COBOL Manual for TNS/E Programs (H06.03+)

Data Division
HP COBOL Manual for TNS/E Programs—520347-003
7-14
File Description Entries
Usage Considerations:
•
Referencing Global Items
A statement in a program contained directly or indirectly within a program that
describes a global name can reference that name without describing it again.
•
Subordinates of Global Names Are Global Names
A file name described using a GLOBAL clause is a global name. All data-names
subordinate to a global name are global names. All condition-names associated
with a global name are global names.
•
SAME RECORD AREA Clause
If the SAME RECORD AREA clause is specified for several files, the record
description entries or the file description entries for these files must not include the
GLOBAL clause.
BLOCK CONTAINS Clause
Use the optional BLOCK CONTAINS clause to specify the number of logical records or
the number of character positions in a physical record on tape or unstructured disk files
only. For these types of files, if this clause is absent, the compiler assigns a block size
of one logical record. The operating system handles all other file blocking and
deblocking in a way that is transparent to the COBOL program.
blk-1
is an unsigned integer literal that specifies the minimum size of a block.
blk-2
is an unsigned integer literal. In the presence of blk-1, blk-2 is the fixed size of
a block; otherwise, it is the maximum size of a block.
RECORDS
specifies that the values of blk-1 and blk-2 represent numbers of logical
records.
blk-1
CONTAINS
BLOCK
RECORDS
TO
blk-2
CHARACTERS
VST077.vsd