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Glossary (Cont.) [ Micro Focus COBOL Language Reference ] MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation


Micro Focus COBOL Language Reference

Glossary (Cont.) 

Qualified Data-name 

An identifier that is composed of a data-name followed by one or more
sets of either of the connectives OF and IN, followed by a data-name
qualifier.

Qualifier 

   1.  A data-namewhich is used in a reference together with another data
       name at a lower level in the same hierarchy.

   2.  A section-namewhich is used in a reference together with a
       paragraph-name specified in that section.

   3.  A library-namewhich is used in a reference together with a
       text-name associated with that library.

Queue 

A logical collection of messages, processes, print jobs, and so on,
awaiting transmission or processing.

Queue Name 

A symbolic name that indicates to the MCS the logical path by which a
message or a portion of a completed message can be accessible in a queue.

Random Access 

An access mode in which the program-specified value of a key data item
identifies the logical record that is obtained from, deleted from or
placed into a relative or indexed file.

Receiving Item 

A data item referenced in a TO or USING phrase in a PICTURE clause in the
Screen Section.

Record 

See Logical Record.

Record Area 

A storage area allocated for the purpose of processing the record
described in a record description entry in the File Section.

Record Description Entry 

The total set of data description entries associated with a particular
record.

Record Key 

A key, either the prime record key 
or an alternate record key, whose contents identify a record within an
indexed file.

Record-name 

A user-defined word that names a record described in a record description
entry in the Data Division.

Reference-format 

A format that provides a standard method for describing COBOL source
programs.

Reference Modification 

A definition of a data item by specifying a leftmost character and length
for the data item.

Relation 

See Relational Operator.

Relation Character 

A character that belongs to the following set:

                 Character                                    Meaning 

                     >                      Greater than

                     <                      Less than

                     =                      Equal to

                    >=                      Greater than or equal to

                    <=                      Less than or equal to

                    !=                      Unequal to

Relation Conditioni 

The proposition, for which a truth value can be determined, that the
value of an arithmetic expression or data item has a specified
relationship to the value of another arithmetic expression or data item.
See Relational Operator.

Relational Operator 

A reserved word, a relation character, a group of consecutive reserved
words, or a group of consecutive reserved words and relation characters
used in the construction of a relation condition.  The permissible
operators and their meanings are:

    Relational         Meaning 
     Operator 

IS [NOT] GREATER   Greater than or
THAN IS [NOT]  >   not greater
                   than

IS [NOT] LESS      Less than or
THAN\ IS [NOT] <   not less than

IS [NOT] EQUAL TO  Equal to or not
IS [NOT] =         equal to

IS GREATER THAN OR Greater than or
EQUAL TO IS >=     equal to

IS LESS THAN OR    Less than or
EQUAL TO IS <=     equal to

IS UNEQUAL TO IS   Not equal to
!=

EQUALS             Equal to

EXCEEDS            Greater than

Relative File 

A file with relative organization.

Relative key 

A key whose contents identify a logical record in a relative file.

Relative Organization 

The permanent logical file structure in which each record is uniquely
identified by an integer value greater than zero, which specifies the
record's logical ordinal position in the file.

Reserved Word 

A COBOL word specified in the list of words which can be used in COBOL
source programs, but which must not appear in the programs as
user-defined words or system-names.

Routine-name 

A user-defined word that identifies a procedure written in a language
other than COBOL.

Run-time 

The time at which the code produced by your COBOL system is executed.

Run-time System (RTS) 

The software that interprets the code produced by your COBOL system and
enables it to be executed by providing interfaces to the operating system
and CRT.

Run Unit 

A set of one or more programs which function, at run time, as a unit to
provide problem solutions.

Screen Description Entry 

An entry in the Screen Section of the Data Division that is composed of a
level number, followed by an optional screen-name, and then by a set of
screen clauses as required.  This entry is very similar in structure to a
data description entry, but while a data description entry declares areas
in memory, a screen description entry declares areas on the screen.

Screen Item 

A field on the screen to which the screen description entry assigns
properties.

Screen Section 

The last section in the Data Division in which the layouts of the screen
areas accessed in Format 4 of the ACCEPT and Format 2 of the DISPLAY
statements are defined.

Section 

A set of none, one, or more paragraphs or entries, called a section body,
the first of which is preceded by a section header.  Each section
consists of the section header and the related section body.

Section Header 

A combination of words followed by a period and a space that indicates
the beginning of a section in the Environment, Data and Procedure
Divisions.  In the Environment and Data Divisions, a section header is
composed of reserved words followed by a period and a space.  The
permissible section headers are:  In the Environment Division:

       Configuration Section.
      Input-Output Section.

In the Data Division:

       File Section.
      Working-Storage Section.
      Local-Storage Section.
      Linkage Section.
      Communication Section.
      Report Section
      Screen Section.

In the Procedure Division, a section header is composed of a
section-name, followed by the reserved word SECTION, followed by a
segment-number (optional), followed by a period and a space.

Section-name 

A user-defined word which names a section in the Procedure Division.

Segment-number 

A user-defined word which classifies sections in the Procedure Division
for purposes of segmentation.  Segment-numbers can contain only the
characters "0", "1",..., "9".  A segment-number can be expressed either
as a one- or two-digit number.

Sending Item 

A data item referenced in a FROM or USING phrase in a PICTURE clause in
the Screen Section.

Sentence 

A sequence of one or more statements, the last of which is terminated by
a period followed by a space.

Separate Program 

A program which, together with its contained programs, is processed
separately from all other programs.

Separator 

A punctuation character used to delimit character-strings.

Sequential Access 

An access mode in which logical records are obtained from or placed into
a file in a consecutive predecessor-to-successor logical record sequence
determined by the order of records in the file.

Sequential File 

A file with sequential organization.

Sequential Organization 

The permanent logical file structure in which a record is identified by a
predecessor-successor relationship established when the record is placed
into the file.

Sign Condition 

The proposition, for which a truth value can be determined, that the
algebraic value of a data item or an arithmetic expression is either less
than, greater than, or equal to zero.

Simple Condition 

Any single condition chosen from the set:

       relation condition
       class condition
       switch-status condition
       condition-name condition
       sign condition
       (simple-condition)

Sort File 

A collection of records to be sorted by a SORT statement.  The sort file
is created and can be used by the sort function only.

Sort-merge File Description Entry 

An entry in the File Section of the Data Division that is composed of the
level indicator SD, followed by a file-name, and then followed by a set
of file clauses as required.

Source 

The symbolic definition of the originator of a transmission to a queue.

Source-Computer 

The name of an Environment Division paragraph in which the computer
environment, within which the intermediate code is created, is described.

Source Program 

Although it is recognized that a source program can be represented by
other forms and symbols, in this document it always refers to a
syntactically correct set of COBOL statements beginning with an
Identification Division and ending with the end of the Procedure
Division.  In contexts where there is no danger of ambiguity, the word
"program" alone can be used in place of the phrase "source program".

Special Character 

A character that belongs to the following set:

                 Character                                    Meaning 

                     +                      Plus Sign

                     -                      Minus Sign

                     *                      Asterisk

                     /                      Slash (Virgule, Stroke)

                     =                      Equal Sign

                     $                      Currency Sign

                     ,                      Comma (Decimal Point)

                     ;                      Semicolon

                     .                      Period (Decimal Point)

                     "                      Quotation Mark

                     (                      Left Parenthesis

                     )                      Right Parenthesis

                     >                      Greater Than Symbol

                     <                      Less Than Symbol

                     '                      Apostrophe

                     :                      Colon

                     &                      Ampersand

Special-character Word 

A reserved word which is an arithmetic operator or a relation character.

Special-Names 

The name of an Environment Division paragraph in which implementor-names
are related to user-specified mnemonic-names.

Special Registers 

Storage areas created by your COBOL system whose primary use is to store
information produced in conjunction with the user of specified COBOL
features.

