURATION SECTION)
FILE-CONTROL.
I-O-CONTROL.
- * paragraph-name
- A user-defined word that identifies and begins a paragraph in the PROCEDURE
DIVISION.
- parameter
- (1) Data passed between a calling program and a called program. (2) A data
element in the USING phrase of a method invocation. Arguments
provide additional information that the invoked method can use to perform
the requested operation.
- Pervasive.SQL file system
- A relational database file system that can be accessed
from the Btrieve interface. See Btrieve file system.
- * phrase
- An ordered set of one or more consecutive COBOL character strings that
form a portion of a COBOL procedural statement or of a COBOL clause.
- * physical record
- See block.
- pointer data item
- A data item in which address values can be stored. Data items are
explicitly defined as pointers with the USAGE IS POINTER clause. ADDRESS
OF special registers are implicitly defined as pointer data items.
Pointer data items can be compared for equality or moved to other pointer
data items.
- port
- (1) To modify a computer program to enable it to run on a different
platform. (2) In the Internet suite of protocols, a specific logical
connector between the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or the User
Datagram Protocol (UDP) and a higher-level protocol or application. A port
is identified by a port number.
- portability
- The ability to transfer an application program from one application
platform to another with relatively few changes to the source program.
- preinitialization
- The initialization of the COBOL runtime environment in preparation for
multiple calls from programs, especially non-COBOL programs. The environment
is not terminated until an explicit termination.
- * prime record key
- A key whose contents uniquely identify a record within an indexed file.
- * priority-number
- A user-defined word that classifies sections in the PROCEDURE DIVISION
for purposes of segmentation. Segment numbers can contain only the
characters 0 through 9. A segment number can be expressed as either one or
two digits.
- private
- As applied to factory data or instance data, accessible only by methods of
the class that defines the data.
- * procedure
- A paragraph or group of logically successive paragraphs, or a section or
group of logically successive sections, within the PROCEDURE DIVISION.
- * procedure branching statement
- A statement that causes the explicit transfer of control to a statement
other than the next executable statement in the sequence in which the
statements are written in the source code. The procedure branching
statements are: ALTER, CALL, EXIT, EXIT
PROGRAM, GO TO, MERGE (with the OUTPUT PROCEDURE
phrase), PERFORM and SORT (with the INPUT PROCEDURE
or OUTPUT PROCEDURE phrase), XML PARSE.
- PROCEDURE DIVISION
- The COBOL division that contains instructions for solving a
problem.
- procedure integration
- One of the functions of the COBOL optimizer is to simplify calls to
performed procedures or contained programs.
PERFORM procedure integration is the process whereby a PERFORM
statement is replaced by its performed procedures. Contained program
procedure integration is the process where a call to a contained program is
replaced by the program code.
- * procedure-name
- A user-defined word that is used to name a paragraph or section in the PROCEDURE
DIVISION. It consists of a paragraph-name (which can be qualified) or a
section-name.
- procedure-pointer data item
- A data item in which a pointer to an entry point can be stored. A data
item defined with the USAGE IS PROCEDURE-POINTER clause contains
the address of a procedure entry point. Typically used to communicate
with COBOL programs.
- process
- The course of events that occurs during the execution of all or part of a
program. Multiple processes can run concurrently, and programs that run
within a process can share resources.
- program
- (1) A sequence of instructions suitable for processing by a computer.
Processing may include the use of a compiler to prepare the program for
execution, as well as a runtime environment to execute it. (2) A logical
assembly of one or more interrelated modules. Multiple copies of the same
program can be run in different processes.
- * program identification entry
- In the PROGRAM-ID paragraph of the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION,
an entry that contains clauses that specify the program-name and assign
selected program attributes to the program.
- * program-name
- In the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION and the end program marker, a
user-defined word or alphanumeric literal that identifies a COBOL source
program.
- project
- The complete set of data and actions that are required to build a target,
such as a dynamic link library (DLL) or other executable (EXE).
- * pseudo-text
- A sequence of text words, comment lines, or the separator space in a
source program or COBOL library bounded by, but not including, pseudo-text
delimiters.
- * pseudo-text delimiter
- Two contiguous equal sign characters (==) used to delimit pseudo-text.
- * punctuation character
- A character that belongs to the following set:
| Character |
Meaning |
| , |
Comma |
| ; |
Semicolon |
| : |
Colon |
| . |
Period (full stop) |
| “ |
Quotation mark |
| ( |
Left parenthesis |
| ) |
Right parenthesis |
| |
Space |
| = |
Equal sign |
Q
- * qualified data-name
- An identifier that is composed of a data-name followed by one or more sets
of either of the connectives OF and IN followed by a
data-name qualifier.
- * qualifier
- (1) A data-name or a name associated with a level indicator that is used
in a reference either together with another data-name (which is the name of
an item that is subordinate to the qualifier) or together with a
condition-name. (2) A section-name that is used in a reference together with
a paragraph-name specified in that section. (3) A library-name that is used
in a reference together with a text-name associated with that library.
R
- * random access
- An access mode in which the program-specified value of a key data item
identifies the logical record that is obtained from, deleted from, or placed
into a relative or indexed file.
- * record
- See logical record.
- * record area
- A storage area allocated for the purpose of processing the record
described in a record description entry in the FILE SECTION of the DATA
DIVISION. In the FILE SECTION, the current number of character
positions in the record area is determined by the explicit or implicit RECORD
clause.
- * record description
- See record description entry.
- * record description entry
- The total set of data description entries associated with a particular
record. Synonymous with record description.
- record key
- A key whose contents identify a record within an indexed file.
- * record-name
- A user-defined word that names a record described in a record description
entry in the DATA DIVISION of a COBOL program.
- * record number
- The ordinal number of a record in the file whose organization is
sequential.
- recording mode
- The format of the logical records in a file. Recording mode can be F
(fixed length), V (variable length), S (spanned), or U (undefined).
- recursion
- A program calling itself or being directly or indirectly called by a one
of its called programs.
- recursively capable
- A program is recursively capable (can be called recursively) if the RECURSIVE
attribute is on the PROGRAM-ID statement.
- reel
- A discrete portion of a storage medium, the dimensions of which are
determined by each implementor that contains part of a file, all of a file,
or any number of files. Synonymous with unit and volume.
- reentrant
- The attribute of a program or routine that allows more than one user to
share a single copy of a load module. The COBOL for Windows compiler
always produces reentrant code.
- * reference format
- A format that provides a standard method for describing COBOL source
programs.
- reference modification
- A method of defining a new category alphanumeric, category DBCS, or
category national data item by specifying the leftmost character and length
relative to the leftmost character position of a USAGE DISPLAY, DISPLAY-1,
or NATIONAL data item.
- * reference-modifier
- A syntactically correct combination of character strings and separators
that defines a unique data item. It includes a delimiting left parenthesis
separator, the leftmost character position, a colon separator, optionally a
length, and a delimiting right parenthesis separator.
- * relation
- See relational operator or relation condition.
- * relation character
- A character that belongs to the following set:
| Character |
Meaning |
| > |
Greater than |
| < |
Less than |
| = |
Equal to |
- * relation condition
- The proposition (for which a truth value can be determined) that the value
of an arithmetic expression, data item, nonnumeric literal, or index-name
has a specific relationship to the value of another arithmetic expression,
data item, nonnumeric literal, or index name. See also relational
operator.
- * relational operator
- A reserved word, a relation character, a group of consecutive reserved
words, or a group of consecutive reserved words and relation characters used
in the construction of a relation condition. The permissible operators and
their meanings are:
| Character |
Meaning |
| IS GREATER THAN |
Greater than |
| IS > |
Greater than |
| IS NOT GREATER THAN |
Not greater than |
| IS NOT > |
Not greater than |
| |
| IS LESS THAN |
Less than |
| IS < |
Less than |
| IS NOT LESS THAN |
Not less than |
| IS NOT < |
Not less than |
| |
| IS EQUAL TO |
Equal to |
| IS = |
Equal to |
| IS NOT EQUAL TO |
Not equal to |
| IS NOT = |
Not equal to |
| |
| IS GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO |
Greater than or equal to |
| IS >= |
Greater than or equal to |
| |
| IS LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO |
Less than or equal to |
| IS <= |
Less than or equal to |
- * relative file
- A file with relative organization.
- * relative key
- A key whose contents identify a logical record in a relative file.
- * relative organization
- The permanent logical file structure in which each record is uniquely
identified by an integer value greater than zero, which specifies the
logical ordinal position of the record in the file.
- * relative record number
- The ordinal number of a record in a file whose organization is relative.
This number is treated as a numeric literal that is an integer.
- * reserved word
- A COBOL word that is specified in the list of words that can be used in a
COBOL source program, but that must not appear in the program as a
user-defined word or system-name.
- * resource
- A facility or service, controlled by the operating system, that an
executing program can use.
- * resultant identifier
- A user-defined data item that is to contain the result of an arithmetic
operation.
- ring
- In the COBOL editor, a set of files that are available for editing so that
you can easily move between them.
- routine
- A set of statements in a COBOL program that causes the computer to perform
an operation or series of related operations.
- * routine-name
- A user-defined word that identifies a procedure written in a language
other than COBOL.
- RSD file system
- The record sequential delimited file system is a
workstation file system that supports sequential files, including the full
Standard COBOL 85 sequential I/O language and all of the extensions
described in
COBOL for Windows Language Reference, unless exceptions are explicitly noted. An
RSD file supports all COBOL data types in fixed-length records, can be
edited by most file editors, and can be read by programs written in other
languages.
- * run time
- The time at which an object program is executed. Synonymous with object
time.
- runtime environment
- The environment in which a COBOL program executes.
- * run unit
- A stand-alone object program, or several object programs, that interact by
means of COBOL CALL or INVOKE statements and function at
run time as an entity.
S
- SBCS
- See single-byte character set (SBCS).
- scope terminator
- A COBOL reserved word that marks the end of certain PROCEDURE DIVISION
statements. It can be either explicit (END-ADD, for example) or
implicit (separator period).
- * section
- A set of zero, one or more paragraphs or entities, called a section body,
the first of which is preceded by a section header. Each section consists of
the section header and the related section body.
- * section header
- A combination of words followed by a separator period that indicates the
beginning of a section in any of these divisions: ENVIRONMENT, DATA,
or PROCEDURE. In the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION and DATA
DIVISION, a section header is composed of reserved words followed by a
separator period. The permissible section headers in the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION are:
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
The permissible section headers in the DATA DIVISION are:
FILE SECTION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
LOCAL-STORAGE SECTION.
LINKAGE SECTION.
In the PROCEDURE DIVISION, a section header is composed of a
section-name, followed by the reserved word SECTION, followed by a
separator period.
- * section-name
- A user-defined word that names a section in the PROCEDURE DIVISION.
- selection structure
- A program processing logic in which one or another series of statements is
executed, depending on whether a condition is true or false.
- * sentence
- A sequence of one or more statements, the last of which is terminated by a
separator period.
- * separately compiled program
- A program that, together with its contained programs, is compiled
separately from all other programs.
- * separator
- A character or two contiguous characters used
to delimit character strings.
- * separator comma
- A comma (,) followed by a space used to delimit character strings.
- * separator period
- A period (.) followed by a space used to delimit character strings.
- * separator semicolon
- A semicolon (;) followed by a space used to delimit character strings.
- sequence structure
- A program processing logic in which a series of statements is executed in
sequential order.
- * sequential access
- An access mode in which logical records are obtained from or placed into a
file in a consecutive predecessor-to-successor logical record sequence
determined by the order of records in the file.
- * sequential file
- A file with sequential organization.
- * sequential organization
- The permanent logical file structure in which a record is identified by a
predecessor-successor relationship established when the record is placed
into the file.
- serial search
- A search in which the members of a set are consecutively examined,
beginning with the first member and ending with the last.
- * 77-level-description-entry
- A data description entry that describes a noncontiguous data item with the
level-number 77.
- * sign condition
- The proposition (for which a truth value can be determined) that the
algebraic value of a data item or an arithmetic expression is either less
than, greater than, or equal to zero.
- signature
- (1) The name of an operation and its parameters. (2) The name of a method
and the number and types of its formal parameters.
- * simple condition
- Any single condition chosen from this set:
- Relation condition
- Class condition
- Condition-name condition
- Switch-status condition
- Sign condition
See also condition and negated simple condition.
- single-byte character set (SBCS)
- A set of characters in which each character is represented by a single
byte. See also ASCII and EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded Decimal
Interchange Code).
- slack bytes
- Bytes inserted between data items or records to ensure correct alignment
of some numeric items. Slack bytes contain no meaningful data. In some
cases, they are inserted by the compiler; in others, it is the
responsibility of the programmer to insert them. The SYNCHRONIZED
clause instructs the compiler to insert slack bytes when they are needed for
proper alignment. Slack bytes between records are inserted by the
programmer.
- * sort file
- A collection of records to be sorted by a SORT statement. The
sort file is created and can be used by the sort function only.
- * sort-merge file description entry
- An entry in the FILE SECTION of the DATA DIVISION that
is composed of the level indicator SD, followed by a file-name, and
then followed by a set of file clauses as required.
- * SOURCE-COMPUTER
- The name of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION paragraph in which the
computer environment, where the source program is compiled, is described.
- * source computer entry
- An entry in the SOURCE-COMPUTER paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION; this entry contains clauses that describe the computer
environment in which the source program is to be compiled.
- * source item
- An identifier designated by a SOURCE clause that provides the
value of a printable item.
- source program
- Although a source program can be represented by other forms and symbols,
in this document the term always refers to a syntactically correct set of
COBOL statements. A COBOL source program commences with the IDENTIFICATION
DIVISION or a COPY statement and terminates with the end
program marker, if specified, or with the absence of additional source
program lines.
- source unit
- A unit of COBOL source code that can be separately compiled: a program or
a class definition. Also known as a compilation unit.
- * special character
- A character that belongs to the following set:
| Character |
Meaning |
| + |
Plus sign |
| - |
Minus sign (hyphen) |
| * |
Asterisk |
| / |
Slant (virgule, slash) |
| = |
Equal sign |
| $ |
Currency sign |
| , |
Comma (decimal point) |
| ; |
Semicolon |
| . |
Period (decimal point, full stop) |
| ” |
Quotation mark |
| ( |
Left parenthesis |
| ) |
Right parenthesis |
| > |
Greater than symbol |
| < |
Less than symbol |
| : |
Colon |
- SPECIAL-NAMES
- The name of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION paragraph in which
environment-names are related to user-specified mnemonic-names.
- * special names entry
- An entry in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION; this entry provides means for specifying the currency sign;
choosing the decimal point; specifying symbolic characters; relating
implementor-names to user-specified mnemonic-names; relating alphabet-names
to character sets or collating sequences; and relating class-names to sets
of characters.
- * special registers
- Certain compiler-generated storage areas whose primary use is to store
information produced in conjunction with the use of a specific COBOL
feature.
- Standard COBOL 85
- The COBOL language defined by the following standards:
- ANSI INCITS 23-1985, Programming languages - COBOL, as
amended by ANSI INCITS 23a-1989, Programming Languages - COBOL - Intrinsic Function Module for COBOL
- ISO 1989:1985, Programming languages - COBOL, as amended
by ISO/IEC 1989/AMD1:1992, Programming languages - COBOL: Intrinsic function module
- * statement
- A syntactically valid combination of words, literals, and separators,
beginning with a verb, written in a COBOL source program.
- STL file system
- The standard language file system is the native
workstation file system for COBOL and PL/I. This system supports sequential,
relative, and indexed files, including the full Standard COBOL 85 input and output
language and all of the extensions described in
COBOL for Windows Language Reference, unless
exceptions are explicitly noted.
- structured programming
- A technique for organizing and coding a computer program in which the
program comprises a hierarchy of segments, each segment having a single
entry point and a single exit point. Control is passed downward through the
structure without unconditional branches to higher levels of the hierarchy.
- * subclass
- A class that inherits from another class. When two classes in an
inheritance relationship are considered together, the subclass is the
inheritor or inheriting class; the superclass is the inheritee or inherited
class.
- * subject of entry
- An operand or reserved word that appears immediately following the level
indicator or the level-number in a DATA DIVISION entry.
