HP 3000 Manuals

HP SYSTEM DICTIONARY XL COBOL DEFINITION EXTRACTOR Reference Manual

SIGN Clause 

SDCDE generates the SIGN clause if the sign attribute has one of the
following values:

  LO - leading overpunch
  LS - leading separate
  TO - trailing overpunch
  TS - trailing separate

The SIGN clause indicates the position of the sign for a signed edit
mask.

Syntax 

     LEADING
     LEADING  SEPARATE  CHARACTER
     TRAILING
     TRAILING  SEPARATE  CHARACTER

Description 

The SIGN clause can only be used with an edit mask of type S9 and at the
elementary level.  You cannot use the SIGN clause if you specify COMP or
COMP-3 on the USAGE clause.

If the sign is separate, it is counted when determining the size of the
element.  If the sign is overpunch, it is not counted when determining
the size of the element.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation