1.5.1.1 "COBOL Language Reference" IBM Library Server

1.5.1.1 Qualification

A name can be made unique if it exists within a hierarchy of names 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:

EMPLOYEE-NO OF MASTER-RECORD sufficiently qualifies EMPLOYEE-NO
EMPLOYEE-NO OF MASTER-RECORD OF MASTER-FILE is valid but unnecessary

Subtopics:

1.5.1.1.1 Qualification Rules

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1.5.1.1 Qualification

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