Rational Developer for System z
COBOL for Windows, Version 7.5, Language Reference


BLANK WHEN ZERO clause

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause specifies that an item contains only spaces when its value is zero.

Format
Read syntax diagramSkip visual syntax diagram>>-BLANK--+------+--+-ZERO---+---------------------------------><
          '-WHEN-'  +-ZEROS--+  
                    '-ZEROES-'  
 

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause may be specified only for an elementary item described by its picture character string as category numeric-edited or numeric, without the picture symbol S or *. These items must be described, either implicitly or explicitly, as USAGE DISPLAY or USAGE NATIONAL.

A BLANK WHEN ZERO clause that is specified for an item defined as numeric by it picture character string defines the item as category numeric-edited.

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause must not be specified for date fields.


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