OpenCOBOL Manual

for OpenCOBOL 2.0

Keisuke Nishida / Roger While

Edition 2.0
Updated for OpenCOBOL 2.0
26 January 2012

OpenCOBOL is an open-source COBOL compiler, which translates COBOL programs to C code

and compiles it using GCC or other C compiler system.
This manual corresponds to OpenCOBOL 2.0.

Copyright c 2002,2003,2004,2005,2006 Keisuke Nishida

Copyright c 2007-2012 Roger While
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copy-
right notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the condi-
tions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under
the terms of a permission notice identical to this one.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another language,
under the above conditions for modified versions, except that this permission notice may be
stated in a translation approved by the Free Software Foundation.
 i

Table of Contents

1 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Hello World!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Compile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1 Compiler Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.1 Help Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.2 Built Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1.3 Source Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.4 Warning Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.5 Configuration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1.6 Debug Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1.7 Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Multiple Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.1 Static Linking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.2 Dynamic Linking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.3 Building Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.4 Using Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 C Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3.1 Writing Main Program in C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3.2 Static linking with COBOL programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.3 Dynamic linking with COBOL programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3.4 Static linking with C programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3.5 Dynamic linking with C programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3 Customize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.1 Customizing Compiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2 Customizing Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4 Optimize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.1 Optimize Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.2 Optimize Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.3 Optimize Binary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

5 Debug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.1 Debug Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Appendix A cobc --help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Appendix B cobc --info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Appendix C cobc --list-reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Appendix D cobc --list-intrinsics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Appendix E cobc --list-system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

 ii

Appendix F cobc --list-mnemonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Appendix G config/default.conf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 1: Getting Started 1

1 Getting Started

1.1 Hello World!

This is a sample program that displays “Hello World”:
---- hello.cob -------------------------
* Sample COBOL program
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. hello.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DISPLAY "Hello World!".
STOP RUN.
----------------------------------------
The compiler is cobc, which is executed as follows:
$ cobc -x hello.cob
$ ./hello
Hello World!
The executable file name (i.e., ‘hello’ in this case) is determined by removing the extension
from the source file name.
You can specify the executable file name by specifying the compiler option -o as follows:
$ cobc -x -o hello-world hello.cob
$ ./hello-world
Hello World!
Using more modern sources.
---- hellonew.cob ----------------
*> Sample OpenCOBOL program
identification division.
program-id. hellonew.
procedure division.
display
"Hello New World!"
end-display
goback.
----------------------------------
$ cobc -x -free hellonew.cob
$ ./hellonew
Hello New World!
Showing the use of free format, to end of line comments, the goback verb, and proper use of
terminator with end-display.
Chapter 2: Compile 2

2 Compile
This chapter describes how to compile COBOL programs using OpenCOBOL.

2.1 Compiler Options

The compiler cobc accepts the options described in this section.
General syntax -
cobc [options] file [file ..]
A complete list of options can be displayed by using the help option.

2.1.1 Help Options

The following switches can be used for informational displays:
--help Display help screen (see Appendix A [cobc –help], page 15). -h will also display the
help. No further actions will be taken except for further display options.
--version
Display compiler version, author package date and executable build date. -V will
also display version. No further actions will be taken except for further display
options.
--info Display build information (see Appendix B [cobc –info], page 18). No further actions
will be taken except for further display options.
-v Verbosely displays the programs invoked during compilations.
--list-reserved
Display reserved words(see Appendix C [cobc –list-reserved], page 19). A Y/N field
shows if the word is supported.1 No further actions will be taken except for further
display options.
--list-intrinsics
Display intrinsic functions (see Appendix D [cobc –list-intrinsics], page 31). A Y/N
field shows if the function is implemented. No further actions will be taken except
for further display options.
--list-system
Display system routines (see Appendix E [cobc –list-system], page 34). No further
actions will be taken except for further display options.
--list-mnemonics
Display mnemonic names (see Appendix F [cobc –list-mnemonics], page 36). No
further actions will be taken except for further display options.

2.1.2 Built Target

The cobc compiler can handle ‘*.cob’, ‘*.cbl’ as COBOL source code, ‘*.c’ for C source code,
‘*.o’ for object code, ‘*.i’ for preprocessed code and ‘*.so’ for dynamic modules and will do
the right thing in terms of generation, compilation, or link.
The following options specify the target type produced by the compiler:
-E Preprocess only. Compiler directives are executed. Comment lines are removed.
COPY statements are expanded. The output is saved in file ‘*.i’.
-C Translation only. COBOL source files are translated into C files. The output is
saved in file ‘*.c’.
1
Support may be partial or complete
Chapter 2: Compile 3

-S Compile only. Translated C files are compiled by the C compiler to assembler code.
The output is saved in file ‘*.s’.
-c Compile and assemble. This is equivalent to cc -c. The output is saved in file ‘*.o’.
-m Compile, assemble, and build a dynamically loadable module (i.e., a shared library).
The output is saved in file ‘*.so’. This is the default behaviour if not other options
are given.2 .
-b Compile, assemble, and combine all input files into a single dynamically loadable
module. Unless -o is also used, the output is saved using the first filename as ‘*.so’.
-x Include the main function in the output, creating an executable image. The main
entry point being the outermost PROGRAM-ID.
This option takes effect at the translation stage. If you give this option with -C,
you will see the main function at the end of the generated C file.
-I <directory>
Add <directory> to copy/include search path
-L <directory>
Add <directory> to library search path
-l <lib> Link the library <lib>
-D <define>
Pass <define> to the COBOL compiler
-o <file> Place the output into <file>
Without any options above, the compiler builds a dynamically loadable module.

2.1.3 Source Format

OpenCOBOL supports both fixed and free source format.
The default format is the fixed format. This can be explicitly overwritten by one of the
following options:
-free Free format. The program-text area starts in column 1 and continues till the end
of line. Effectively 255 characters in OpenCOBOL.
-fixed Fixed format. Source code is divided into a 1-6 column sequence number area,
column 7 indicator area, columns 8-72 program-text area, with columns 72-80 as
a reference area. Historically this format is based on 80 character punch cards.
FIXED format is the default used by the compiler unless overridden by compiler
switch or source code directive, >>SOURCE [FORMAT] [IS] {FIXED|FREE}.

