HP 3000 Manuals

Micro Focus COBOL Language Reference - Additional Topics

Literals 

DBCS Literals 

There is a third type of literal in addition to the nonnumeric and
numeric literals described in the chapter Concepts of COBOL Language in
your Language Reference, the DBCS literal.

A DBCS literal is a character-string delimited at both ends by quotation
marks or apostrophes, with the beginning delimiter preceded by a "G" .
It can consist of any characters in the computer's DBCS character set.
It can be up to 28 DBCS characters in length.  It cannot be continued
across lines.

Whether quotation marks or apostrophes are used, the presence of that
delimiter within a DBCS literal can be represented by two contiguous
occurrences.  The presence of the character that is not serving as the
delimiter is represented by a single occurrence.  The value of a DBCS
literal in the object program is the string of characters itself, except:

   1.  The initial G and the delimiters are excluded, and

   2.  Each embedded pair of contiguous delimiter characters represents a
       single character.

Category of DBCS Literals.   

All DBCS literals can be used wherever nonnumeric literals can be used,
subject to rules and exceptions given in the appropriate places in this
chapter.

Mixed Literals 

DBCS characters can be included in nonnumeric literals.  A nonnumeric
literal that includes DBCS characters is called a mixed literal.  In such
a literal, SBCS characters are represented by SBCS codes and DBCS
characters by DBCS codes.  Each space character is represented by the
SBCS code for space.

On output both the SBCS and the DBCS codes will be recognized.  The first
byte of a DBCS code is never a valid SBCS code; hence the two can be used
together without confusion.  But in operations within the program the
literal will be treated as an ordinary nonnumeric literal.  It is the
programmer's responsibility to ensure that the two halves of a DBCS code
do not get separated.

A nonnumeric literal is of category alphanumeric, not DBCS, regardless of
whether it includes DBCS characters.

A mixed literal cannot be continued across lines.

For MF only:    This restriction has been removed.

Figurative Constants 

If a figurative constant is used where only a DBCS literal is allowed
(according to the rules concerning classes and categories given in the
appropriate places in this chapter), it is a DBCS literal.  Each space in
this literal is a DBCS space.

Only the figurative constant SPACE(S) can be a DBCS literal.

For MF and COB/370 only:  The "N" literal 

Another format of literal, equivalent to the DBCS literal, is used in the
COBOL/370 and the MIA COBOL specification.

General Format.   


            

Syntax Rules.   

   1.  An N-literal can contain no more than 18 DBCS-characters, and
       cannot be split over two lines.

   2.  An N-literal can contain only double-byte characters for your
       computer's Double Byte Character Set.

   3.  Any double-byte quotation marks used in the literal should be
       written twice.  For example, in order to express a double-byte
       quotation mark in the literal, you should write:

       N"ABC""DEF"

   4.  N-literal specification and behavior can be modified in exactly
       the same way as G-literals using the APOST directive to replace a
       quotation (double-line) by an apostrophe (single-line) character.

General Rules.   

   1.  The N-literal can be used in conjunction with ALL to make a
       figurative constant (see the chapter Concepts of COBOL Language in
       your Language Reference).

   2.  All characters must be double-byte characters.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation