Rational Developer for System z
Enterprise COBOL for z/OS, Version 4.1, Language Reference


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:

American National Standard definitions are preceded by an asterisk (*).

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 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, defined in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the environment division, that names a specific character set or collating sequence, or both.
* alphabetic character
A letter or a space character.
alphabetic data item
A data item 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 computer's single-byte character set.
alphanumeric character position
See character position.
alphanumeric data item
A general reference to a data item described implicitly or explicitly with usage DISPLAY and category alphanumeric, alphanumeric-edited, or numeric-edited, possibly limited to specific data categories or specific data descriptions by detailed specifications.
alphanumeric-edited data item
A data item described by a PICTURE character-string that contains at least one 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 that returns a value that is composed of a string of one or more characters from the computer's alphanumeric character set.
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 with 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, and INITIALIZE identifier, 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'
Z"

The literal content 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 consisting of producers, consumers, and general interest groups, that 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 the ADD, COMPUTE, DIVIDE, MULTIPLY, and SUBTRACT statements.
* 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. A standard code, using a coded character set consisting of 7-bit coded characters (8 bits including parity check), 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).

ASCII DBCS
See double-byte ASCII.
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 with no physical representation.
* AT END condition
A condition that exists in the following circumstances:
  • During the execution of a READ statement for 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 available.
  • During the execution of a RETURN statement, when no next logical record exists for the associated sort or merge file.
  • During the execution of a SEARCH statement, when the search operation terminates without satisfying the condition specified in any of the associated WHEN phrases.

B

basic character set
The basic set of characters used in writing words, character-strings, and separators of the language. The basic character set is implemented in single-byte EBCDIC. The extended character set includes DBCS characters, which can be used in comments, literals, and user-defined words.

Synonymous with COBOL character set in Standard COBOL 85.

big-endian
The default format used by the mainframe to store binary data. In this format, the least significant digit is on the highest address. See also little-endian.
binary item
A numeric data item represented in binary notation (on the base 2 numbering system). Binary items have a decimal equivalent consisting 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. The term is synonymous with physical record.
buffer
A portion of storage used to hold input or output data temporarily.
byte
A string consisting of a certain number of bits, usually eight, treated as a unit.
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.

C

cataloged procedure
A set of job control statements placed in a partitioned data set called the procedure library (SYS1.PROCLIB). You can use cataloged procedures to save time and reduce errors coding JCL.
CCSID
See coded character set identifier.
century window
A 100-year interval within which any two-digit year is unique. There are several types of century window available to COBOL programmers:
  1. For windowed date fields, it is specified by the YEARWINDOW compiler option.
  2. For windowing intrinsic functions DATE-TO-YYYYMMDD, DAY-TO-YYYYDDD, and YEAR-TO-YYYY, it is specified by 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 for holding or presenting 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
See basic character set and coded character set.
* character-string
A sequence of contiguous characters that forms a COBOL word, a literal, a PICTURE character-string, or a comment-entry. 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 (object-oriented)
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.
* 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-name (object-oriented)
The name of an object-oriented class definition. Class-name can refer to a COBOL class-name or a Java class-name.
* class-name (of data)
A user-defined word, defined in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph, that refers to the proposition for which a truth value can be defined, that the content of a data item consists exclusively of those characters listed in the definition of the class-name.
* clause
An ordered set of consecutive COBOL character-strings whose purpose is to specify an attribute of an entry.
COBOL character set
See basic character set.
* COBOL word
See word.
code page
An assignment of graphic characters and control character meanings to the code points in a coded character set; for example, assignment of characters and meanings to the 256 code points in single-byte EBCDIC or ASCII. The terms coded character set and code page can be used interchangeably.
code point
A unique bit pattern defined in a code page. Graphic symbols and control characters are assigned to code points.
coded character set
A set of graphic characters and control characters along with their unambiguous assignment to specific code points (their encodings). EBCDIC is an example of a coded character set. A specific instance of encodings is called a code page. A code page specified by IBM is identified by a CCSID.
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.
* comment-entry
An entry in the identification division that is used for documentation and has no effect on execution.
* comment line
A source text line represented by an asterisk (*) in the indicator area of the line and any characters from the computer's character set 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 forward slash (/) in the indicator area of the line and any characters from the computer's character set in area A and area B of that line causes page ejection prior to printing the comment.
* common program
A program that, despite being directly contained within another program, is permitted to 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 of only a windowed year, DATE FORMAT YY.
    • Both are expanded date fields, where one consists of only an expanded year, DATE FORMAT YYYY.
    • One has DATE FORMAT YYXXXX, the other, YYXX.
    • One has DATE FORMAT YYYYXXXX, the other, YYYYXX.

    A windowed date field can be subordinate to an expanded date group data item. 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
compilation unit
See source unit
* compile time
The time at which COBOL source code is translated by a COBOL compiler to a COBOL object program.
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.
* complex condition
A condition in which one or more logical operators act upon one or more conditions. See also negated simple condition, combined condition, and negated combined condition.
complex ODO
Certain forms of the OCCURS DEPENDING ON clause:
  • A variably located item or group: A data item described with an OCCURS clause with the DEPENDING ON phrase, followed by a nonsubordinate data item or group. The group can be an alphanumeric group or a national group.
  • A variably located table: A data item described with an OCCURS clause with the DEPENDING ON phrase, followed by a nonsubordinate data item described with an OCCURS clause.
  • A table with variable-length elements: A data item described with an OCCURS clause, where a subordinate data item is described with an OCCURS clause with the DEPENDING ON phrase.
  • An index name for a table with variable-length elements.
  • An element of a table with variable-length elements.
condition (exception)
An exception that has been enabled, or recognized, by Language Environment and thus is eligible to activate user and language condition handlers. Any alteration to the normal programmed flow of an application. Conditions can be detected by the hardware or operating system and result in an interrupt. They can also be detected by language-specific generated code or language library code.
* condition (expression)
A status of data at run time for which a truth value can be determined. Where the term 'condition' (condition-1, condition-2,...) appears in these language specifications in or in reference to 'condition' (condition-1, condition-2,...) of a general format, it is a conditional expression consisting 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.
* 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 conditional phrase specifies the action to be taken upon determination of the truth value of a condition resulting from the execution of a conditional statement.
* conditional statement
A statement specifying that the truth value of a condition is to be determined and that the subsequent action of the object program is dependent 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 is permitted to 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, method definitions, and class definitions.
CONSOLE
A COBOL environment-name associated with the operator console.
* contiguous items
Items that are described by consecutive entries in the data division, and that bear a definite hierarchic relationship to each other.
contained program
A COBOL program that is nested within another COBOL program.
* 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.
cs
See currency symbol.
currency sign value
A character-string that identifies the monetary units stored in a numeric-edited item. Some examples are '$', 'USD', 'JPY', and 'EUR'. A currency sign value can be defined by either the CURRENCY compiler option or the CURRENCY SIGN clause in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the environment division. If the CURRENCY SIGN clause is not specified and the NOCURRENCY compiler option is in effect, the dollar sign ($) 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 by 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.
* current volume pointer
A conceptual entity that points to the current volume of a sequential file.

D

* data description entry
An entry in the data division composed of a level-number followed by a data-name, if required, and then followed by a set of clauses that describe the attributes of a data item or record.
* data division
A COBOL division that describes data and files to be processed at run time.
* 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. The maximum length of a data-name is 30 bytes. 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).

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 either:
  • 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).
DBCS
See Double-Byte Character Set (DBCS).
DBCS character
Any character defined in an IBM double-byte character set.
DBCS character position
See character position.
DBCS data item
A data item 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
A debugging line is any line with a 'D' in the indicator area of the line.
* debugging section
A section that contains a USE FOR DEBUGGING statement.
* 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 keyword DECLARATIVES and the last of which is followed by the keyword 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 that item's unedited numeric value.
* 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 in reference 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 described with usage DISPLAY and a picture character-string that describes an external floating-point data item. See floating-point.
* division
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.
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.
double-byte ASCII
An IBM character set that includes DBCS and single-byte ASCII characters. (Also known as ASCII DBCS.)
double-byte EBCDIC
An IBM character set that includes DBCS and single-byte EBCDIC characters. (Also known as EBCDIC DBCS.)
Double-Byte Character Set (DBCS)
An IBM coded character set in which each character is represented by two 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 two 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.

E

EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded Decimal Interchange Code)
A coded character set consisting of 8-bit coded characters.
EBCDIC character
Any one of the graphic characters or control characters encoded in EBCDIC.
EBCDIC DBCS
See double-byte EBCDIC.
edited data item
A data item that has been modified by suppressing zeroes or inserting editing characters.
* 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)
/ Forward slash
* elementary item
A data item that is described as not being further logically subdivided.
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 procedure division 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 written in the identification division, environment division, or data division of a COBOL program.
* environment division
A division of a COBOL source unit that describes the computers upon which the source code is compiled and those on which the object code 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, or program switches. When an environment-name is associated with a mnemonic-name in the environment division, the mnemonic-name can then 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.
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. For example, END-READ.
exponent
A number, indicating the power to which another number (the base) is to be raised. Positive exponents denote multiplication, negative exponents denote division, 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.
* external data
The data 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 itself is permitted to be referenced from any program in which it is described.
* external data record
A logical record which is described in one or more programs of a run unit and whose constituent data items are permitted to be referenced from any program in which they are described.
external decimal data item
A zoned decimal data item or a national decimal data item. A zoned decimal data item has usage DISPLAY. A national decimal data item has usage NATIONAL. See zoned decimal data item and national decimal data item.
* external file connector
A file connector which is accessible to one or more object programs in the run unit.
external floating-point data item
A display floating-point data item or a national floating-point data item. A display floating-point data item has usage DISPLAY. A national floating-point data item has usage NATIONAL. See display floating-point data item and national floating-point data item.
* 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 of a factory object. Factory data is allocated once for a class and shared by all instances of the class. Factory data is declared in the working-storage section in the factory paragraph of a class definition. Factory data is equivalent to private static data in Java.
factory method
A method that is supported by a class independently of any object instance. Factory methods are defined in the factory paragraph of the class definition, and are equivalent to public static methods in Java. 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 connector
A storage area which 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 which 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 clauses that include the attributes of the file.
* 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 available, 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 and file management structures on a physical or logical mass storage device, such as a diskette or minidisk.
* fixed file attributes
Information about a file which is established when a file is created and 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 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 item
A numeric data item containing 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 specified by the exponent.
* 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
A data item that can contain the address of a procedure or function, described with a usage of FUNCTION-POINTER.

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 which can be referenced from that program and from any program contained within that 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. A group item that is described with an explicit or implicit GROUP-USAGE NATIONAL clause is a national group item. A group that is described without a GROUP-USAGE NATIONAL clause is an alphanumeric group item. 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 (a method)
To redefine (in a subclass) a factory or static method defined with the same method-name in a parent class. Thus, the method in the subclass hides the method in the parent class.
* high order end
The leftmost character of a string of characters.

I

IBM extensions
COBOL syntax and semantics specified by IBM, rather than by Standard COBOL 85.
identification division
One of the four main component parts of a COBOL program, class definition, or method definition. The identification division identifies the program, class, or method. The identification division can include the following documentation: author name, installation, or date.
* identifier
Syntax that references a resource, such as a data item. An identifier that refers to data item includes the data-name and optionally includes qualifiers, subscripting, and reference modification.
* imperative statement
A statement that specifies an unconditional action to be taken or a conditional statement that is delimited by its explicit scope terminator (a 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
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 (the superclass) as the basis for a new class (a subclass). Each subclass inherits from exactly one class. The inherited class can itself be a subclass that inherits from another class.

Enterprise COBOL does not support multiple inheritance. It supports the Java object model, which provides single inheritance.

* 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 a 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 upon individual records or upon 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 defining the state of an object instance. Instance data is declared in the working-storage section of the object paragraph of a class definition. Also called object instance data. Each object instance has its own copy of instance data. Instance data is equivalent to private nonstatic member data in a Java class.
instance method
A method defined in the object paragraph of a class definition. Instance methods are equivalent to public nonstatic methods in Java.
* 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 writer to readily build applications from component routines written in a variety of languages.
intermediate result
An intermediate field containing the results of a succession of arithmetic operations.
* internal data
The data described in a program excluding 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 which 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 with usage PACKED-DECIMAL or COMP-3 and a PICTURE character-string that defines the item as numeric (a valid combination of symbols 9, S, P, or V). Synonymous with packed decimal 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 with usage COMP-1 or 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.
intrinsic function
A function defined as part of the COBOL language. In some programming languages, this is called a built-in function.
* 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 invalid.
* 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 which 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.

J

Java Native Interface (JNI)
A programming interface that allows Java code running inside a Java virtual machine (JVM) to interoperate with applications and libraries written in other programming languages.

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 which 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 unit.
kilobyte (KB)
One kilobyte equals 1024 bytes.

L

* language-name
A system-name that specifies a particular programming language.
last-used state
The state of storage in which internal values remain the same as when the program or method was exited (are not reset to their initial values on reentry).
* 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, which 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 is to be used by the compiler for a given compilation.
* 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.
linkage section
The section in the data division of an activated unit (a called program or an invoked method) that describes data items available from the activating unit (a program or a method). These data items can be referred to by both the activated unit and the activating unit.
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. In this format, the most significant digit is at the highest address. See also big-endian.
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 their 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. The term is 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 to receive control when the programs are run.
* mass storage
A storage medium in which data can be organized and maintained in both a sequential and nonsequential manner.
* mass storage device
A device having a large storage capacity; for example, magnetic disk, magnetic drum.
* mass storage file
A collection of records that is assigned to a mass storage medium.
* megabyte (M)
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 one of the operations supported by an object. Method procedural code is executed by a COBOL INVOKE statement on a specific object instance. A method can be invoked by a Java invocation expression. A method can be a factory method or an instance method.
method identification entry
An entry in the METHOD-ID paragraph of the identification division that contains clauses that specify the method-name and assign selected attributes to the method definition.
method invocation
(1) The act of invoking a method. (2) The programming language syntax used to invoke a method (the INVOKE statement in COBOL, a method invocation expression in Java).
method-name
A name that identifies a method, specified as the content of an alphanumeric or national literal in the METHOD-ID paragraph, and as the content of an alphanumeric literal, national literal, alphanumeric data item, or data item of category national in the INVOKE statement.
method hiding
See hide.
method overloading
See overload.
method overriding
See override.
* mnemonic-name
A user-defined word that is associated in the environment division with a specified implementor-name.

N

namespace
See XML namespace.
national character
Any character represented in UTF-16.
national character data
A general reference to data represented in UTF-16.
national character position
See character position.
national data
See national character data.
national data item
A data item of class national. Class national includes categories national, national-edited, and numeric-edited with USAGE NATIONAL.
national decimal data item
A data item described by a PICTURE character-string that contains valid combinations of picture symbols 9, S, P, and V. A national decimal data item is an external decimal data item that has usage NATIONAL.
national-edited data item
A data item described by a PICTURE character-string that contains the symbol N and at least one of the simple insertion symbols B, 0, and /. A national-edited data item has usage NATIONAL.
national floating-point data item
A data item described with usage NATIONAL and a picture character-string that describes a floating-point data item. See floating-point.
national group item
A group item that is explicitly or implicitly described with a GROUP-USAGE clause with the NATIONAL phrase. A national group is processed as though it were defined as an elementary data item of category national for operations such as INSPECT, STRING, and UNSTRING. This ensures correct padding and truncation of national characters, as opposed to defining data items described with USAGE NATIONAL 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 identifier, 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.
* negated combined condition
The 'NOT' logical operator immediately followed by a parenthesized combined condition.
* negated simple condition
The 'NOT' logical operator immediately followed by a 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 and linkage sections 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 represents a value used to indicate that a pointer data item does not contain a valid address or that an object reference does not reference an object. 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 from '0' through '9'; if signed, the item can also contain a '+', '-', or other representation of an operational sign. (2) A data item of class numeric and category numeric, internal floating-point, or external floating-point, possibly limited to specific data categories or specific data descriptions by detailed specifications. 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 data item can be represented in usage DISPLAY or usage NATIONAL.
* numeric function
A function whose class and category are numeric but which for some possible evaluation does not satisfy the requirements of integer functions.
* numeric literal
A literal composed of one or more numeric characters. It can contain either 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.
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, within which the program is executed, is described.
object deck
A portion of an object program suitable as input to a linkage editor. The term is synonymous with object module and text deck.
object instance
A single object, of possibly many, instantiated from the specifications in the object paragraph of a COBOL class definition. An object instance has a copy of all the data described in its class definition and all inherited data. The methods associated with an object instance includes the methods defined in its class definition and all inherited methods.

An object instance can be an instance of a Java class.

object module
Synonym for object deck or text deck.
* 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 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 on the methods of an object-oriented class definition. Where there is no danger of ambiguity, the word 'program' alone can be used in place of the phrase 'object program'.
object reference
A data item that can contain the information needed to invoke or refer to an object. An object reference is defined in COBOL with the OBJECT REFERENCE phrase in the USAGE clause of a data description entry. See also typed object reference and universal object reference.
* object time
The time at which an object program is executed. The term is synonymous with the terms execution time and run time.
* obsolete element
A COBOL language element in Standard COBOL 85 that was deleted from Standard COBOL 2002.
ODO object
In the example below,
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION
01  TABLE-1.
    05  X                   PICS9.
    05  Y OCCURS 3 TIMES
          DEPENDING ON X    PIC X.

X is the object of the OCCURS DEPENDING ON clause (ODO object). 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 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
Data that is operated upon. In this document, any lowercase word (or words) that appears in a statement or entry format is an operand in that it is a reference to the data identified by that word (or words).
* operational sign
An algebraic sign, 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 available each time the object program is executed.
* optional word
A reserved word that is included in a specific format only to improve the readability of the language and whose 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 the 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 available in the same class, but with a different signature. See also signature.
override
To redefine (in a subclass) an instance method inherited from a parent class.

P

package
In Java, a group of related classes that can be imported individually or as a whole.
packed decimal item
See internal decimal item.
padding character
An alphanumeric or national character or literal used to fill the unused character positions in a physical record.
page
A vertical division of output data representing a physical separation of such data, the separation being based on internal logical requirements or external characteristics of the output medium.
* page body
That part of the logical page in which lines can be written or spaced.
* paragraph
In the procedure division, a paragraph-name followed by a separator period and by zero, one, or more sentences. In the identification and environment divisions, 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.
* paragraph-name
A user-defined word that identifies and begins a paragraph in the procedure division.
password
A unique string of characters that a program, computer operator, or user must supply to meet security requirements before gaining access to data.
* 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.
portability
The ability to transfer an application from one application platform to another with relatively few changes to the source code.
* 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. Priority-numbers can contain only the characters '0','1', . . ., '9'.
private
In object orientation, data that is accessible only by methods of the class that defines the data. Instance data is accessible only by instance methods; factory data is accessible only by factory methods. Thus, instance data is private to instance methods defined in the same class definition; factory data is private to factory methods defined in the same class definition.
* 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 unit. The procedure branching statements are: ALTER, CALL, EXIT, EXIT PROGRAM, GO TO, MERGE (with the OUTPUT PROCEDURE phrase), PERFORM, SORT (with the INPUT PROCEDURE or OUTPUT PROCEDURE phrase), and XML PARSE.
procedure division
The division of a program or method that contains procedural statements for performing operations at run time.
* 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
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.
* program-name
In the identification division and the end program marker, a user-defined or a literal that identifies a COBOL source program.
* pseudo-text
A sequence of text words, comment lines, or the separator space in a source unit 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

QSAM (Queued Sequential Access Method)
An extended version of the basic sequential access method (BSAM). When this method is used, a queue is formed of input data blocks that are awaiting processing or of output data blocks that have been processed and are awaiting transfer to auxiliary storage or to an output device.
* 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 which 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. The term is 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 clause is on the PROGRAM-ID statement.
reel
A discrete portion of a storage medium that contains part of a file, all of a file, or any number of files. The term is 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.
* reference format
A format that provides a standard method for writing COBOL source code.
reference modification
A method of defining a new data item by specifying the leftmost character position and length relative to the leftmost character position of another 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, alphanumeric literal, or index-name has a specific relationship to the value of another arithmetic expression, data item, alphanumeric 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 record's logical ordinal position 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 specified in the list of words that can be used in a COBOL source unit, but that must not appear in the program as user-defined words or system-names.
* resource
A facility or service, controlled by the operating system, that can be used by an executing program.
* resultant identifier
A user-defined data item that is to contain the result of an arithmetic operation.
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.
* run time
The time at which an object program is executed. The term is 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 via COBOL CALL or INVOKE statements and function at run time as an entity.

S

SBCS (Single Byte Character Set)
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 (a separator period, for example).
* 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. For example, WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
* section-name
A user-defined word that names a section in the procedure division.
segmentation
A feature of Enterprise COBOL that is based on the Standard COBOL 85 segmentation module. The segmentation feature uses priority-numbers in section headers to assign sections to fixed segments or independent segments. Segment classification affects whether procedures contained in a segment receive control in initial state or last-used state.
* 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 or more 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.
* 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
The name of a method and the number and types of its formal parameters.
* simple condition
Any single condition chosen from the set:
  • Relation condition
  • Class condition
  • Condition-name condition
  • Switch-status condition
  • Sign condition
Single Byte Character Set (SBCS)
A set of characters in which each character is represented by a single byte. See also EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded Decimal Interchange Code).
slack bytes (within records)
Bytes inserted by the compiler between data items to ensure correct alignment of some elementary data items. Slack bytes contain no meaningful data. The SYNCHRONIZED clause instructs the compiler to insert slack bytes when they are needed for proper alignment.
slack bytes (between records)
Bytes inserted by the programmer between blocked logical records of a file, to ensure correct alignment of some elementary data items. In some cases, slack bytes between records improve performance for records processed in a buffer.
* 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 clauses that describe the attributes of the sort-merge file.
source unit
A unit of COBOL source code that can be separately compiled: a program or a class definition. Also known as compilation unit.
* special character
A character that belongs to the following set:

Character Meaning
+ Plus sign
- Minus sign (hyphen)
* Asterisk
/ Forward 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 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 ANSI and ISO standards identified in Industry specifications.
Standard COBOL 2002
The COBOL language defined by the following standards:
  • INCITS/ISO/IEC 1989-2002, Information Technology - Programming Languages - COBOL
  • ISO/IEC 1989:2002, Information technology -- Programming languages -- COBOL
* statement
A COBOL language construct that specifies one or more actions to be performed. Statements can be procedural statements or compiler-directing statements. An example of a procedural statement is the ADD statement; an example of a compiler-directing statement is the USE statement.
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 inheriting class; the superclass is the inherited class.

A subclass is also referred to as a child class or derived 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
Any called program.
* subscript
An occurrence number 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.
superclass
A class that is inherited by another class. When two classes in an inheritance relationship are considered together, the subclass is the inheriting class; the superclass is the inherited class.

The superclass is also referred to as the parent class.

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 deck
Synonym for object deck or object module.
* 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 COBOL source code. A text word can be:
  • A separator, except for: space; a pseudo-text delimiter; and the opening and closing delimiters for alphanumeric literals. The right parenthesis and left parenthesis characters, regardless of context within the library, source unit, or pseudo-text, are always considered text words.
  • A literal including, in the case of alphanumeric 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.
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.
* 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
An object reference data item that can reference only an object of a specified class or one 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 coded character set that encodes all the characters required for the written expression of any of the languages of the modern world. There are multiple formats for representing Unicode, including UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. Enterprise COBOL supports Unicode using UTF-16 big-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
An object reference data item that can contain a reference 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.
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. The maximum length of a user-defined word is 30 bytes.

V

* variable
A data item whose value can be changed by the application at run time.
variable-length item
A group item that contains a table described with the DEPENDING phrase of the OCCURS clause.
* 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 which 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 level-01 record. A variably located group 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 level-01 record.
volume
A module of external storage. For tape devices it is a reel; for direct-access devices it is a unit.
volume switch procedures
System procedures executed automatically when the end of a unit or reel has been reached before end-of-file has been reached.

W

white space characters
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, 05 could be interpreted as 2005. See also century window. Compare with expanded year.
* word
A character-string 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 both.

X

XML
Extensible Markup Language. A 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
  • Transmit and share structured information across diverse computing systems

XML is being 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 namespace
A mechanism, defined by the W3C XML Namespace specifications, that limits the scope of a collection of element names and attribute names. A uniquely chosen XML namespace ensures the unique identity of an element name or attribute name across multiple XML documents or multiple contexts within an XML document.

Z

zoned decimal data item
A data item described by a PICTURE character-string that contains valid combinations of picture symbols 9, S, P, and V. A zoned decimal data item is an external decimal data item that has usage DISPLAY. See external decimal data item and national decimal data item.

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