Split Key 

A concatenation of one or more data items within a record associated with
that file-name.  It can be referenced only in START and READ statements.
For example, if a program contained the following definition:

       01 rec.
     03 forename         pic X(10).
     03 personnel-no pic X(4).
     03 surname          pic X(15).

the syntax:

       record key is fullname =
     surname forename

would cause the COBOL system to treat

     fullname

as though it were an explicitly defined group item consisting of:

       03 surname    pic X(15).
     03 forename         pic X(10).

Standard Data Format 

The concept used in describing the characteristics of data in a COBOL
Data Division under which the characteristics or properties of the data
are expressed in a form oriented to the appearance of the data on a
printed page of infinite length and breadth, rather than a form oriented
to the manner in which the data is stored internally in the computer or
on a particular external medium.

Statement 

A syntactically valid combination of words and symbols written in the
Procedure Division beginning with a verb.

Sub-queue 

A logical hierarchical division of a queue.

Subject of Entry 

An operand or reserved word that appears immediately following the level
indicator or the level-number in a Data Division entry.

Subprogram 

See Called Program.

Subscript 

An occurrence number represented by either an integer, a data- name
optionally followed by an integer with the operator + or -, or an
index-name optionally followed by an integer with the operator + or -,
that identifies a particular element in a table.  A subscript can be the
word ALLwhen the subscripted identifier is used as a function argument.

Subscripted Data-name 

An identifier that is composed of a data-name followed by one or more
subscripts enclosed in parentheses.

Switch-status Condition 

The proposition, for which a truth value can be determined, that an
implementor-defined switch, capable of being set to an "on" or "off"
status, has been set to a specified status.

Symbol Function 

The use of specified characters in the PICTURE clause to represent data
types.

Syntax 

The order in which elements must be put together to form a program.

System-name 

A COBOL word which is used to communicate with the operating environment.

Table 

A set of logically consecutive items of data that are defined in the Data
Division by means of the OCCURS clause.

Table Element 

A data item that belongs to the set of repeated items comprising a table.

Terminal 

An interactive input/output device consisting of a screen display or
printing device and a keyboard by which an operator can enter and receive
visual data.

Text-name 

A user-defined word which identifies library text.

Text-word 

A character or a sequence of contiguous characters between margin A and
margin R in a COBOL library, source program, or in pseudo-text which is:

   1.  A separator, except for:  space; a pseudo text delimiter; and the
       opening and closing delimiters for nonnumeric literals.  The
       right-parenthesis and left-parenthesis characters, regardless of
       context within the library, source program, or pseudo-text, are
       always considered text words.

   2.  A literal including, in the case of nonnumeric literals, the
       opening quotation mark and the closing quotation mark which bound
       the literal.

   3.  Any other sequence of contiguous COBOL characters except comment
       lines and the word "COPY", bounded by separators, which is neither
       a separator nor a literal.  One or both of the bounding separators
       can be a pseudo-text delimiter.

Truth Value 

The representation of the result of the evaluation of a condition in
terms of one of two values:

       true
       false

Unary Operator 

A plus (+) or a minus (-) sign, which precedes a variable or a left
parenthesis in an arithmetic expression and which has the effect of
multiplying the expression by +1 or -1, respectively.

Update Field 

A screen item whose description contains a USING phrase.

User-defined Word 

A COBOL wordthat must be supplied by the user to satisfy the format of a
clause or statement.

Variable 

A data item whose value can be changed by execution of the object
program.  A variable used in an arithmetic expression must be a numeric
elementary item.

Variable-Occurrence Data Item 

A variable-occurrence data item is a table element which is repeated a
variable number of times.  Such an item must contain an OCCURS DEPENDING
ON clause in its data description entry, or be subordinate to such an
item.

Verb 

A word that expresses an action to be taken by your COBOL program at
object time, during creation of native code, or at run time.

Word 

A character-string of not more than 30 characters which forms a
user-defined word, a system-name, a reserved word, or a function-name.

Working-Storage Section 

The section of the Data Division that describes working storage data
items, composed either of noncontiguous items or of working storage
records, or of both.



MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation