This document describes the specific mapping of Software AG IDL data types, groups, arrays and structures to the COBOL programming language. Please note also the remarks and hints on the IDL data types valid for all language bindings found under Software AG IDL File.
This document covers the following topics:
In the table below, the following metasymbols and informal terms are used for the IDL.
The metasymbols"[" and "]" surround optional lexical entities.
The informal term number (or in some cases number1. number2) is a sequence of numeric characters, for example 123.
| Software AG IDL | Description | COBOL Data Type | Note | Client Support |
Server Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anumber |
Alphanumeric | PIC X(number) |
x | x | |
AV |
Alphanumeric variable length | not supported | |||
AV[number] |
Alphanumeric variable length with maximum length | PIC X(number) |
x | x | |
B number |
Binary | PIC X(number) |
12 | x | x |
BV |
Binary variable length | not supported | |||
BV[number] |
Binary variable length with maximum length | PIC X(number) |
12 | x | x |
D |
Date | PIC 9(8) |
1 | x | x |
F4 |
Floating point (small) | USAGE COMP-1 |
4 | x | x |
F8 |
Floating point (large) | |
4 | x | x |
| I1 | Integer (small) | PIC S9(2) COMP-5 |
10 | x | x |
PIC X |
9,13 | x | x | ||
| I2 | Integer (medium) | PIC S9(4) COMP-5 |
10 | x | x |
PIC S9(4) BINARY |
11,13 | x | x | ||
| I4 | Integer (large) | PIC S9(9) COMP-5 |
10 | x | x |
PIC S9(9) BINARY |
11,13 | x | x | ||
Knumber |
Kanji | PIC G(number/2) DISPLAY-1 |
5 | x | x |
KV |
Kanji variable length | not supported | |||
KV[number] |
Kanji variable length with maximum length | PIC G(number/2 DISPLAY-1) |
5 | x | x |
L |
Logical | PIC X |
6,7 | x | x |
Nnumber1[.number2] |
Unpacked decimal | PIC S9(number1) [V(number2)] |
2 | x | x |
NU number1 [.number2] |
Unpacked decimal unsigned | PIC 9(number1) [V(number2)] |
2 | x | x |
P number1[.number2] |
Packed decimal | PIC S9(number1) [V(number2)] PACKED-DECIMAL |
2 | x | x |
PU number1 [.number2] |
Packed decimal unsigned | PIC 9(number1) [V(number2)] PACKED-DECIMAL |
2 | x | x |
T |
Time | PIC 9(15) |
3 | x | x |
Unumber |
Unicode | PIC N(number) NATIONAL |
8 | x | x |
UV |
Unicode variable length | not supported | |||
UVnumber |
Unicode variable length with maximum length | PIC N(number) NATIONAL |
8 | x | x |
See also the hints and restrictions under Software AG IDL File valid for all language bindings.
The date corresponds to the format PIC 9(8). The value contained has
the form YYYYMMDD. This form corresponds to COBOL DATE functions. This is an
IBM extension of COBOL85 standard.
Depending on your COBOL compiler and settings, the number of digits
may be restricted, which means that number1+
number2 must be less than or equal to 18. Please
note the number of digits after the decimal point. See IDL Data Types.
To enable range values with more than 18 digits, depending on the operating system, the following compiler directive (option) is generated into the client interface objects and server skeletons if more than 18 digits are defined in the IDL.
Under z/OS and z/VSE:
The compiler option ARITH(EXTEND).
Under all other operating systems or compilers:
No compiler option. Refer to your COBOL compiler documentation to see whether compiler directives or options exist.
The time corresponds to the format PIC 9(15). The value contained has
the form YYYYMMDDHHIISST. This form corresponds to COBOL DATE/TIME
functions.
When floating-point data types are used, rounding errors can occur, so that the values of senders and receivers might differ slightly.
The length for IDL data type is given in bytes. For COBOL the length
is in DBCS characters (2 bytes). IDL data type K is not supported under
BS2000/OSD because Fujitsu Siemens compilers do not support DBCS.
