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BACK_2 Glossary

The terms in this glossary are defined in accordance with their meaning in COBOL. These terms may or may not have the same meaning in other languages.
IBM is grateful to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for permission to reprint its 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, in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION, that assigns a name to a specific character set and/or collating sequence.
* alphabetic character. A letter or a space character.
* alphanumeric character. Any character in the computer's character set.
alphanumeric-edited character. A character within an alphanumeric character-string that contains at least one B, 0 (zero), or / (slash).
* alphanumeric function. A function whose value is composed of a string of one or more characters from the computer's character set.
* 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. An identifier, a literal, an arithmetic expression, or a function-identifier that specifies a value to be used in the evaluation of a function.
* 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 2-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.
array. In Language Environment, an aggregate consisting of data objects, each of which may be uniquely referenced by subscripting. Roughly analogous to a COBOL table.
* 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. The 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.
Extension: IBM has defined an extension to ASCII code (characters 128-255).
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 caused:
  1. 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 present.
  2. During the execution of a RETURN statement, when no next logical record exists for the associated sort or merge file.
  3. 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
big-endian. Default format used by the mainframe and the AIX workstation to store binary data. In this format, the least significant digit is on the highest address. Compare with "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 may 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 record(s) that are either contained within the block or that overlap the block. The term is synonymous with physical record.
breakpoint. A place in a computer program, usually specified by an instruction, where its execution may be interrupted by external intervention or by a monitor program.
Btrieve. A key-indexed record management system that allows applications to manage records by key value, sequential access method, or random access method. IBM COBOL supports COBOL sequential and indexed file I-O language through Btrieve.
buffer. A portion of storage used to hold input or output data temporarily.
built-in function. See "intrinsic function".
byte. A string consisting of a certain number of bits, usually eight, treated as a unit, and representing a character. 








C
callable services. In Language Environment, a set of services that can be invoked by a COBOL program using the conventional Language Environment-defined call interface, and usable by all programs sharing the Language Environment conventions.
called program. A program that is the object of a CALL statement.
* calling program. A program that executes a CALL to another program.
case structure. A program processing logic in which a series of conditions is tested in order to make a choice between a number of resulting actions.
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.
century window. A century window is a 100-year interval within which any 2-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
  3. For Language Environment callable services, it is specified in CEESCEN
* character. The basic indivisible unit of the language.
character position. The amount of physical storage required to store a single standard data format character described as USAGE IS DISPLAY.
character set. All the valid characters for a programming language or a computer system.
* character-string. A sequence of contiguous characters that form 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 later restarted.
* class. 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, or consists exclusively of those characters listed in the definition of a class-name.
* Class Definition. The COBOL source unit that defines a class.
* class identification entry. An entry in the CLASS-ID paragraph of the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION which contains clauses that specify the class-name and assign selected attributes to the class definition.
* class-name. A user-defined word defined in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION that assigns a name 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.
class object. The run-time object representing a SOM class.
* clause. An ordered set of consecutive COBOL character-strings whose purpose is to specify an attribute of an entry.
CMS (Conversational Monitor System). A virtual machine operating system that provides general interactive, time-sharing, problem solving, and program development capabilities, and that operates only under the control of the VM/SP control program.
* COBOL character set. The complete COBOL character set consists of the characters listed below:
Character Meaning
0,1...,9
digit
A,B,...,Z
uppercase letter
a,b,...,z
lowercase letter
º
space
+
plus sign
-
minus sign (hyphen)
*
asterisk
/
slant (virgule, 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
* COBOL word. See "word."
code page. An assignment of graphic characters and control function meanings to all code points; for example, assignment of characters and meanings to 256 code points for 8-bit code, assignment of characters and meanings to 128 code points for 7-bit code.
* 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 character position within a print line. The columns are numbered from 1, by 1, starting at the leftmost character position of the print line and extending to the rightmost position of the print line.
* 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 may be any combination of characters from the computer's character set.
* comment line. A source program 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 in a program. A special form of comment line represented by a slant (/) 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 which, despite being directly contained within another program, may 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:
* compile. (1) To translate a program expressed in a high-level language into a program expressed in an intermediate language, assembly language, or a computer language. (2) To prepare a machine language program from a computer program written in another programming language by making use of the overall logic structure of the program, or generating more than one computer instruction for each symbolic statement, or both, as well as performing the function of an assembler.
* compile time. The time at which a COBOL source program is translated, by a COBOL compiler, to a COBOL object program.
compiler. A program that translates a program written in a higher level language into a machine language object program.
compiler directing statement. A statement, beginning with a compiler directing verb, that causes the compiler to take a specific action during compilation.
compiler directing statement. A statement that specifies actions to be taken by the compiler during processing of a COBOL source program. Compiler directives are contained in the COBOL source program. Thus, you can specify different suboptions of the directive within the source program by using multiple compiler directive statements in the program.
* 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.")
* computer-name. A system-name that identifies the computer upon which the program is to be compiled or run.
condition. 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/operating system and results in an interrupt. They can also be detected by language-specific generated code or language library code.
* condition. A status of a program 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 may assume; or a user-defined word assigned to a status of an implementor defined switch or device. When 'condition-name' is used in the general formats, it represents a unique data item reference consisting of a syntactically correct combination of a 'condition-name', together with qualifiers and subscripts, as required for uniqueness of reference.
* 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 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.
copybook. A file or library member containing a sequence of code that is included in the source program at compile time using the COPY statement. The file can be created by the user, supplied by COBOL, or supplied by another product.
CORBA. The Common Object Request Broker Architecture established by the Object Management Group. IBM's Interface Definition Language used to describe the interface for SOM classes is fully compliant with CORBA standards.
* 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.
cross-reference listing. The portion of the compiler listing that contains information on where files, fields, and indicators are defined, referenced, and modified in a program.
currency sign value. A character-string that identifies the monetary units stored in a numeric-edited item. Typical examples are '$', 'USD', and 'EUR'. A currency sign value can be defined by either the CURRENCY compiler option or the CURRENCY SIGN clause in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the Environment Division. If the CURRENCY SIGN clause is not specified and the NOCURRENCY compiler option is in effect, the dollar sign ($) 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 clause. A clause, appearing in a data description entry in the DATA DIVISION of a COBOL program, that provides information describing a particular attribute of a data item.
* data description entry . An entry in the DATA DIVISION of a COBOL program that is composed of a level-number followed by a data-name, if required, and then followed by a set of data clauses, as required.
DATA DIVISION. One of the four main components of a COBOL program, class definition, or method definition. The DATA DIVISION describes the data to be processed by the object program, class, or method: files to be used and the records contained within them; internal working-storage records that will be needed; data to be made available in more than one program in the COBOL run unit. (Note, the Class DATA DIVISION contains only the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.)
* 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. 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:
The term date field refers to both "expanded date field" and "windowed date field." See also "non-date."
date format. The date pattern of a date field, specified either:
DBCS (Double-Byte Character Set). See "Double-Byte Character Set (DBCS)."
* 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.
* declarative sentence. A compiler directing sentence consisting of a single USE statement terminated by the separator period.
* 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 key word DECLARATIVES and the last of which is followed by the key words 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 may 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.
* division. A collection of zero, one or more sections or paragraphs, called the division body, that are formed and combined in accordance with a specific set of rules. Each division consists of the division header and the related division body. There are four (4) 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:
do construction. In structured programming, a DO statement is used to group a number of statements in a procedure. In COBOL, an in-line PERFORM statement functions in the same way.
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 Character Set (DBCS). A set of characters 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.
Dynamic Storage Area (DSA). Dynamically acquired storage composed of a register save area and an area available for dynamic storage allocation (such as program variables). DSAs are generally allocated within STACK segments managed by Language Environment. 








E
* EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded Decimal Interchange Code). A coded character set consisting of 8-bit coded characters.
EBCDIC character. Any one of the symbols included in the 8-bit EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded-Decimal Interchange Code) set.
edited data item. A data item that has been modified by suppressing zeroes and/or inserting editing characters.
* editing character. A single character or a fixed 2-character combination belonging to the following set:
Character Meaning
º
space
0
zero
+
plus
-
minus
CR
credit
DB
debit
Z
zero suppress
*
check protect
$
currency sign
,
comma (decimal point)
.
period (decimal point)
/
slant (virgule, slash)
element (text element). One logical unit of a string of text, such as the description of a single data item or verb, preceded by a unique code identifying the element type.
* elementary item. A data item that is described as not being further logically subdivided.
enclave. When running under the Language Environment product, an enclave is analogous to a run unit. An enclave can create other enclaves on OS/390 and CMS by a LINK, on CMS by CMSCALL, and the use of the system () function of C.
*end class header. A combination of words, followed by a separator period, that indicates the end of a COBOL class definition. The end class header is: 



     END CLASS class-name.
*end method header. A combination of words, followed by a separator period, that indicates the end of a COBOL method definition. The end method header is: 



     END METHOD method-name.
* end of Procedure Division. The physical position of a COBOL source program after which no further procedures appear.
* end program header. A combination of words, followed by a separator period, that indicates the end of a COBOL source program. The end program header is: 



     END PROGRAM program-name.
* entry. Any descriptive set of consecutive clauses terminated by a separator period and written in the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION, ENVIRONMENT DIVISION, or DATA DIVISION of a COBOL program.
* environment clause. A clause that appears as part of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION entry.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION. One of the four main component parts of a COBOL program, class definition, or method definition. The ENVIRONMENT DIVISION describes the computers upon which the source program is compiled and those on which the object program is executed, and 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, and/or program switches. When an environment-name is associated with a mnemonic-name in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION, the mnemonic-name may then be substituted in any format in which such substitution is valid.
environment variable. Any of a number of variables that describe the way an operating system is going to run and the devices it is going to recognize.
execution time. See "run time."
execution-time environment. See "run-time environment."
expanded date field. A date field containing an expanded (4-digit) year. See also "date field" and "expanded year."
expanded year. A date field that consists only of a 4-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.
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.
extensions. Certain COBOL syntax and semantics supported by IBM compilers in addition to those described in ANSI Standard.
* external data. The data described in a program as external data items and external file connectors.
* external data item. A data item which is described as part of an external record in one or more programs of a run unit and which itself may 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 may be referenced from any program in which they are described.
external decimal item. A format for representing numbers in which the digit is contained in bits 4 through 7 and the sign is contained in bits 0 through 3 of the rightmost byte. Bits 0 through 3 of all other bytes contain 1's (hex F). For example, the decimal value of +123 is represented as 1111 0001 1111 0010 1111 0011. (Also know as "zoned decimal item.")
* external file connector. A file connector which is accessible to one or more object programs in the run unit.
external floating-point item. A format for representing numbers in which a real number is represented by a pair of distinct numerals. In a 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.
* 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
* 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 clause. A clause that appears as part of any of the following DATA DIVISION entries: file description entry (FD entry) and sort-merge file description entry (SD entry).
* 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. The name of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION paragraph in which the data files for a given source program are declared.
* file control entry. A SELECT clause and all its subordinate clauses which declare the relevant physical attributes of a file.
* 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 file clauses as required.
* 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 present, 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 character positions.
fixed-point number. 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 may be either binary, packed decimal, or external decimal.
floating-point number. 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 may include a reference-modifier. A function-identifier that references an alphanumeric function may be specified anywhere in the general formats that an identifier may be specified, subject to certain restrictions. A function-identifier that references an integer or numeric function may be referenced anywhere in the general formats that an arithmetic expression may be specified.
function-name. A word that names the mechanism whose invocation, along with required arguments, determines the value of a function. 








G
* global name. A name which is declared in only one program but which may 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 may be global names.
* group item. A data item that is composed of subordinate data items. 








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.
* high order end. The leftmost character of a string of characters. 








I
IBM COBOL extension. Certain COBOL syntax and semantics supported by IBM compilers in addition to those described in ANSI Standard.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. One of the four main component parts of a COBOL program, class definition, or method definition. The IDENTIFICATION DIVISION identifies the program name, class name, or method name. The IDENTIFICATION DIVISION may include the following documentation: author name, installation, or date.
* identifier. A syntactically correct combination of character-strings and separators that names a data item. When referencing a data item that is not a function, an identifier consists of a data-name, together with its qualifiers, subscripts, and reference-modifier, as required for uniqueness of reference. When referencing a data item which is a function, a function-identifier is used.
IGZCBSN. The COBOL for OS/390 & VM bootstrap routine. It must be link-edited with any module that contains a COBOL for OS/390 & VM program.
* imperative statement. A statement that either begins with an imperative verb and specifies an unconditional action to be taken or is a conditional statement that is delimited by its explicit scope terminator (delimited scope statement). An imperative statement may consist of a sequence of imperative statements.
* implicit scope terminator. A separator period which terminates the scope of any preceding unterminated statement, or a phrase of a statement which 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. Synonymous with subscripting using index-names.
* index-name. A user-defined word that names an index associated with a specific table.
* inheritance (for classes). A mechanism for using the implementation of one or more classes as the basis for another class. A sub-class inherits from one or more super-classes. By definition the inheriting class conforms to the inherited classes.
* 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 an object program or method and that provides information required for transmission and handling of data during execution of the object program or method definition.
* 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. The instance data introduced by a class is defined in the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION of the DATA DIVISION of the class definition. The state of an object also includes the state of the instance variables introduced by base classes that are inherited by the current class. A separate copy of the instance data is created for each object instance.
* 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.
interface. The information that a client must know to use a class--the names of its attributes and the signatures of its methods. With direct-to-SOM compilers such as COBOL, the interface to a class may be defined by native language syntax for class definitions. Classes implemented in other languages might have their interfaces defined directly in SOM Interface Definition Language (IDL). The COBOL compiler has a compiler option, IDLGEN, to automatically generate IDL for a COBOL class.
Interface Definition Language (IDL). The formal language (independent of any programming language) by which the interface for a class of objects is defined in a IDL file, which the SOM compiler then interprets to create an implementation template file and binding files. SOM's Interface Definition Language is fully compliant with standards established by the Object Management Group's Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA).
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 may have a global name.
internal decimal item. A format in which each byte in a field except the rightmost byte represents two numeric digits. The rightmost byte contains one digit and the sign. For example, the decimal value +123 is represented as 0001 0010 0011 1111. (Also known as packed decimal.)
* internal file connector. A file connector which is accessible to only one object program in the run unit.
* intra-record data structure. The entire collection of groups and elementary data items from a logical record which is defined by a contiguous subset of the data description entries which describe that record. These data description entries include all entries whose level-number is greater than the level-number of the first data description entry describing the intra-record data structure.
intrinsic function. A pre-defined function, such as a commonly used arithmetic function, called by a built-in function reference.
* invalid key condition. A condition, at object time, caused when a specific value of the key associated with an indexed or relative file is determined to be invalid.
* I-O-CONTROL. The name of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION paragraph in which object program requirements for rerun points, sharing of same areas by several data files, and multiple file storage on a single input-output device are specified.
* I-O-CONTROL entry. An entry in the I-O-CONTROL paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION which contains clauses that provide information required for the transmission and handling of data on named files during the execution of a program.
* 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 2-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.
iteration structure. A program processing logic in which a series of statements is repeated while a condition is true or until a condition is true. 








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.
* key word. A reserved word or function-name whose presence is required when the format in which the word appears is used in a source program.
kilobyte (KB). One kilobyte equals 1024 bytes. 








L
* language-name. A system-name that specifies a particular programming language.
Language Environment-conforming. A characteristic of compiler products (such as COBOL for MVS & VM, COBOL for OS/390 & VM, C/C++ for MVS and VM, PL/I for MVS and VM) that produce object code conforming to the Language Environment format.
last-used state. A program is in last-used state if its internal values remain the same as when the program was exited (are not reset to their initial values).
* letter. A character belonging to one of the following two sets:
  1. 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
  2. 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 2-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 may 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 source program 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 the called program that describes data items available from the calling program. These data items may be referred to by both the calling and called program.
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.
locale. A set of attributes for a program execution environment indicating culturally sensitive considerations, such as: character code page, collating sequence, date/time format, monetary value representation, numeric value representation, or language.
* 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 may 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 may 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.
metaclass. A SOM class whose instances are SOM class-objects. The methods defined in metaclasses are executed without requiring any object instances of the class to exist, and are frequently used to create instances of the class.
method. Procedural code that defines one of the operations supported by an object, and that is executed by an INVOKE statement on that object.
* Method Definition. The COBOL source unit that defines a method.
* method identification entry. An entry in the METHOD-ID paragraph of the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION which contains clauses that specify the method-name and assign selected attributes to the method definition.
* method-name. A user-defined word that identifies a method.
* mnemonic-name. A user-defined word that is associated in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION with a specified implementor-name.
multitasking. Mode of operation that provides for the concurrent, or interleaved, execution of two or more tasks. When running under the Language Environment product, multitasking is synonymous with multithreading. 








N
name. A word composed of not more than 30 characters that defines a COBOL operand.
* 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.
non-date. Any of the following:
* nonnumeric item. A data item whose description permits its content to be composed of any combination of characters taken from the computer's character set. Certain categories of nonnumeric items may be formed from more restricted character sets.
* nonnumeric literal. A literal bounded by quotation marks. The string of characters may include any character in the computer's character set.
null. Figurative constant used to assign the value of an invalid address to pointer data items. 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-edited item. A numeric item that is in such a form that it may be used in printed output. It may consist of external decimal digits from 0 through 9, the decimal point, commas, the dollar sign, editing sign control symbols, plus other editing symbols.
* 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 item. 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 may also contain a '+', '-', or other representation of an operational sign.
* numeric literal. A literal composed of one or more numeric characters that may 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 object program is executed, is described.
* object computer entry. An entry in the OBJECT-COMPUTER paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION which contains clauses that describe the computer environment in which the object program is to be executed.
object deck. A portion of an object program suitable as input to a linkage editor. Synonymous with object module and text deck.
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. Where there is no danger of ambiguity, the word 'program' alone may be used in place of the phrase 'object program.'
* object time. The time at which an object program is executed. The term is synonymous with execution time.
* obsolete element. A COBOL language element in Standard COBOL that is to be deleted from the next revision of Standard COBOL.
ODBC. Open Database Connectivity that provides you access to data from a variety of databases and file systems.
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. Whereas the general definition of operand is "that component which is operated upon," for the purposes of this document, any lowercase word (or words) that appears in a statement or entry format may be considered to be an operand and, as such, is an implied reference to the data indicated by the operand.
* 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 which is declared as being not necessarily present each time the object program is executed. The object program causes an interrogation for the presence or absence of the file.
* 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 program.
OS/2 (Operating System/2(R)*). A multi-tasking operating system for the IBM Personal Computer family that allows you to run both DOS mode and OS/2 mode programs.
* 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. 