2.1.4 Warning Options

-W Enable every possible warning. This includes more information than -Wall would
normally provide.
-Wall Enable all common warnings
-Warchaic
Warn if archaic features are used
-Wcall-params
Warn non 01/77 items for CALL params (NOT set with -Wall)
2
The extension varies depending on your host.
Chapter 2: Compile 4

-Wcolumn-overflow
Warn if text after column 72 in FIXED format (NOT set with -Wall)
-Wconstant
Warn inconsistent constant
-Wimplicit-define
Warn implicitly defined data items
-Wlinkage
Warn dangling LINKAGE items (NOT set with -Wall)
-Wobsolete
Warn if obsolete features are used
-Wparentheses
Warn lack of parentheses around AND within OR
-Wredefinition
Warn incompatible redefinition of data items
-Wstrict-typing
Warn type mismatch strictly
-Wterminator
Warn lack of scope terminator END-XXX (NOT set with -Wall)
-Wtruncate
Warn possible field truncation (NOT set with -Wall)
-Wunreachable
Warn unreachable statements (NOT set with -Wall)

2.1.5 Configuration Options

-std=<dialect>
Compiler uses the given dialect to determine certain compiler features and warnings.
See Appendix G [config/default.conf], page 38, and ‘config/*.conf’.
-std=cobol2002
Cobol 2002
-std=cobol85
Cobol 85
-std=ibm IBM Compatible
-std=mvs MVS Compatible
-std=bs2000
BS2000 Compatible
-std=mf Micro Focus Compatible
-std=default
When not specified
-conf=<file>
User defined dialect configuration. See -std= above.
See Appendix G [config/default.conf], page 38, and ‘config/*.conf’.
Chapter 2: Compile 5

2.1.6 Debug Switches

-debug Enable all run-time error checking
-g Produce debugging information in the output
-O Enable optimization of code size and execution speed. See man gcc for details.
-O2 Optimize even more.
-Os Optimize for size. Optimizer will favour code size over execution speed.
-ftrace Generate trace code (Executed SECTION/PARAGRAPH)
-ftraceall
Generate trace code (Executed SECTION/PARAGRAPH/STATEMENTS)
-fsyntax-only
Syntax error checking only; don’t emit any output
-fdebugging-line
Enable debugging lines (’D’ in indicator column)
-fsource-location
Generate source location code (Turned on by -debug or -g)
-fimplicit-init
Do automatic initialization of the Cobol runtime system
-fstack-check
PERFORM stack checking (Turned on by -debug or -g)
-fnotrunc
Do not truncate binary fields according to PICTURE

2.1.7 Miscellaneous
-P Generate and place a program listing into ‘*.lst’
-ext <extension>
Add default file extension
-fmfcomment
’*’ or ’/’ in column 1 treated as comment (FIXED only)
-fsign=ASCII
Numeric display sign ASCII (Default on ASCII machines)
-fsign=EBCDIC
Numeric display sign EBCDIC (Default on EBCDIC machines)
-ffunctions-all
Allow use of intrinsic functions without FUNCTION keyword
-ffold-copy=LOWER
Fold COPY subject to lower case (Default no transformation)
-ffold-copy=UPPER
Fold COPY subject to upper case (Default no transformation)
-save-temps(=<dir>)
Save intermediate files (default current directory)
Chapter 2: Compile 6

2.2 Multiple Sources

A program often consists of multiple source files. This section describes how to compile multiple
source files.
This section also describes how to build a shared library that can be used by any COBOL
programs and how to use external libraries from COBOL programs.

2.2.1 Static Linking

The easiest way of combining multiple files is to compile them into a single executable.
One way is to specify all files on the command line:
$ cobc -x -o prog main.cob subr1.cob subr2.cob
Another way is to compile each file with the option -c, and link them at the end. The
top-level program must be compiled with the option -x:
$ cobc -c subr1.cob
$ cobc -c subr2.cob
$ cobc -c -x main.cob
$ cobc -x -o prog main.o subr1.o subr2.o
You can link C routines as well using either method:
Method 1:
$ cobc -o prog main.cob subrs.c
Method 2:
$ cobc -c subrs.c
$ cobc -c -x main.cob
$ cobc -x -o prog main.o subrs.o
Any number of functions can be contained in a single C file.
The linked programs will be called dynamically; that is, the symbol will be resolved at run
time. For example, the following COBOL statement
CALL "subr" USING X.
will be converted into an equivalent C code like this:
int (*func)() = cob_resolve("subr");
if (func != NULL)
func (X);
With the compiler options -fstatic-call, more efficient code will be generated like this:
subr(X);
Note that this option is effective only when the called program name is a literal (like CALL
"subr".). With a data name (like CALL SUBR.), the program is still called dynamically.

2.2.2 Dynamic Linking

There are two methods to achieve this. Method 1 (Using driver program). Compile all programs
with the option -m:
$ cobc -m main.cob subr.cob
This creates shared object files ‘main.so subr.so’3 .
Before running the main program, install the module files in your library directory:
$ cp subr.so /your/cobol/lib
Set the environment variable COB_LIBRARY_PATH to your library directory, and run the main
program:
3
The extension varies depending on your host.
Chapter 2: Compile 7

$ export COB_LIBRARY_PATH=/your/cobol/lib
Note: You may set the variable to directly point to the directory where you compiled the
sources.
Now execute your program:
$ cobcrun main
Method 2. The main program and subprograms can be compiled separately.
The main program is compiled as usual:
$ cobc -x -o main main.cob
Subprograms are compiled with the option -m:
$ cobc -m subr.cob
This creates a module file ‘subr.so’4 .
Before running the main program, install the module files in your library directory:
$ cp subr.so /your/cobol/lib
Now, set the environment variable COB_LIBRARY_PATH to your library directory, and run the
main program:
$ export COB_LIBRARY_PATH=/your/cobol/lib
$ ./main

2.2.3 Building Library

You can build a shared library by combining multiple COBOL programs and even C routines:
$ cobc -c subr1.cob
$ cobc -c subr2.cob
$ cc -c subr3.c
$ cc -shared -o libsubrs.so subr1.o subr2.o subr3.o

2.2.4 Using Library

You can use a shared library by linking it with your main program.
Before linking the library, install it in your system library directory:
$ cp libsubrs.so /usr/lib
or install it somewhere else and set LD_LIBRARY_PATH:
$ cp libsubrs.so /your/cobol/lib
$ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/your/cobol/lib
Then, compile the main program, linking the library as follows:
$ cobc -x main.cob -L/your/cobol/lib -lsubrs

2.3 C Interface
This chapter describes how to combine C programs with COBOL programs.

2.3.1 Writing Main Program in C

Include ‘libcob.h’ in your C program. Call cob_init before using any COBOL module:
#include <libcob.h>

int
main (int argc, char **argv)
4
The extension varies depending on your host.
Chapter 2: Compile 8

{
/* initialize your program */
...

