HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Source File Restrictions
You should be aware of the following restrictions while using convert5:
1. You must supply convert5 with DG Interactive COBOL source code or
copy files that are syntactically correct.
2. You must make sure that no USAGE IS INDEX, REDEFINES or RENAMES
clauses appear within the record descriptions contained within
your source code. The interpretation of records that contain such
clauses is ambiguous and thus convert5 is unable to handle them.
If your source code does contain record descriptions that use
USAGE IS INDEX, REDEFINES or RENAMES, then before using convert5
you should first split such record descriptions into separate
descriptions. Next, before you attempt to convert the relevant
files, ensure that these records are identifiable, either by a
record type field or via a subroutine. You must write such a
subroutine yourself.
3. You will normally need to define the record structure of multiple
record files if convert5 is to run successfully. See Chapter 16
for details.
4. The convert5 program does not interpret those statements within
your source program which commence with a continuation mark in
column 7. convert5 returns an error if it detects such a marker
in an area of the source program which it needs to analyze.
5. The time order of duplicate alternate keys in indexed files cannot
be preserved when you convert such files.
6. FD and SELECT ... ASSIGN entries
can be contained within a copy file provided the COPY statement is
of the form:
COPY filename".
7. convert5 does not support any other form of the COPY statement.
8. The USAGE clause is not supported for group level data-items.
9. The phrase DECIMAL POINT IS COMMA is not supported by convert5.
10. As all data names within a record definition must be unique, you
cannot supply convert5 with DG Interactive COBOL source code which
includes qualifiers within a record.
11. convert5 assumes that any depending name occurs in the same
record.
12. No picture string must be greater than 20 characters in length.
13. Composite picture strings must not contain numeric characters.
If you supply convert5 with DG Interactive COBOL source code that is
syntactically incorrect, it outputs an error message only if it detects
the syntax error. It will then close any open files and abandon the
conversion. However, convert5 may not detect that the supplied code is
invalid and may proceed to create a file conversion program. If you then
run this program, it may convert data incorrectly. You are thus strongly
advised to ensure that the code which you supply to convert5 is
syntactically valid.
You are also advised to supply convert5 with a DG Interactive COBOL
source program which writes rather than reads the data file which you
wish to convert. This ensures that all of the necessary information
concerning the data files can be found in the supplied source program.