HP 3000 Manuals

HP COBOL II/XL Reference Manual

Algebraic Signs 

Numeric data can have two types of algebraic signs:  operational signs
and editing signs. 

Operational Signs 

These signs are associated with signed numeric data items and signed
numeric literals, to indicate their algebraic properties.  In regular
(default) internal format, they are represented in storage as noted in
the description of the USAGE clause of the DATA DIVISION (see Chapter 7
).  However, you can optionally override this format by explicitly
specifying the location of the signs with the SIGN clause of the DATA
DIVISION.


NOTE  Using the SIGN clause to force operation signs into a
      representation different from the regular (default) format
      typically causes the compiler to create less efficient object code.


Editing Signs 

These signs typically appear on edited reports, and are used to denote
the positive or negative value of data.  They are inserted into the data
through sign/control symbols in the PICTURE clause.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation