HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Preface
You should read this book before installing the COBOL system and before
reading any of the other documentation. This book introduces the COBOL
system, and explains what it consists of and how to use it.
Audience
This book is intended for programmers already familiar with the COBOL
language and with the operating system on which they will be using this
product. It is for all programmers using this COBOL system, whether
experienced with earlier versions or completely new to this system.
Related Publications
The books in the the COBOL system document set are:
* COBOL User Guide
* COBOL System Reference (two volumes)
* Language Reference
* Language Reference - Additional Topics
* Error Messages
* Compatibility Guide
* Pocket Guide
* Master Index and Glossary
The on-disk document Documentation Update Notes on your issue disks may
contain updates to the books.
Notation
The notation used through the document set is as follows.
* Enter refers to the return or Enter key. Where commands to be
typed are shown, the Enter key is not explicitly shown; it is
treated as implicit that the Enter key must be pressed at the end
of the line.
* Hexadecimal numbers are enclosed in quotation marks and preceded
by a lower-case "x" or "h"; for example, x"9D", h"03FF". The "x"
is used when the hexadecimal number represents a character string;
the "x" when it represents a numerical value.
* PIC X is used rather than PIC 99 with the COMP-X or COMP-5 data
types. Unlike PIC 99, PIC X shows the length of the data item
directly and so demonstrates more clearly the use of COMP-X, which
is to define a binary item of the specified number of bytes.
Environments.
Some of the chapters in Micro Focus books are common (generic) between
the version for DOS, Windows, and OS/2 and the version for UNIX. These
chapters are identified in the first chapter of the book.
In such a chapter, if any paragraph does not apply to all the
environments, the environments that it does apply to are specified in the
left margin. For example:
UNIX This text applies only to the UNIX system.
Command Lines.
The notation used to describe the format of command lines is as follows:
* Words printed in italics are generic terms representing names to
be devised by you.
* Words printed in roman (that is, nonitalic) characters are the
actual words you must enter.
DOS, Windows, and On DOS, Windows, and OS/2 you can type command
OS/2 lines in upper, lower, or mixed case except where
otherwise stated.
UNIX On UNIX you must type them in upper or lower case
as shown.
Square brackets [ ] mean the material inside them
is optional.
Braces { } mean you must choose from the options
inside them. If there is only one option in the
braces, they mean repetition.
An ellipsis (...) following { } or [ ] means you
can repeat the material inside them. The number of
repetitions allowed is unlimited unless otherwise
stated. An ellipsis used with [ ] means the
material can be omitted altogether.
If a command line does not fit across the page, it
is continued on the next line; the continuation
line is indented.
Considerations on Bear the following points in mind when using DOS,
DOS, Windows, and Windows, or OS/2:
OS/2
The term "OS/2" refers to both Microsoft Operating
System/2 (MS OS/2) and IBM OS/2. Similarly, the
term "DOS" refers to both IBM Personal Computer DOS
and MS-DOS.
The term "window" means a delineated area on the
screen, normally smaller than the full screen. The
term "Windows" means Microsoft Windows 3.0 or
later.
Considerations on UNIX.
UNIX Bear the following points in mind when using UNIX:
The term "UNIX" can be taken to mean all operating
systems that are compatible with UNIX System V,
Release 3.0 or later, complying with the System V
Interface Definition (SVID).
The commands given in this book are specifically
for the UNIX operating system. For other similar
operating systems, see the on-disk Release Notes
for the commands to use. You may also be referred
to the Release Notes for other operating system
specific details.
All command line formats and examples are for the
standard UNIX shell, the Bourne shell. If you are
using another shell, see your UNIX documentation
for the appropriate formats.
The keys described in this documentation are not
available on all environments. References to
pressing keys such as function or status keys imply
the logical pressing and releasing of these keys
rather than the physical keystrokes. A chart
listing how your actual keystrokes map onto the
keys shown in the documentation is provided in the
manuals.
Notes.
* [F1]=Help appears on every menu in character mode Micro Focus
software. It invokes a help screen describing the current menu.
[F1]=Help is not described in the documentation.
* You may notice that what appears on your screen sometimes differs
in minor ways (for example, version numbers) from that illustrated
in the books. This will not affect the operation of your
software.