/* initialize the COBOL run-time library */

cob_init (argc, argv);

/* rest of your program */

...

/* Clean up and terminate - This does not return */

cob_stop_run (return_status);

}
You can write cobc_init(0, NULL); if you do not want to pass command line arguments to
COBOL.
You can compile your C program as follows:
cc -c ‘cob-config --cflags‘ main.c
The compiled object must be linked with libcob as follows:
cc -o main main.o ‘cob-config --libs‘

2.3.2 Static linking with COBOL programs

Let’s call the following COBOL module from a C program:
---- say.cob ---------------------------
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. say.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
DATA DIVISION.
LINKAGE SECTION.
01 HELLO PIC X(6).
01 WORLD PIC X(6).
PROCEDURE DIVISION USING HELLO WORLD.
DISPLAY HELLO WORLD.
EXIT PROGRAM.
----------------------------------------
This program accepts two arguments, displays them, and exits.
From the viewpoint of C, this is equivalent to a function having the following prototype:
extern int say(char *hello, char *world);
So, your main program will look like as follows:
---- hello.c ---------------------------
#include <libcob.h>

extern int say(char *hello, char *world);

int
main()
{
int ret;
char hello[7] = "Hello ";
Chapter 2: Compile 9

char world[7] = "World!";

cob_init(0, NULL);

ret = say(hello, world);

return ret;
}
----------------------------------------
Compile these programs as follows:
$ cc -c ‘cob-config --cflags‘ hello.c
$ cobc -c -static say.cob
$ cobc -x -o hello hello.o say.o
$ ./hello
Hello World!

2.3.3 Dynamic linking with COBOL programs

You can find a COBOL module having a specific PROGRAM-ID by using a C function cob_
resolve, which takes the module name as a string and returns a pointer to the module function.
cob_resolve returns NULL if there is no module. In this case, the function cob_resolve_
error returns the error message.
Let’s see an example:
---- hello-dynamic.c -------------------
#include <libcob.h>

static int (*say)(char *hello, char *world);

int
main()
{
int ret;
char hello[7] = "Hello ";
char world[7] = "World!";

cob_init(0, NULL);

/* find the module with PROGRAM-ID "say". */

say = cob_resolve("say");

/* if there is no such module, show error and exit */

if (say == NULL) {
fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", cob_resolve_error ());
exit(1);
}

/* call the module found and exit with the return code */
ret = say(hello, world);

return ret;
}
----------------------------------------
Chapter 2: Compile 10

Compile these programs as follows:

$ cc -c ‘cob-config --cflags‘ hello-dynamic.c
$ cobc -x -o hello hello-dynamic.o
$ cobc -m say.cob
$ export COB_LIBRARY_PATH=.
$ ./hello
Hello World!

2.3.4 Static linking with C programs

Let’s call the following C function from COBOL:
---- say.c -----------------------------
int
say(char *hello, char *world)
{
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 6; i++)
putchar(hello[i]);
for (i = 0; i < 6; i++)
putchar(world[i]);
putchar(’\n’);
return 0;
}
----------------------------------------
This program is equivalent to the foregoing ‘say.cob’.
Note that, unlike C, the arguments passed from COBOL programs are not terminated by
the null character (i.e., \0).
You can call this function in the same way you call COBOL programs:
---- hello.cob -------------------------
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. hello.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 HELLO PIC X(6) VALUE "Hello ".
01 WORLD PIC X(6) VALUE "World!".
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
CALL "say" USING HELLO WORLD.
STOP RUN.
----------------------------------------
Compile these programs as follows:
$ cc -c say.c
$ cobc -c -static -x hello.cob
$ cobc -x -o hello hello.o say.o
$ ./hello
Hello World!

2.3.5 Dynamic linking with C programs

You can create a dynamic-linking module from a C program by passing an option -shared to
the C compiler:
Chapter 2: Compile 11

$ cc -shared -o say.so say.c

$ cobc -x hello.cob
$ export COB_LIBRARY_PATH=.
$ ./hello
Hello World!
Chapter 3: Customize 12

3 Customize

3.1 Customizing Compiler

These settings are effective at compile-time.
Environment variables (default value):
COB_CC C compiler ("gcc")
COB_CFLAGS
Flags passed to the C compiler ("-I$(PREFIX)/include")
COB_LDFLAGS
Flags passed to the C compiler ("")
COB_LIBS Standard libraries linked with the program ("-L$(PREFIX)/lib -lcob")
COB_LDADD
Additional libraries linked with the program ("")

3.2 Customizing Library

These settings are effective at run-time.
Environment variables (default value):
COB_LIBRARY_PATH
Dynamic-linking module path (".:$(PREFIX)/lib/open-cobol")
Chapter 4: Optimize 13

4 Optimize

4.1 Optimize Options

There are three compiler options for optimization: -O, -Os and -O2. These options enable
optimization at both translation (from COBOL to C) and compilation (C to assembly) levels.
Currently, there is no difference between these optimization options at the translation level.
The option -O, -Os or -O2 is passed to the C compiler as it is and used for C level optimization.

4.2 Optimize Call

When a CALL statement is executed, the called program is linked at run time. By specifying
the compiler option -fstatic-call, you can statically link the program at compile time and
call it efficiently. (see Section 2.2.1 [Static Linking], page 6)

4.3 Optimize Binary

By default, data items of usage binary or comp are stored in the big-endian form. On those
machines whose native byte order is little-endian, this is not quite efficient.
If you prefer, you can store binary items in the native form of your machine. Set the config
option binary-byteorder to native in your config file (see Chapter 3 [Customize], page 12).
In addition, setting the option binary-size to 2-4-8 or 1-2-4-8 is more efficient than
others.
Chapter 5: Debug 14

5 Debug

5.1 Debug Options

The compiler option -debug can be used during the development of your programs. It enables
all run-time error checking, such as subscript boundary checks and numeric data checks, and
displays run-time errors with source locations.
Appendix A: cobc --help 15

Appendix A cobc --help

Usage: cobc [options] file ...