P
packed decimal item. See "internal decimal item."
* padding character. An alphanumeric character 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 and/or external characteristics of the output medium.
* page body. That part of the logical page in which lines can be written and/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 in the IDENTIFICATION and ENVIRONMENT DIVISIONs. The permissible paragraph headers in the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION are:
The permissible paragraph headers in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION are: 


     SOURCE-COMPUTER.
     OBJECT-COMPUTER.
     SPECIAL-NAMES.
     REPOSITORY. (Program or Class CONFIGURATION SECTION)
     FILE-CONTROL.
     I-O-CONTROL.
* paragraph-name. A user-defined word that identifies and begins a paragraph in the Procedure Division.
parameter. Parameters are used to pass data values between calling and called programs.
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. A phrase is 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 program from one application platform to another with relatively few changes to the source program.
* prime record key. A key whose contents uniquely identify a record within an indexed file.
* priority-number. A user-defined word which classifies sections in the Procedure Division for purposes of segmentation. Segment-numbers may contain only the characters '0','1', ... , '9'. A segment-number may be expressed either as a 1- or 2-digit number.
* 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 program. The procedure branching statements are: ALTER, CALL, EXIT, EXIT PROGRAM, GO TO, MERGE, (with the OUTPUT PROCEDURE phrase), PERFORM and SORT (with the INPUT PROCEDURE or OUTPUT PROCEDURE phrase).
Procedure Division. One of the four main component parts of a COBOL program, class definition, or method definition. The Procedure Division contains instructions for solving a problem. The Program and Method Procedure Divisions may contain imperative statements, conditional statements, compiler directing statements, paragraphs, procedures, and sections. The Class Procedure Division contains only method definitions.
procedure integration. One of the functions of the COBOL optimizer is to simplify calls to performed procedures or contained programs.
PERFORM procedure integration is the process whereby a PERFORM statement is replaced by its performed procedures. Contained program procedure integration is the process where a CALL to a contained program is replaced by the program code.
* 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 may be qualified) or a section-name.
procedure-pointer data item. 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 identification entry. An entry in the PROGRAM-ID paragraph of the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION which contains clauses that specify the program-name and assign selected program attributes to the program.
* program-name. In the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION and the end program header, a user-defined word that identifies a COBOL source program.
* pseudo-text. A sequence of text words, comment lines, or the separator space in a source program 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
º
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.
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).
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.
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 attribute is on the PROGRAM-ID statement.
reel. A discrete portion of a storage medium, the dimensions of which are determined by each implementor 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 describing COBOL source programs.
reference modification. A method of defining a new alphanumeric data item by specifying the leftmost character and length relative to the leftmost character of another alphanumeric 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."
* 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:
Operator 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
* 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, nonnumeric literal, or index-name has a specific relationship to the value of another arithmetic expression, data item, nonnumeric literal, or index name. (See also "relational operator.")
* 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 which is an integer.
* reserved word. A COBOL word specified in the list of words that may be used in a COBOL source program, 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.
reusable environment. A reusable environment is when you establish an assembler program as the main program by using either ILBOSTP0 programs, IGZERRE programs, or the RTEREUS run-time option.
routine. A set of statements in a COBOL program that causes the computer to perform an operation or series of related operations. In Language Environment, refers to either a procedure, function, or subroutine.
* 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.
run-time 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 statements, which 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 may be either explicit (END-ADD, for example) or implicit (separator period).
* 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 in the Environment, Data, and Procedure Divisions. In the ENVIRONMENT and DATA DIVISIONs, a section header is composed of reserved words followed by a separator period. The permissible section headers in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION are:
The permissible section headers in the DATA DIVISION are:

In the Procedure Division, a section header is composed of a section-name, followed by the reserved word SECTION, followed by a separator period.
* section-name. A user-defined word that names a section in the Procedure Division.
selection structure. A program processing logic in which one or another series of statements is executed, depending on whether a condition is true or false.
* sentence. A sequence of one or more statements, the last of which is terminated by a separator period.
* separately compiled program. A program which, together with its contained programs, is compiled separately from all other programs.
* separator. A character or two 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.
sequence structure. A program processing logic in which a series of statements is executed in sequential order.
* 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.
* simple condition. Any single condition chosen from the set:
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. Bytes inserted between data items or records to ensure correct alignment of some numeric items. Slack bytes contain no meaningful data. In some cases, they are inserted by the compiler; in others, it is the responsibility of the programmer to insert them. The SYNCHRONIZED clause instructs the compiler to insert slack bytes when they are needed for proper alignment. Slack bytes between records are inserted by the programmer.
SOM. System Object Model
* 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 by a set of file clauses as required.
* SOURCE-COMPUTER. The name of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION paragraph in which the computer environment, within which the source program is compiled, is described.
* source computer entry. An entry in the SOURCE-COMPUTER paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION which contains clauses that describe the computer environment in which the source program is to be compiled.
* source item. An identifier designated by a SOURCE clause that provides the value of a printable item.
source program. Although it is recognized that a source program may be represented by other forms and symbols, in this document it always refers to a syntactically correct set of COBOL statements. A COBOL source program commences with the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION or a COPY statement. A COBOL source program is terminated by the end program header, if specified, or by the absence of additional source program lines.
* special character. A character that belongs to the following set:
Character Meaning
+
plus sign
-
minus sign (hyphen)
*
asterisk
/
slant (virgule, 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-character word. A reserved word that is an arithmetic operator or a relation character.
SPECIAL-NAMES. The name of an ENVIRONMENT DIVISION paragraph in which environment-names are related to user-specified mnemonic-names.
* special names entry. An entry in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION which provides means for specifying the currency sign; choosing the decimal point; specifying symbolic characters; relating implementor-names to user-specified mnemonic-names; relating alphabet-names to character sets or collating sequences; and relating class-names to sets of characters.
* 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 data format. The concept used in describing the characteristics of data in a COBOL DATA DIVISION under which the characteristics or properties of the data are expressed in a form oriented to the appearance of the data on a printed page of infinite length and breadth, rather than a form oriented to the manner in which the data is stored internally in the computer, or on a particular external medium.
* statement. A syntactically valid combination of words, literals, and separators, beginning with a verb, written in a COBOL source program.
STL File System. STandard Language File System: native workstation and PC file system for COBOL and PL/I. Supports sequential, relative, and indexed files, including the full ANSI 85 COBOL standard I/O language and all of the extensions described in IBM COBOL Language Reference, unless exceptions are explicitly noted.
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.
* sub-class. A class that inherits from another class. When two classes in an inheritance relationship are considered together, the sub-class is the inheritor or inheriting class; the super-class is the inheritee or inherited 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. See "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 may 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.
* super-class. A class that is inherited by another class. See also sub-class.
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.
System Object Model (SOM). IBM's object-oriented programming technology for building, packaging, and manipulating class libraries. SOM conforms to the Object Management Group's (OMG) Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) standards. 








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 a COBOL library, source program, or in pseudo-text which is:
top-down design. The design of a computer program using a hierarchic structure in which related functions are performed at each level of the structure.
top-down development. See "structured programming."
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. 








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.
unit. A module of direct access, the dimensions of which are determined by IBM.
universal object reference. A data-name that can refer 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. The unsuccessful execution of a statement does not affect any data referenced by that statement, but may affect status indicators.
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. 








V
* variable. A data item whose value may be changed by execution of the object program. A variable used in an arithmetic expression must be a numeric elementary item.
* 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.
* variably located item.. A data item following, and not subordinate to, a variable-length table in the same level-01 record.
* verb. A word that expresses an action to be taken by a COBOL compiler or object program.
VM/SP (Virtual Machine/System Product). An IBM-licensed program that manages the resources of a single computer so that multiple computing systems appear to exist. Each virtual machine is the functional equivalent of a "real" machine.
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 specific procedures executed automatically when the end of a unit or reel has been reached before end-of-file has been reached. 








W
windowed date field. A date field containing a windowed (2-digit) year. See also "date field" and "windowed year."
windowed year. A date field that consists only of a 2-digit year. This 2-digit year may 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 of not more than 30 characters which 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 of both. 








Y  












Z
zoned decimal item. See "external decimal item."

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