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


Qualification

A name that exists within a hierarchy of names can be made unique by specifying one or more higher-level names in the hierarchy. The higher-level names are called qualifiers, and the process by which such names are made unique is called qualification.

Qualification is specified by placing one or more phrases after a user-specified name, with each phrase made up of the word IN or OF followed by a qualifier. (IN and OF are logically equivalent.)

In any hierarchy, the data-name associated with the highest level must be unique if it is referenced, and cannot be qualified.

You must specify enough qualification to make the name unique; however, it is not always necessary to specify all the levels of the hierarchy. For example, if there is more than one file whose records contain the field EMPLOYEE-NO, but only one of the files has a record named MASTER-RECORD:

Qualification rules

The rules for qualifying a name are:

  • A name can be qualified even though it does not need qualification except in a REDEFINES clause, in which case it must not be qualified.
  • Each qualifier must be of a higher level than the name it qualifies and must be within the same hierarchy.
  • If there is more than one combination of qualifiers that ensures uniqueness, any of those combinations can be used.

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