Options:
-help Display this message
-version, -V Display compiler version
-info, -i Display compiler build information
-v Display the commands invoked by the compiler
-x Build an executable program
-m Build a dynamically loadable module (default)
-std=<dialect> Warnings/features for a specific dialect :
cobol2002 Cobol 2002
cobol85 Cobol 85
ibm IBM Compatible
mvs MVS Compatible
bs2000 BS2000 Compatible
mf Micro Focus Compatible
default When not specified
See config/default.conf and config/*.conf
-free Use free source format
-fixed Use fixed source format (default)
-O, -O2, -Os Enable optimization
-g Enable C compiler debug / stack check / trace
-debug Enable all run-time error checking
-o <file> Place the output into <file>
-b Combine all input files into a single
dynamically loadable module
-E Preprocess only; do not compile or link
-C Translation only; convert COBOL to C
-S Compile only; output assembly file
-c Compile and assemble, but do not link
-P(=<dir or file>) Generate preprocessed program listing (.lst)
-Xref Generate cross reference through ’cobxref’
(V. Coen’s ’cobxref’ must be in path)
-I <directory> Add <directory> to copy/include search path
-L <directory> Add <directory> to library search path
-l <lib> Link the library <lib>
-A <options> Add <options> to the C compile phase
-Q <options> Add <options> to the C link phase
-D <define> DEFINE <define> to the COBOL compiler
-K <entry> Generate CALL to <entry> as static
-conf=<file> User defined dialect configuration - See -std=
-list-reserved Display reserved words
-list-intrinsics Display intrinsic functions
-list-mnemonics Display mnemonic names
-list-system Display system routines
-save-temps(=<dir>) Save intermediate files
- Default : current directory
-ext <extension> Add default file extension

-W Enable ALL warnings

Appendix A: cobc --help 16

-Wall Enable all warnings except as noted below

-Wobsolete Warn if obsolete features are used
-Warchaic Warn if archaic features are used
-Wredefinition Warn incompatible redefinition of data items
-Wconstant Warn inconsistent constant
-Woverlap Warn overlapping MOVE items
-Wparentheses Warn lack of parentheses around AND within OR
-Wstrict-typing Warn type mismatch strictly
-Wimplicit-define Warn implicitly defined data items
-Wcorresponding Warn CORRESPONDING with no matching items
-Wexternal-value Warn EXTERNAL item with VALUE clause
-Wcall-params Warn non 01/77 items for CALL params
- NOT set with -Wall
-Wcolumn-overflow Warn text after column 72, FIXED format
- NOT set with -Wall
-Wterminator Warn lack of scope terminator END-XXX
- NOT set with -Wall
-Wtruncate Warn possible field truncation
- NOT set with -Wall
-Wlinkage Warn dangling LINKAGE items
- NOT set with -Wall
-Wunreachable Warn unreachable statements
- NOT set with -Wall

-fsign=<value> Define display sign representation

- ASCII or EBCDIC (Default : machine native)
-ffold-copy=<value> Fold COPY subject to value
- UPPER or LOWER (Default : no transformation)
-ffold-call=<value> Fold PROGRAM-ID, CALL, CANCEL subject to value
- UPPER or LOWER (Default : no transformation)
-fdefaultbyte=<value> Initialize fields without VALUE to decimal value
- 0 to 255 (Default : initialize to picture)
-fintrinsics=<value> Intrinsics to be used without FUNCTION keyword
- ALL or intrinsic function name (,name,...)
-ftrace Generate trace code
- Executed SECTION/PARAGRAPH
-ftraceall Generate trace code
- Executed SECTION/PARAGRAPH/STATEMENTS
- Turned on by -debug
-fsyntax-only Syntax error checking only; don’t emit any output
-fdebugging-line Enable debugging lines
- ’D’ in indicator column or floating >>D
-fsource-location Generate source location code
- Turned on by -debug/-g/-ftraceall
-fimplicit-init Automatic initialization of the Cobol runtime system
-fstack-check PERFORM stack checking
- Turned on by -debug or -g
-fsyntax-extension Allow syntax extensions
- eg. Switch name SW1, etc.
-fwrite-after Use AFTER 1 for WRITE of LINE SEQUENTIAL
- Default : BEFORE 1
-fmfcomment ’*’ or ’/’ in column 1 treated as comment
Appendix A: cobc --help 17

- FIXED format only

-fnotrunc Allow numeric field overflow
- Non-ANSI behaviour
-fodoslide Adjust items following OCCURS DEPENDING
- Requires implicit/explicit relaxed syntax
-fsingle-quote Use a single quote (apostrophe) for QUOTE
- Default : double quote
-frecursive-check Check recursive program call
-frelax-syntax Relax syntax checking
- eg. REDEFINES position
-foptional-file Treat all files as OPTIONAL
- unless NOT OPTIONAL specified
Appendix B: cobc --info 18

Appendix B cobc --info

cobc (OpenCOBOL) 2.0.0
Copyright (C) 2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007 Keisuke Nishida
Copyright (C) 2006-2012 Roger While
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Built Jan 26 2012 12:30:55
Packaged Nov 26 2011 16:18:14 UTC
C version "4.3.2 [gcc-4_3-branch revision 141291]"
Build information
Build environment : x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
CC : gcc -std=gnu99
CPPFLAGS :
CFLAGS : -g -O2 -pipe -finline-functions -fsigned-char
-Wall -Wwrite-strings -Wmissing-prototypes
-Wno-format-y2k
LD : /usr/x86_64-suse-linux/bin/ld -m elf_x86_64
LDFLAGS : -Wl,-z,relro,-z,now

OpenCOBOL information
COB_CC : gcc -std=gnu99
COB_CFLAGS : -I/usr/local/include -pipe
COB_LDFLAGS :
COB_LIBS : -L/usr/local/lib -lcob -lm -lgmp -lncursesw
-ldb
COB_CONFIG_DIR : /usr/local/share/open-cobol/config
COB_COPY_DIR : /usr/local/share/open-cobol/copy
COB_LIBRARY_PATH : /usr/local/lib/open-cobol
COB_MODULE_EXT : so
COB_EXEEXT :
Dynamic loading : System
"CBL_" param check : Disabled
Variable format : 0
BINARY-C-LONG : 8 bytes
Sequential handler : Internal
ISAM handler : BDB
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 19

Appendix C cobc --list-reserved

Reserved Words Implemented (Y/N)

ACCEPT Y
ACCESS Y
ACTIVE-CLASS N
ADD Y
ADDRESS Y
ADVANCING Y
AFTER Y
ALIGNED N
ALL Y
ALLOCATE Y
ALPHABET Y
ALPHABETIC Y
ALPHABETIC-LOWER Y
ALPHABETIC-UPPER Y
ALPHANUMERIC Y
ALPHANUMERIC-EDITED Y
ALSO Y
ALTER Y
ALTERNATE Y
AND Y
ANY Y
ANYCASE N
ARE Y
AREA Y
AREAS Y
ARGUMENT-NUMBER Y
ARGUMENT-VALUE Y
ARITHMETIC N (Context sensitive)
AS Y
ASCENDING Y
ASCII Y (Context sensitive)
ASSIGN Y
AT Y
ATTRIBUTE Y (Context sensitive)
AUTO Y
AUTO-SKIP Y
AUTOMATIC Y
AUTOTERMINATE Y
AWAY-FROM-ZERO Y (Context sensitive)
B-AND N
B-NOT N
B-OR N
B-XOR N
BACKGROUND-COLOR Y
BACKGROUND-COLOUR Y
BASED Y
BEEP Y
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 20

BEFORE Y
BELL Y
BINARY Y
BINARY-C-LONG Y
BINARY-CHAR Y
BINARY-DOUBLE Y
BINARY-INT Y
BINARY-LONG Y
BINARY-LONG-LONG Y
BINARY-SHORT Y
BIT N
BLANK Y
BLINK Y
BLOCK Y
BOOLEAN N
BOTTOM Y
BY Y
BYTE-LENGTH Y (Context sensitive)
CALL Y
CANCEL Y
CAPACITY N (Context sensitive)
CD N (85 obsolete)
CENTER N (Context sensitive)
CF Y
CH Y
CHAIN N
CHAINING Y
CHARACTER Y
CHARACTERS Y
CLASS Y
CLASS-ID N
CLASSIFICATION Y (Context sensitive)
CLOSE Y
CODE Y
CODE-SET Y
COL Y
COLLATING Y
COLS Y
COLUMN Y
COLUMNS Y
COMMA Y
COMMAND-LINE Y
COMMIT Y
COMMON Y
COMMUNICATION N (85 obsolete)
COMP Y
COMP-1 Y
COMP-2 Y
COMP-3 Y
COMP-4 Y
COMP-5 Y
COMP-6 Y
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 21

COMP-X Y
COMPUTATIONAL Y
COMPUTATIONAL-1 Y
COMPUTATIONAL-2 Y
COMPUTATIONAL-3 Y
COMPUTATIONAL-4 Y
COMPUTATIONAL-5 Y
COMPUTATIONAL-X Y
COMPUTE Y
CONDITION Y
CONFIGURATION Y
CONSTANT Y
CONTAINS Y
CONTENT Y
CONTINUE Y
CONTROL Y
CONTROLS Y
CONVERSION Y (Context sensitive)
CONVERTING Y
COPY Y
CORR Y
CORRESPONDING Y
COUNT Y
CRT Y
CRT-UNDER Y
CURRENCY Y
CURSOR Y
CYCLE Y (Context sensitive)
DATA Y
DATA-POINTER N
DATE Y
DAY Y
DAY-OF-WEEK Y
DE Y
DEBUGGING Y
DECIMAL-POINT Y
DECLARATIVES Y
DEFAULT Y
DELETE Y
DELIMITED Y
DELIMITER Y
DEPENDING Y
DESCENDING Y
DESTINATION N
DETAIL Y
DISABLE N
DISC Y (Context sensitive)
DISK Y (Context sensitive)
DISPLAY Y
DIVIDE Y
DIVISION Y
DOWN Y
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 22

DUPLICATES Y
DYNAMIC Y
EBCDIC Y (Context sensitive)
EC Y
EGI N (85 obsolete)
ELSE Y
EMI N (85 obsolete)
EMPTY-CHECK Y
ENABLE N (85 obsolete)
END Y
END-ACCEPT Y
END-ADD Y
END-CALL Y
END-CHAIN N
END-COMPUTE Y
END-DELETE Y
END-DISPLAY Y
END-DIVIDE Y
END-EVALUATE Y
END-IF Y
END-MULTIPLY Y
END-OF-PAGE Y
END-PERFORM Y
END-READ Y
END-RECEIVE N (85 obsolete)
END-RETURN Y
END-REWRITE Y
END-SEARCH Y
END-START Y
END-STRING Y
END-SUBTRACT Y
END-UNSTRING Y
END-WRITE Y
ENTRY Y
ENTRY-CONVENTION N (Context sensitive)
ENVIRONMENT Y
ENVIRONMENT-NAME Y
ENVIRONMENT-VALUE Y
EO N
EOL Y (Context sensitive)
EOP Y
EOS Y (Context sensitive)
EQUAL Y
EQUALS Y
ERASE Y
ERROR Y
ESCAPE Y
ESI N (85 obsolete)
EVALUATE Y
EXCEPTION Y
EXCEPTION-OBJECT N
EXCLUSIVE Y
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 23

EXIT Y
EXPANDS N (Context sensitive)
EXTEND Y
EXTERNAL Y
FACTORY N
FALSE Y
FD Y
FILE Y
FILE-CONTROL Y
FILE-ID Y
FILLER Y
FINAL Y
FIRST Y
FLOAT-BINARY-128 N
FLOAT-BINARY-32 N
FLOAT-BINARY-64 N
FLOAT-DECIMAL-16 Y
FLOAT-DECIMAL-34 Y
FLOAT-EXTENDED N
FLOAT-INFINITY N
FLOAT-LONG Y
FLOAT-NOT-A-NUMBER N (Context sensitive)
FLOAT-SHORT Y
FOOTING Y
FOR Y
FOREGROUND-COLOR Y
FOREGROUND-COLOUR Y
FOREVER Y
FORMAT N
FREE Y
FROM Y
FULL Y
FUNCTION Y
FUNCTION-ID Y
FUNCTION-POINTER N
GENERATE Y
GET N
GIVING Y
GLOBAL Y
GO Y
GOBACK Y
GREATER Y
GROUP Y
GROUP-USAGE N
HEADING Y
HIGH-VALUE Y
HIGH-VALUES Y
HIGHLIGHT Y
I-O Y
I-O-CONTROL Y
ID Y
IDENTIFICATION Y
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 24