To inspect the Boolean value of a data item of IDL type Logical, you can specify PIC X followed by condition names (similar code is generated for scalar logical IDL types):
level-number data-name PIC X. 88 data-name-false value X'00'. 88 data-name-true value X'01' thru X'FF'.
Under IBM i,
The SYMBOLIC CHARACTERS clause in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph is not
supported. The following COBOL statements demonstrate how you can define
alternatively a character, named HEX-00, with a value of hexadecimal zero to be
used for comparison:
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 HEX-00-B PIC 9(4) BINARY VALUE 0.
01 HEX-00-H REDEFINES HEX-00-B.
02 FILLER PIC X.
02 HEX-00 PIC X.
To set the Boolean value of a Logical data item, specify the
following hexadecimal values in a one-byte data field (e.g. defined as PIC X.):
Case False: Move X'00' to data-name.
Case True: Move X'01' to data-name.
The length is given in Unicode code units following the Unicode standard UTF-16.
Under z/OS and IBM Compiler:
Unicode requires the IBM Enterprise compiler.
Unicode is represented in UTF-16 big-endian format (CCSID 1200).
Under BS2000/OSD:
Unicode requires a compiler that supports COBOL data type NATIONAL. See BS2000/OSD Prerequisites.
Unicode is represented in UTF-16 big-endian format.
Under Micro Focus (UNIX and Windows):
Set the compiler directive NSYMBOL"NATIONAL".
For clients
Unicode can be represented in UTF-16 big-endian format (compiler
directive UNICODE(PORTABLE)) or machine-dependent endianness
UTF-16 big or little endian (compiler directive
UNICODE(NATIVE)).
For servers
Unicode can be represented in UTF-16 machine-dependent endianness
(big or little endian) format only. UNICODE(PORTABLE) is not
supported.
Under all other operating systems or compilers:
Refer to your COBOL compiler documentation.
COBOL for operating systems z/OS, z/VSE, BS2000/OSD and IBM i does
not have a corresponding data type for a compatible I1 mapping. The mapping to
COBOL PIC X data type should be seen as a FILLER variable. If including an I1
data type into the interface is required, it is your responsibility as application developer to
process the content of this parameter provided (during receive) and expected
(during send) correctly. Negative values are given as the two's complement
binary number.
Supported for Micro Focus COBOL for operating systems UNIX and Windows only.
The value range for COBOL data type BINARY on z/OS, z/VSE, BS2000/OSD
and IBM i depends on the COBOL compiler settings:
With COBOL 85 standard, the mapped COBOL data type BINARY is more
restrictive than the IDL data types I2 and I4. See IDL Data Types.
This means that COBOL RPC clients cannot send
(and COBOL RPC servers cannot return) the full value range defined by the IDL
types I2 and I4. On the other hand, COBOL RPC clients and COBOL RPC servers may
receive a value range (from a non-COBOL RPC partner) outside of the value range
of your COBOL data type.
Without COBOL 85 standard, the value range of the COBOL
data type BINARY depends on the binary field size, thus matches the IDL data
type exactly. In this case, there are no restriction regarding value ranges.
To match the value range of IDL type I2 and I4 exactly, depending on the operating system, the following compiler directive (option) is generated into the client interface objects and server skeletons:
Under z/OS and z/VSE:
the IBM compiler option TRUNC(BIN)
Under all other operating systems or compilers:
refer to your COBOL compiler documentation to see whether compiler directives or options exist.
COBOL does not have a corresponding data type for a compatible B/BV
mapping. Thus the mapping is to COBOL PIC X data type. EntireX RPC transports
the (binary) data as it is: no character translation or conversion will be
performed.
Supported for operating systems z/OS, z/VSE, BS2000/OSD and IBM i only.
The IDL library name as specified in the IDL file (there is no 8-character limitation) is sent from a client to the server. Special characters are not replaced. The library alias is neither sent to the server nor used for other purposes on the COBOL client side.
If you are using a so-called server-side server mapping file the target RPC server (COBOL subprogram) is located with the help of this file. See Server Mapping File (SVM) and Locating and Calling the Target Server under CICS | z/OS Batch | z/OS IMS | Micro Focus | BS2000/OSD | IBM i.
If you are not using an SVM file, the IDL library name as specified in the IDL file is ignored.
The IDL program name as specified in the IDL file (there is no 8-character limitation) is sent from a client to the server. Special characters are not replaced. The program alias is not sent to the server, but during wrapping it is used to derive the suggestion for the source file names of the client interface objects (COBOL subprograms, copybooks) instead of using the IDL program names, see Customize Automatically Generated Client Names.
If you are using a so-called server-side server mapping file, the target RPC server (COBOL subprogram) is located with the help of this file. See Server Mapping File (SVM) and Locating and Calling the Target Server under CICS | z/OS Batch | z/OS IMS | Micro Focus | BS2000/OSD | IBM i. This provides the following advantages:
IDL program names do not have to match the target RPC server (COBOL subprogram) names.
Target RPC server names (COBOL subprogram) can be customized during wrapping, see Customize Automatically Generated Client Names) or during the extraction process in the COBOL Mapping Editor. See The Software AG IDL Tree Pane).
IDL program names are not limited to 8 characters.
The SVM file is generated either during wrapping (see Using the Natural Wrapper for the Client Side) or during extraction (see IDL Extractor for COBOL). It is wrapped into the RPC client components and the relevant information is sent from a client to the server. Therefore it is important to generate or extract the target COBOL RPC (COBOL subprogram) server first, before creating any RPC client component.
If you are not using an SVM file, the target RPC server (COBOL subprogram) must match the IDL program name. In this case:
The length of the IDL program names is limited by your COBOL system (often 8 characters).
The set of allowed characters for IDL program names is restricted by your COBOL system and the underlying file system.
It is your responsibility as application developer to ensure that these requirements are met.
The parameter names, as given in the
parameter-data-definition of the IDL file, are mapped to
fields within the LINKAGE section of the generated COBOL client interface
objects and COBOL server skeletons.
When building fields within the LINKAGE section, the special characters
'#', '$', '&', '+', '-', '.', '/', '@' and '_', allowed within names of
parameters, are mapped to the character hyphen '-' valid for COBOL names.
Example:
HU$GO results in HU-GO
Trailing and preceding special characters are also removed. Example:
#HUGO$ results in HUGO
Subsequent special characters are replaced by one hyphen. Example:
HU$#$GO results in HU-GO
If the parameter name starts with a digit, e.g. '1', it is prefixed
with the character 'P'. Example:
1HUGO results in P1HUGO
Fixed arrays within the IDL file are mapped to fixed COBOL tables.
See the array-definition under Software AG IDL Grammar for the syntax on how to
describe fixed arrays within the IDL file and refer to
fixed-bound-array-index.
For clients on all operating systems, and for servers on the
operating systems z/OS, BS2000/OSD, z/VSE, UNIX and Windows for Micro Focus
COBOL, IDL unbounded arrays with a maximum are mapped to COBOL tables with the
DEPENDING ON clause. See Tables with Variable Size - DEPENDING ON Clause under COBOL to IDL Mapping in the IDL Extractor for COBOL documentation. Note the following:
The from-value in the IDL file does not mean a minimum number of
occurrences which have to be always in the COBOL table, like the from-value of
the COBOL DEPENDING ON clause. Both are semantically different. The
from-value in the IDL file is used to calculate the maximum size of the array
by idl-upper-bound minus idl-lower-bound. See the syntax of unbounded arrays in
the IDL file, section array-definition.
The from-value of the DEPENDING ON clause is always mapped to
1.
ODO objects for justification of the number of occurrences are generated into the client interface objects and server skeletons.
When a 2/3 dimensional unbounded array is received from a partner, all vectors of the second dimension must have the same length, i.e. the array forms a rectangle. The same applies to the third dimension (all vectors must have the same length), the array forms a cuboid. If these rules are violated, unexpected behavior occurs.
Sending a 2/3 dimensional unbounded array to a partner violating the rule above is not possible: COBOL does not allow you to set vector lengths differently.
For servers on the operating system IBM i, IDL unbounded
arrays with a maximum are mapped to fixed COBOL tables. On the reply, the
number of occurrences is determined by NULL value contents. Occurrences with
null values are not sent back to the calling RPC client.
Unbounded arrays without a maximum are not supported.
Groups within the IDL file are mapped to COBOL structures using level
numbers. See the group-parameter-definition for the syntax
on how to describe groups within the IDL file.
For clients on all operating systems and for servers on the operating systems z/OS, BS2000/OSD, z/VSE, UNIX and Windows for Micro Focus COBOL, IDL with unbounded groups with a maximum:
the same applies as for unbounded arrays, see Mapping Fixed and Unbounded Arrays
if unbounded groups are nested, and depending on your target COBOL compiler,
they may not be supported (e.g. BS2000/OSD).
there is a restriction on the number of indices. Most COBOL compiler support 7 indices as a maximum.
The EntireX Workbench generates the COBOL interface objects and server (skeletons) without considering restrictions of the target COBOL compiler. See your COBOL compiler documentation for possibilities to work round the restrictions, for example using compiler switches or compiler options.
For server on the operating system IBM i, Software AG IDL unbounded groups with a maximum are mapped to fixed COBOL tables. On the reply the number of occurrences is determined by NULL value contents. Occurrences with null values are not sent back to the calling RPC client.
Unbounded groups without a maximum are not supported.
Structures within the IDL file are dissolved at the location where they
are used. They are mapped to COBOL structures like groups. See the
structure-definition under Software AG IDL Grammar for the syntax on how to describe
structures within the IDL file.
The IDL syntax allows you to define parameters as IN parameters, OUT
parameters, or IN OUT parameters (which is the default if nothing is
specified). See the attribute-list under Software AG IDL Grammar for the syntax on
how to describe attributes within the IDL file and refer to
direction-attribute.
This direction specification is reflected in the generated COBOL interface object as follows:
Direction attributes do not change the COBOL call interface because parameters are always treated as "called by reference".
Usage of direction attributes may be useful to reduce data traffic between RPC client and RPC server.
Parameters with the IN attribute are
sent from the RPC client to the RPC server.
Parameters with the OUT attribute are
sent from the RPC server to the RPC client.
Parameters with the IN and
OUT attribute are sent from the RPC client to
the RPC server and then back to the RPC client.
Note that only the direction information of the top-level fields (level 1) is relevant. Group fields always inherit the specification from their parent. A different specification is ignored.
See the attribute-list under Software AG IDL Grammar for the syntax on how
to describe attributes within the IDL file and refer to
direction-attribute.
If you are using an SVM file, the RPC server considers the direction attribute found in the SVM file.
If your RPC server is generated with a previous version of EntireX without an SVM file, the RPC server considers the direction attribute sent from any RPC client, for example Java, DCOM, C, COBOL, .NET, XML and PL/I.
See the attribute-list under Software AG IDL Grammar for the syntax on how
to describe attributes within the IDL file and refer to
direction-attribute.
This attribute corresponds to the SYNCHRONIZED clause. If it is
specified, data will be mapped according to the following rules:
| Software AG IDL | COBOL Data Type | Alignment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
F4 |
USAGE COMP-1 SYNC |
+4 | 1 |
F8 |
USAGE COMP-2 SYNC |
+8 | 1 |
I2 |
PIC S9(4) BINARY SYNC |
+2 | 1 |
I4 |
PIC S9(8) BINARY SYNC |
+4 | 1 |
Notes:
*SYNC in the commands
CRTCBLMOD or CRTBNDCBL for the usage of the SYNCHRONIZED clause.
The COBOL 85 standard does not support a concept of functions like the programming languages C or PL/I. Any Software AG IDL program definition is mapped to a COBOL program. See Mapping Program Name and Alias.