COBOL Manual for TNS/E Programs (H06.08+, J06.03+)

◦ Cannot have BLANK WHEN ZERO clause
A BLANK WHEN ZERO clause changes a numeric data item’s category from numeric to
numeric edited; therefore, the item cannot be BINARY/COMPUTATIONAL.
◦ COMPUTATIONAL data item with value 8224 or 224
In HP COBOL, if you find that a data item of USAGE COMPUTATIONAL has the value
8224, it might be because it actually consists of 2 bytes, each containing a space
character. If it is described as consisting of 3 digits, it appears to have the value 224.
◦ See Trapping Size Errors under PICTURE Clause (page 191).
• COMPUTATIONAL-3/PACKED-DECIMAL Data Items
Purpose
COMPUTATIONAL-3/PACKED-DECIMAL data items are provided for data compatibility
with systems other than NonStop systems. They are not recommended for other purposes.
◦
◦ Inefficiency
Packed-decimal data format is inefficient because HP hardware does not support it. Avoid
using it if possible, especially in benchmarks and performance-critical programs.
◦ Where you can use them
You can use COMPUTATIONAL-3/PACKED-DECIMAL data items wherever you can use
data items that do not have USAGE DISPLAY.
◦ SYNCHRONIZED clause
The SYNCHRONIZED clause (with or without the LEFT or RIGHT phrase) has no effect on
COMPUTATIONAL-3/PACKED-DECIMAL declarations.
• See Trapping Size Errors under PICTURE Clause (page 191).
• COMPUTATIONAL-5 Data Items
Purpose
The COMPUTATIONAL-5 data type is compatible with the X/Open COBOL specification
(see the X/Open CALL Statement (page 798)).
◦
Descriptions of Records (Levels 01-49) 207