IF Y
IGNORE Y
IGNORING Y
IMPLEMENTS N (Context sensitive)
IN Y
INDEX Y
INDEXED Y
INDICATE Y
INDIRECT N (Context sensitive)
INHERITS N
INITIAL Y
INITIALISE Y
INITIALISED Y
INITIALIZE Y
INITIALIZED Y
INITIATE Y
INPUT Y
INPUT-OUTPUT Y
INSPECT Y
INTERFACE N
INTERFACE-ID N
INTERMEDIATE N (Context sensitive)
INTO Y
INTRINSIC Y (Context sensitive)
INVALID Y
INVOKE N
IS Y
JUST Y
JUSTIFIED Y
KEPT Y
KEY Y
KEYBOARD Y (Context sensitive)
LABEL Y
LAST Y
LC_ALL N (Context sensitive)
LC_COLLATE N (Context sensitive)
LC_CTYPE N (Context sensitive)
LC_MESSAGES N (Context sensitive)
LC_MONETARY N (Context sensitive)
LC_NUMERIC N (Context sensitive)
LC_TIME N (Context sensitive)
LEADING Y
LEFT Y
LEFT-JUSTIFY N
LEFTLINE Y
LENGTH Y
LENGTH-CHECK Y
LESS Y
LIMIT Y
LIMITS Y
LINAGE Y
LINAGE-COUNTER Y
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 25

LINE Y
LINE-COUNTER Y
LINES Y
LINKAGE Y
LOCAL-STORAGE Y
LOCALE Y
LOCK Y
LOW-VALUE Y
LOW-VALUES Y
LOWER Y (Context sensitive)
LOWLIGHT Y
MANUAL Y
MEMORY Y
MERGE Y
MESSAGE N (85 obsolete)
METHOD N
METHOD-ID N
MINUS Y
MODE Y
MOVE Y
MULTIPLE Y
MULTIPLY Y
NAME Y (Context sensitive)
NATIONAL Y
NATIONAL-EDITED Y
NATIVE Y
NEAREST-AWAY-FROM-ZERO Y (Context sensitive)
NEAREST-EVEN Y (Context sensitive)
NEAREST-TOWARD-ZERO Y (Context sensitive)
NEGATIVE Y
NESTED N
NEXT Y
NO Y
NO-ECHO Y
NONE N (Context sensitive)
NORMAL Y (Context sensitive)
NOT Y
NULL Y
NULLS Y
NUMBER Y
NUMBERS Y
NUMERIC Y
NUMERIC-EDITED Y
OBJECT N
OBJECT-COMPUTER Y
OBJECT-REFERENCE N
OCCURS Y
OF Y
OFF Y
OMITTED Y
ON Y
ONLY Y
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 26

OPEN Y
OPTIONAL Y
OPTIONS N
OR Y
ORDER Y
ORGANISATION Y
ORGANIZATION Y
OTHER Y
OUTPUT Y
OVERFLOW Y
OVERLINE Y
OVERRIDE N
PACKED-DECIMAL Y
PADDING Y
PAGE Y
PAGE-COUNTER Y
PARAGRAPH Y (Context sensitive)
PERFORM Y
PF Y
PH Y
PIC Y
PICTURE Y
PLUS Y
POINTER Y
POSITION Y
POSITIVE Y
PREFIXED N (Context sensitive)
PRESENT Y
PREVIOUS Y
PRINTER Y (Context sensitive)
PRINTING Y
PROCEDURE Y
PROCEDURE-POINTER Y
PROCEDURES Y
PROCEED Y
PROGRAM Y
PROGRAM-ID Y
PROGRAM-POINTER Y
PROHIBITED Y (Context sensitive)
PROMPT Y
PROPERTY N
PROTOTYPE N
PURGE N (85 obsolete)
QUEUE N (85 obsolete)
QUOTE Y
QUOTES Y
RAISE N
RAISING N
RANDOM Y
RD Y
READ Y
RECEIVE N (85 obsolete)
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 27

RECORD Y
RECORDING Y
RECORDS Y
RECURSIVE Y (Context sensitive)
REDEFINES Y
REEL Y
REFERENCE Y
REFERENCES Y
RELATION N (Context sensitive)
RELATIVE Y
RELEASE Y
REMAINDER Y
REMOVAL Y
RENAMES Y
REPLACE Y
REPLACING Y
REPORT Y
REPORTING Y
REPORTS Y
REPOSITORY Y
REQUIRED Y
RESERVE Y
RESET Y
RESUME N
RETRY N
RETURN Y
RETURNING Y
REVERSE-VIDEO Y
REVERSED Y
REWIND Y
REWRITE Y
RF Y
RH Y
RIGHT Y
RIGHT-JUSTIFY N
ROLLBACK Y
ROUNDED Y
ROUNDING N (Context sensitive)
RUN Y
SAME Y
SCREEN Y
SCROLL Y (Context sensitive)
SD Y
SEARCH Y
SECONDS N (Context sensitive)
SECTION Y
SECURE Y
SEGMENT N (85 obsolete)
SEGMENT-LIMIT Y
SELECT Y
SELF N
SEND N (85 obsolete)
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 28

SENTENCE Y
SEPARATE Y
SEQUENCE Y
SEQUENTIAL Y
SET Y
SHARING Y
SIGN Y
SIGNED Y
SIGNED-INT Y
SIGNED-LONG Y
SIGNED-SHORT Y
SIZE Y
SORT Y
SORT-MERGE Y
SOURCE Y
SOURCE-COMPUTER Y
SOURCES N
SPACE Y
SPACE-FILL N
SPACES Y
SPECIAL-NAMES Y
STANDARD Y
STANDARD-1 Y
STANDARD-2 Y
STANDARD-BINARY N (Context sensitive)
STANDARD-DECIMAL N (Context sensitive)
START Y
STATEMENT N (Context sensitive)
STATIC Y (Context sensitive)
STATUS Y
STDCALL Y (Context sensitive)
STEP Y
STOP Y
STRING Y
STRONG N (Context sensitive)
SUB-QUEUE-1 N (85 obsolete)
SUB-QUEUE-2 N (85 obsolete)
SUB-QUEUE-3 N (85 obsolete)
SUBTRACT Y
SUM Y
SUPER N
SUPPRESS Y
SYMBOL N (Context sensitive)
SYMBOLIC Y
SYNC Y
SYNCHRONISED Y
SYNCHRONIZED Y
SYSTEM-DEFAULT Y
TABLE N
TALLYING Y
TAPE Y (Context sensitive)
TERMINAL N (85 obsolete)
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 29

TERMINATE Y
TEST Y
TEXT N (85 obsolete)
THAN Y
THEN Y
THROUGH Y
THRU Y
TIME Y
TIME-OUT Y (Context sensitive)
TIMEOUT Y (Context sensitive)
TIMES Y
TO Y
TOP Y
TOWARD-GREATER Y (Context sensitive)
TOWARD-LESSER Y (Context sensitive)
TRAILING Y
TRAILING-SIGN N
TRANSFORM Y
TRUE Y
TRUNCATION Y (Context sensitive)
TYPE Y
TYPEDEF N
UCS-4 N (Context sensitive)
UNDERLINE Y
UNIT Y
UNIVERSAL N
UNLOCK Y
UNSIGNED Y
UNSIGNED-INT Y
UNSIGNED-LONG Y
UNSIGNED-SHORT Y
UNSTRING Y
UNTIL Y
UP Y
UPDATE Y
UPON Y
UPPER Y (Context sensitive)
USAGE Y
USE Y
USER Y (Context sensitive)
USER-DEFAULT Y
USING Y
UTF-16 N (Context sensitive)
UTF-8 N (Context sensitive)
VAL-STATUS N
VALID N
VALIDATE N
VALIDATE-STATUS N
VALUE Y
VALUES Y
VARYING Y
WAIT Y
Appendix C: cobc --list-reserved 30

WHEN Y
WITH Y
WORDS Y
WORKING-STORAGE Y
WRITE Y
YYYYDDD Y (Context sensitive)
YYYYMMDD Y (Context sensitive)
ZERO Y
ZERO-FILL N
ZEROES Y
ZEROS Y

Extra (obsolete) context sensitive words

AUTHOR
DATE-COMPILED
DATE-MODIFIED
DATE-WRITTEN
INSTALLATION
REMARKS
SECURITY

Extra internal registers Definition

RETURN-CODE USAGE BINARY-LONG
SORT-RETURN USAGE BINARY-LONG
NUMBER-OF-CALL-PARAMETERS USAGE BINARY-LONG
COB-CRT-STATUS PIC 9(4)
’LENGTH OF’ phrase USAGE BINARY-LONG
Appendix D: cobc --list-intrinsics 31

Appendix D cobc --list-intrinsics

Intrinsic Function Implemented Parameters

ABS Y 1
ACOS Y 1
ANNUITY Y 2
ASIN Y 1
ATAN Y 1
BOOLEAN-OF-INTEGER N 2
BYTE-LENGTH Y 1
CHAR Y 1
CHAR-NATIONAL N 1
COMBINED-DATETIME Y 2
CONCATENATE Y Variable
COS Y 1
CURRENCY-SYMBOL Y 0
CURRENT-DATE Y 0
DATE-OF-INTEGER Y 1
DATE-TO-YYYYMMDD Y Variable
DAY-OF-INTEGER Y 1
DAY-TO-YYYYDDD Y Variable
DISPLAY-OF N Variable
E Y 0
EXCEPTION-FILE Y 0
EXCEPTION-FILE-N N 0
EXCEPTION-LOCATION Y 0
EXCEPTION-LOCATION-N N 0
EXCEPTION-STATEMENT Y 0
EXCEPTION-STATUS Y 0
EXP Y 1
EXP10 Y 1
FACTORIAL Y 1
FORMATTED-CURRENT-DATE N 1
FORMATTED-DATE N 2
FORMATTED-DATETIME N Variable
FORMATTED-TIME N Variable
FRACTION-PART Y 1
HIGHEST-ALGEBRAIC Y 1
INTEGER Y 1
INTEGER-OF-BOOLEAN N 1
INTEGER-OF-DATE Y 1
INTEGER-OF-DAY Y 1
INTEGER-OF-FORMATTED-DATE N 2
INTEGER-PART Y 1
LENGTH Y 1
LENGTH-AN Y 1
LOCALE-COMPARE Y Variable
LOCALE-DATE Y 2
LOCALE-TIME Y 2
LOCALE-TIME-FROM-SECONDS Y 2
LOG Y 1
Appendix D: cobc --list-intrinsics 32

LOG10 Y 1
LOWER-CASE Y 1
LOWEST-ALGEBRAIC Y 1
MAX Y Variable
MEAN Y Variable
MEDIAN Y Variable
MIDRANGE Y Variable
MIN Y Variable
MOD Y 2
MODULE-CALLER-ID Y 0
MODULE-DATE Y 0
MODULE-FORMATTED-DATE Y 0
MODULE-ID Y 0
MODULE-PATH Y 0
MODULE-SOURCE Y 0
MODULE-TIME Y 0
MONETARY-DECIMAL-POINT Y 0
MONETARY-THOUSANDS-SEPARATOR Y 0
NATIONAL-OF N Variable
NUMERIC-DECIMAL-POINT Y 0
NUMERIC-THOUSANDS-SEPARATOR Y 0
NUMVAL Y 1
NUMVAL-C Y 2
NUMVAL-F Y 1
ORD Y 1
ORD-MAX Y Variable
ORD-MIN Y Variable
PI Y 0
PRESENT-VALUE Y Variable
RANDOM Y Variable
RANGE Y Variable
REM Y 2
REVERSE Y 1
SECONDS-FROM-FORMATTED-TIME Y 2
SECONDS-PAST-MIDNIGHT Y 0
SIGN Y 1
SIN Y 1
SQRT Y 1
STANDARD-COMPARE N Variable
STANDARD-DEVIATION Y Variable
STORED-CHAR-LENGTH Y 1
SUBSTITUTE Y Variable
SUBSTITUTE-CASE Y Variable
SUM Y Variable
TAN Y 1
TEST-DATE-YYYYMMDD Y 1
TEST-DAY-YYYYDDD Y 1
TEST-FORMATTED-DATETIME N 2
TEST-NUMVAL Y 1
TEST-NUMVAL-C Y 2
TEST-NUMVAL-F Y 1
TRIM Y 2
Appendix D: cobc --list-intrinsics 33

UPPER-CASE Y 1
VARIANCE Y Variable
WHEN-COMPILED Y 0
YEAR-TO-YYYY Y Variable
Appendix E: cobc --list-system 34