- * subprogram
- See called program.
- * subscript
- An occurrence number that is represented by either an integer, a data-name
optionally followed by an integer with the operator + or -, or an index-name
optionally followed by an integer with the operator + or -, that identifies
a particular element in a table. A subscript can be the word ALL
when the subscripted identifier is used as a function argument for a
function allowing a variable number of arguments.
- * subscripted data-name
- An identifier that is composed of a data-name followed by one or more
subscripts enclosed in parentheses.
- substitution character
- A character that is used in a conversion from a source code page to a
target code page to represent a character that is not defined in the target
code page.
- * superclass
- A class that is inherited by another class. See also subclass.
- surrogate pair
- In the UTF-16 format of Unicode, a pair of encoding units that together
represents a single Unicode graphic character. The first unit of the pair is
called a high surrogate and the second a low surrogate.
The code value of a high surrogate is in the range X'D800' through X'DBFF'.
The code value of a low surrogate is in the range X'DC00' through X'DFFF'.
Surrogate pairs provide for more characters than the 65,536 characters that
fit in the Unicode 16-bit coded character set.
- switch-status condition
- The proposition (for which a truth value can be determined) that an UPSI
switch, capable of being set to an on or off status, has been set to a
specific status.
- * symbolic-character
- A user-defined word that specifies a user-defined figurative constant.
- syntax
- (1) The relationship among characters or groups of characters, independent
of their meanings or the manner of their interpretation and use. (2) The
structure of expressions in a language. (3) The rules governing the
structure of a language. (4) The relationship among symbols. (5) The rules
for the construction of a statement.
- * system-name
- A COBOL word that is used to communicate with the operating environment.
T
- * table
- A set of logically consecutive items of data that are defined in the DATA
DIVISION by means of the OCCURS clause.
- * table element
- A data item that belongs to the set of repeated items comprising a table.
- * text-name
- A user-defined word that identifies library text.
- * text word
- A character or a sequence of contiguous characters between margin A and
margin R in a COBOL library, source program, or pseudo-text that is any of
the following characters:
- A separator, except for space; a pseudo-text delimiter; and the
opening and closing delimiters for nonnumeric literals. The right
parenthesis and left parenthesis characters, regardless of context
within the library, source program, or pseudo-text, are always
considered text words.
- A literal including, in the case of nonnumeric literals, the opening
quotation mark and the closing quotation mark that bound the literal.
- Any other sequence of contiguous COBOL characters except comment lines
and the word COPY bounded by separators that are neither a separator nor
a literal.
- thread
- A stream of computer instructions (initiated by an application within a
process) that is in control of a process.
- token
- In the COBOL editor, a unit of meaning in a program. A token can contain
data, a language keyword, an identifier, or other part of the language
syntax.
- token highlighting
- In the COBOL editor, a feature that enables you to view
the token types of the programming language in different colors and fonts.
This feature makes the structure of the program more obvious. You use the
Token Attributes window to customize the appearance of the types of tokens.
- top-down design
- The design of a computer program using a hierarchic structure in which
related functions are performed at each level of the structure.
- top-down development
- See structured programming.
- trailer-label
- (1) A file or data-set label that follows the data records on a unit of
recording medium. (2) Synonym for end-of-file label.
- troubleshoot
- To detect, locate, and eliminate problems in using computer software.
- * truth value
- The representation of the result of the evaluation of a condition in terms
of one of two values: true or false.
- typed object reference
- A data-name that can refer only to an object of a specified class or any
of its subclasses.
U
- * unary operator
- A plus (+) or a minus (-) sign that precedes a variable or a left
parenthesis in an arithmetic expression and that has the effect of
multiplying the expression by +1 or -1, respectively.
- Unicode
- A universal character encoding standard that supports the interchange,
processing, and display of text that is written in any of the languages of
the modern world. There are multiple encoding schemes to represent Unicode,
including UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. COBOL for Windows supports Unicode using UTF-16
in little-endian
format as the representation for the national data type.
- unit
- A module of direct access, the dimensions of which are determined by IBM.
- universal object reference
- A data-name that can refer to an object of any class.
- * unsuccessful execution
- The attempted execution of a statement that does not result in the
execution of all the operations specified by that statement. The
unsuccessful execution of a statement does not affect any data referenced by
that statement, but can affect status indicators.
- UPSI switch
- A program switch that performs the functions of a hardware switch. Eight
are provided: UPSI-0 through UPSI-7.
- * user-defined word
- A COBOL word that must be supplied by the user to satisfy the format of a
clause or statement.
V
- * variable
- A data item whose value can be changed by execution of the object program.
A variable used in an arithmetic expression must be a numeric elementary
item.
- * variable-length record
- A record associated with a file whose file description or sort-merge
description entry permits records to contain a varying number of character
positions.
- * variable-occurrence data item
- A variable-occurrence data item is a table element that is repeated a
variable number of times. Such an item must contain an OCCURS DEPENDING
ON clause in its data description entry or be subordinate to such an
item.
- * variably located group
- A group item following, and not subordinate to, a variable-length table in
the same record. The group item can be an alphanumeric group or a national
group.
- * variably located item
- A data item following, and not subordinate to, a variable-length table in
the same record.
- * verb
- A word that expresses an action to be taken by a COBOL compiler or object
program.
- volume
- A module of external storage. For tape devices it is a reel; for
direct-access devices it is a unit.
W
- Web service
- A modular application that performs specific tasks and is accessible
through open protocols like HTTP and SOAP.
- white space
- Characters that introduce space into a document. They are:
- Space
- Horizontal tabulation
- Carriage return
- Line feed
- Next line
as named in the Unicode Standard.
- windowed date field
- A date field containing a windowed (two-digit) year. See also date
field and windowed year.
- windowed year
- A date field that consists only of a two-digit year. This two-digit year
can be interpreted using a century window. For example, 08 could be
interpreted as 2008. See also century window. Compare with expanded
year.
- * word
- A character string of not more than 30 characters that forms a
user-defined word, a system-name, a reserved word, or a function-name.
- * WORKING-STORAGE SECTION
- The section of the DATA DIVISION that describes working-storage
data items, composed either of noncontiguous items or working-storage
records or of both.
- workstation
- A generic term for computers used by end users including personal
computers, 3270 terminals, intelligent workstations, and UNIX terminals.
Often a workstation is connected to a mainframe or to a network.
- wrapper
- An object that provides an interface between object-oriented code and
procedure-oriented code. Using wrappers allows programs to be reused and
accessed by other systems.
X
- x
- The symbol in a PICTURE clause that can hold any character in the
character set of the computer.
- XML
- Extensible Markup Language. A standard metalanguage for defining markup
languages that was derived from and is a subset of SGML. XML omits the more
complex and less-used parts of SGML and makes it much easier to write
applications to handle document types, author and manage structured
information, and transmit and share structured information across diverse
computing systems. The use of XML does not require the robust applications
and processing that is necessary for SGML. XML is developed under the
auspices of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
- XML data
- Data that is organized into a hierarchical structure with XML elements.
The data definitions are defined in XML element type declarations.
- XML declaration
- XML text that specifies characteristics of the XML document such as the
version of XML being used and the encoding of the document.
- XML document
- A data object that is well formed as defined by the W3C XML specification.
- XML type definition
- An XML element that contains or points to markup declarations that provide
a grammar for a class of documents. This grammar is known as a document type
definition, or DTD.
Y
- year field expansion
- Explicitly expanding date fields that contain two-digit years to contain
four-digit years in files and databases and then using these fields in
expanded form in programs. This is the only method for assuring reliable
date processing for applications that have used two-digit years.
Z
- zoned decimal data item
- An external decimal data item that is described implicitly or explicitly
as USAGE DISPLAY and that contains a valid combination of PICTURE
symbols 9, S, P, and V. The content of a
zoned decimal data item is represented in characters 0 through 9, optionally
with a sign. If the PICTURE string specifies a sign and the SIGN
IS SEPARATE clause is specified, the sign is represented as characters
+ or -. If SIGN IS SEPARATE is not specified, the sign is one
hexadecimal digit that overlays the first 4 bits of the sign position
(leading or trailing).
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