5.3.5 "COBOL Language Reference" IBM Library Server

5.3.5 BLANK WHEN ZERO Clause

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause specifies that an item contains nothing but spaces when its value is zero.


    ___ Format _____________________________________________________________ 
   |                                                                        |
   | >>__BLANK__ ______ __ _ZERO_____ ___________________________________>< |
   |            |_WHEN_|  |_ ZEROS __|                                      |
   |                      |_ ZEROES _|                                      |
   |                                                                        |
   |________________________________________________________________________|

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause can be specified only for elementary numeric or numeric-edited items. These items must be described, either implicitly or explicitly, as USAGE IS DISPLAY. When the BLANK WHEN ZERO clause is specified for a numeric item, the item is considered a numeric-edited item.

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause must not be specified for level-66 or level-88 items.

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause must not be specified for the same entry as the PICTURE symbols S or *.

The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause is not allowed for:

Items described with the USAGE IS INDEX clause
X Date fields
X DBCS items
X External or internal floating-point items
X Items described with USAGE IS POINTER, USAGE IS PROCEDURE-POINTER, or
X USAGE IS OBJECT REFERENCE

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5.3.5 BLANK WHEN ZERO Clause

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