Appendix E cobc --list-system

System routine Parameters

SYSTEM 1
CBL_AND 3
CBL_CHANGE_DIR 1
CBL_CHECK_FILE_EXIST 2
CBL_CLOSE_FILE 1
CBL_COPY_FILE 2
CBL_CREATE_DIR 1
CBL_CREATE_FILE 5
CBL_DELETE_DIR 1
CBL_DELETE_FILE 1
CBL_EQ 3
CBL_ERROR_PROC 2
CBL_EXIT_PROC 2
CBL_FLUSH_FILE 1
CBL_GET_CSR_POS 1
CBL_GET_CURRENT_DIR 3
CBL_GET_SCR_SIZE 2
CBL_IMP 3
CBL_NIMP 3
CBL_NOR 3
CBL_NOT 2
CBL_OC_NANOSLEEP 1
CBL_OPEN_FILE 5
CBL_OR 3
CBL_READ_FILE 5
CBL_RENAME_FILE 2
CBL_TOLOWER 2
CBL_TOUPPER 2
CBL_WRITE_FILE 5
CBL_XOR 3
C$CALLEDBY 1
C$CHDIR 2
C$COPY 3
C$DELETE 2
C$FILEINFO 2
C$GETPID 0
C$JUSTIFY 1
C$MAKEDIR 1
C$NARG 1
C$PARAMSIZE 1
C$PRINTABLE 1
C$SLEEP 1
C$TOLOWER 2
C$TOUPPER 2
X"91" 2
X"E4" 0
X"E5" 0
Appendix E: cobc --list-system 35

X"F4" 2
X"F5" 2
Appendix F: cobc --list-mnemonics 36

Appendix F cobc --list-mnemonics

Mnemonic names
SYSIN Device name
SYSIPT Device name
STDIN Device name
SYSOUT Device name
SYSLIST Device name
SYSLST Device name
STDOUT Device name
PRINTER Device name
SYSERR Device name
STDERR Device name
CONSOLE Device name
C01 Feature name
C02 Feature name
C03 Feature name
C04 Feature name
C05 Feature name
C06 Feature name
C07 Feature name
C08 Feature name
C09 Feature name
C10 Feature name
C11 Feature name
C12 Feature name
CSP Feature name
FORMFEED Feature name
CALL-CONVENTION Feature name
SWITCH-0 Switch name
SWITCH-1 Switch name
SWITCH-2 Switch name
SWITCH-3 Switch name
SWITCH-4 Switch name
SWITCH-5 Switch name
SWITCH-6 Switch name
SWITCH-7 Switch name
SWITCH-8 Switch name
SWITCH-9 Switch name
SWITCH-10 Switch name
SWITCH-11 Switch name
SWITCH-12 Switch name
SWITCH-13 Switch name
SWITCH-14 Switch name
SWITCH-15 Switch name

Extended mnemonic names (with -fsyntax-extension)

SW0 Switch name
SW1 Switch name
SW2 Switch name
SW3 Switch name
Appendix F: cobc --list-mnemonics 37

SW4 Switch name

SW5 Switch name
SW6 Switch name
SW7 Switch name
SW8 Switch name
SW9 Switch name
SW10 Switch name
SW11 Switch name
SW12 Switch name
SW13 Switch name
SW14 Switch name
SW15 Switch name
Appendix G: config/default.conf 38

Appendix G config/default.conf
# OpenCOBOL compiler configuration
#
# Copyright (C) 2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007 Keisuke Nishida
# Copyright (C) 2007-2012 Roger While
#
# This file is part of OpenCOBOL.
#
# The OpenCOBOL compiler is free software: you can redistribute it
# and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
# as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
# License, or (at your option) any later version.
#
# OpenCOBOL is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
# GNU General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
# along with OpenCOBOL. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

# Value: any string

name: "OpenCOBOL"

# Value: enum
standard-define 0
# CB_STD_OC = 0,
# CB_STD_MF,
# CB_STD_IBM,
# CB_STD_MVS,
# CB_STD_BS2000,
# CB_STD_85,
# CB_STD_2002

# Value: int
tab-width: 8
text-column: 72

# Value: ’mf’, ’ibm’

#
assign-clause: mf

# If yes, file names are resolved at run time using

# environment variables.
# For example, given ASSIGN TO "DATAFILE", the file name will be
# 1. the value of environment variable ’DD_DATAFILE’ or
# 2. the value of environment variable ’dd_DATAFILE’ or
# 3. the value of environment variable ’DATAFILE’ or
# 4. the literal "DATAFILE"
# If no, the value of the assign clause is the file name.
Appendix G: config/default.conf 39

#
filename-mapping: yes

# Alternate formatting of numeric fields

pretty-display: yes

# Allow complex OCCURS DEPENDING ON

complex-odo: no

# Allow REDEFINES to other than last equal level number

indirect-redefines: no

# Binary byte size - defines the allocated bytes according to PIC

# Value: signed unsigned bytes
# ------ -------- -----
# ’2-4-8’ 1 - 4 same 2
# 5 - 9 same 4
# 10 - 18 same 8
#
# ’1-2-4-8’ 1 - 2 same 1
# 3 - 4 same 2
# 5 - 9 same 4
# 10 - 18 same 8
#
# ’1--8’ 1 - 2 1 - 2 1
# 3 - 4 3 - 4 2
# 5 - 6 5 - 7 3
# 7 - 9 8 - 9 4
# 10 - 11 10 - 12 5
# 12 - 14 13 - 14 6
# 15 - 16 15 - 16 7
# 17 - 18 17 - 18 8
#
binary-size: 1-2-4-8

# Numeric truncation according to ANSI

binary-truncate: yes

# Binary byte order

# Value: ’native’, ’big-endian’
binary-byteorder: big-endian

# Allow larger REDEFINES items

larger-redefines-ok: no

# Allow certain syntax variations (eg. REDEFINES position)

relaxed-syntax-check: no

# Perform type OSVS - If yes, the exit point of any currently

# executing perform is recognized if reached.
perform-osvs: no
Appendix G: config/default.conf 40

# If yes, linkage-section items remain allocated

# between invocations.
sticky-linkage: no

# If yes, allow non-matching level numbers

relax-level-hierarchy: no

# If yes, allow reserved words from the 85 standard

cobol85-reserved: no

# Allow Hex ’F’ for NUMERIC test of signed PACKED DECIMAL field
hostsign: no

# not-reserved:
# Value: Word to be taken out of the reserved words list
# (case independent)
# Words that are in the (proposed) standard but may conflict

# Dialect features
# Value: ’ok’, ’archaic’, ’obsolete’, ’skip’, ’ignore’, ’unconformable’

alter-statement: obsolete
author-paragraph: obsolete
data-records-clause: obsolete
debugging-line: obsolete
eject-statement: skip
entry-statement: obsolete
goto-statement-without-name: obsolete
label-records-clause: obsolete
memory-size-clause: obsolete
move-noninteger-to-alphanumeric: error
multiple-file-tape-clause: obsolete
next-sentence-phrase: archaic
odo-without-to: ok
padding-character-clause: obsolete
section-segments: ignore
stop-literal-statement: obsolete
synchronized-clause: ok
top-level-occurs-clause: ok
value-of-clause: obsolete