[GNU-COBOL] Cobol information bulletins

[Tim Josling <tej@melbpc.org.au>]

I have just received the cobol information bulletins. 

I checked all the clarifications relating to copy and replace and
I found that all my assumptions on them were consistent with the
X3J6 committee's clarifications, but in other areas there were a
few surprises.

I will include the list of clarifications below. Email me if you
are working on any of these areas if you have any questions.

Obviously I can't post the contents of the responses but the list
of questions should be OK.

Tim Josling
List of items discussed in the COBOL information bulletins prepared by X3J4

CIB-24.

A-1 Inspect tallying of signed field
A-2 Scope of program names nested and external the same
A-3 Initial clause of CD entry and contained programs
A-4 File attribure conflicting definitions in called program
A-5 COPY replacing and parentheses
..6 does not exist)
..7 does not exist)
A-8 Declarative procedures which one is executed on logical error
..9 does not exist
A-10 CLOSE reel/unit and file position indicator
A-11 Extension language elements not detectable as extensions syntactically
A-12 Evaluation of subscripts and reference modification in INITIALIZE
      same as a series of moves
A-13 PICTURE symbol 'p' and move to non-elementary field
A-14 Transfer of control in format 1 read statement after imperative statement
      is completed
A-15 Symbolic characters clause extra braces.
..16 does not exist
A-17 Read of binary data which is too large for picture clause
A-18 Synchronized and Redefines memory layout
A-19 Open output and unavailable file - must it be created
A-20 Call literal-1 on exception if subroutine doe not exist
..21 does not exist
A-22 NOT in abbreviated combined relation conditions (later overruled in A-225)
A-23 Overlapping parameters in call statement
..23 does not exist
A-25 Start statement with generic alternate key
A-26 Group item with occurs and value clauses does 5.15.6 apply
A-27 Size of an occurs depending on item during call by content 
..28 does not exist
A-29 Record is varying clause - what level is it (1/2)
A-30 not invalid key phrase and rewrite statement typo in 4.6.3 rule 3
A-31 not invalid key phrase and write statement inconsistent with rewrie
A-32 invalid key phrase and rewrite statement for relative file
A-33 search statement and multiple dimension arrays
A-34 occurs clause re 5.8.4 general rule 3
A-35 Size of an occurs depending on item with a value of depending on item 
     out of bounds
A-36 Unstring statement (into signed numeric)
A-37 Global use statement for files and debugging
A-38 search on item subordinate to an item with an occurs clause and indexed by
A-39 initialize statement items not covered by replacing phrase
A-40 same sort and sort/merge area clause
..41 does not exist
..42 does not exist
A-43 No data and with data phrases of receive statement in cd.
A-44 move alphanumeric data to numeric or numeric edited 
     with non-numeric contents
     

CIB-25

..01-06 do not exist
A-07 Use before reporting ambiguous - one per compilation
      or one per contained program
..08 does not exist
A-09 Nested if statements and scope terminators next sentence then end-if
..10-15 do not exist
A-16 merge using phrase and relative files relative key item defined?
..17-20 do not exist
A-21 not at end phrase action after error not specified
..22-23 do not exist
A-24 IO status codes for multiple errors 
..25-27 do not exist
A-28 code set as fixed file attribute or not
..29-40 do not exist
A-41 Copy replacing statement and upper/lower case equivalence
..42-25 do not exist
A-46 Sort/merge and record varying clause with depending
A-47 open extend with relative or indexed file
A-48 multiple tape file clause and levels
A-49 rewrite to indexed file  can it create duplicate key
A-50 replace statement and comment lines
A-51 Inspect statement which are sending items for purpose of occurs clause
A-52 copy statement continuation
A-53 copy text words and " not followed by space
A-54 copy conformance rules and inconsistent leveling
A-55 replace statement changing subsequent replace statements
A-56 use procedure for close statement status 42
A-57 fle position of alternate keys after rewrite
A-58 index-names and external clause are they external
A-59 what are file attributes specifically
A-60 padding character clause
..61 does not exist
A-62 communication status key value 80
A-63 replacing line phrase of send statement
A-64 padding character clause deleting records
A-65 file attribute conflict condition
..66-68 do not exist
A-69 accept conversion
A-70 replace statement containing copy statement
A-71 floating insertion editing +- allowed?
A-72 precedence of use procedures in nested programs
A-73 occurs and redefines together
A-74 not invalid key phrase (invalid key phase not needed)
A-75 repeated when phrase of evaluate with no imperative statement
A-76 lower and upper case letters in program-name in call and cancel
A-77 reference modification on variable length groups
A-78 collating sequences when sorting indexed files
..79 does not exist
A-80 transfer of control and exception condition
A-81 evaluate statement scope rules
A-82 pseudo-text replacement involving parentheses eg X(2)
..83 does not exist
A-84 padding character clause when is it applicable
A-85 IO status value 37 inconsistencies
A-86 symbolic characters clause ordinal numbers

CIB-26

..01-44 do not exist
A-45 debugging lines interaction with copy and replace
..46-60 do not exist
A-61 Occurs clause and overlapping keys
..62-65 do nto exist
A-66 sort and output record varying in size ambiguity
A-67 exist program statement in declarative procedure
A-68 global file record with local file description
..69-78 do not exist
A-79 lower and upper case letters in program name
..80-82 do not exist
A-83 external index data items
..84-86 do not exist
A-87 record clause and IO status 04
A-88 record is varying depending interaction with 01 level sizes
A-89 file file attribues logical record size
A-90 zero length groups, comparisons and class conditions
A-91 alphabet clause repeated characters
A-92 before after phrases in inspect statement length of before/after items
A-93 not on size error phrase when do data items remain unchanged
A-94 close reel/unit
A-95 comparing index-name to arithmetic expression allowed?
A-96 maximum length received and reference modification
A-97 unresolved perform statements and error detection
A-98 alphabet clause and code-set clause
A-99 de-editing and insertion character 0
..100-224 do not exist
A-225 not greater or equal (overrules A-22 in cib-24)
..226-262 do not exist
A-263 not phrases and use procedures
..264-282 do not exist
A-283 implementor defined record delimiter clause required?
..284 does not exist
A-285 IO status 44 and record clause
A-286 moving alphanumerics to numerics
A-287 picture is P$$
A-288 scope of configuration section are alphabets etc global
..289 does not exist
A-290 record area storage spaces allocated
A-291 clsoe file-name with lockreopen under different fd
A-292 picture P and comparison with non-numeric
A-293 read with key phrase 
A-294 size of occurs depending on item for call by reference
      and call by content
A-295 Inspect leading phrase and eligibility to participate
..296-298 do not exist
A-298 simple insertion characters as part of floating strings
A-299 combining groups (one or more OK?)
A-300 Program names as implementor defined or hardware dependent
      must you support 30-character-unique names
A-301 non-unque user defined words legal?
A-302 IO status codes 24 and 34 
..303 does not exist
A-304 function arguments of class alphanumeric and alphabetic
..305 does not exist
A-306 IO status 48
A-307 size error condition without on size error clause
..308-310 do not exist
A-311 reserved word conflicts with function names
..312-313 do not exist
A-314 call by reference with occurs depending on
A-315 reserved words includes "+" etc?
A-316 space before colon in reference modification
..317-318
A-319 reference modification of merge and sort key data items
..320-321 do not exist
A-322 floating insertion characters to right of decimal point
A-323 numval-c currency sign case sensitive etc
A-324 if statement leveling
..325 does not exist
A-326 implementor defined value for char position
A-327 implementor defie random seed value
..328-333 do not exist
A-334 meaning of integer value
..335 does not exist
A-336 divide with unsigned quotient absurd result
..337-346 do not exist
A-347 with debugging mode clause in the debug module
A-348 non-contiguous segements with the same segment number

CIB-27

..1-309 do not exist
A-310 continuation of non-numeric literals with embedded quotation marks
..311-312 do nto exist
A-313 intrinsic function errors and transfers of control OK to terminate?
..315-337 do not exist
A-338 zero length groups - class and class test
..339-340 do not exist
A-341 types of problems with intrinsic function arguments
..342-344 do nto exist
A-345 upper/lowed case equivalence of D d in indicator area
..356-358 do not exist
A-359 reference to linage counter in a program without files

CIB-28 

..1-295 do not exist
A-296 String statement and signed data item
A-297 Qualification in renames clause required?
..298-308 do not exist
A-305 read into statement with elementary records not alphanumeric
..306-324 do not exist
A-325 implementor defined function representation and characteristics
..326-331 do not exist
A-332 size of signed numeric when moved to group - S
..333-334 do nto exist
A-335 evaluate verb sequence of evaluations
..336 does not exist
A-337 inspect statement and reference modification allowed?
..338-341 do not exist
A-342 when the content of a data item is referenced - means? 
      non-numeric data in numeric move
..343-345 do not exist
A-346 subscripted data names in when phrase of search all 
..347-349
A-350 zero length data items as conditional variables
A-351 blank when zero, category edited and S in picture
..352 does not exist
A-353 arithmetic statement - extent of implementor latitude
A-354 file status field restrictions eg in linakage section OK?
A-355 call in multi-language case sensitive environment
..356-357 do not exist
A-358 figurative constant and code clause
..359 does not exist
A-360 data in different length records
..361 does not exist
A-362 overlapping operands in moves
A-363 incompatible data in move "mmmmm" to pic 999v99
A-364 exponent overflow and on size error
A-365 overlapping arithmetic and sending reeiving fields

<end>