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

Data Division

HP COBOL Manual for TNS/E Programs—520347-003

7-41

Absent Linkage Section

If there is no Linkage Section in the called program, it looks like a main program to the

compiler. If you compile a main program and a subprogram with no parameters in the

same compilation session, you must include either a MAIN directive or an empty

Linkage Section to tell the compiler which program is the main one (see Main

Programs). If you do neither, the compiler reports that it found two main programs.

Because the compiler interprets subprograms that have no parameters as main

programs, if you want to compile a collection of such subprograms, you need to direct

the compiler not to attempt to give any of them the main attribute. To do this, use a

MAIN directive specifying a program-name that does not correspond to the name of

any program in the compilation.