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

identifier
is the identifier of a data item for which either:
• It is described as USAGE DISPLAY.
• It is of the numeric class, and its usage is not DISPLAY.
class-name
is the name of a class described in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph.
Usage Considerations:
• NOT Modifier
When NOT appears, the compiler considers it and the next keyword to form a single class
condition. For example, NOT NUMERIC is a truth test that determines if the operand is
nonnumeric.
• NUMERIC and NOT NUMERIC
You cannot use the NUMERIC and NOT NUMERIC tests with either:
◦ An alphabetic data item
◦ A data structure that contains any elementary item not described as USAGE DISPLAY or
whose description indicates the presence of an operational sign
If the description of the tested item does not indicate the presence of an operational sign, the
item belongs to the numeric class only if:
◦ The content of the item is numeric (consists entirely of the digit characters 0 through 9 ).
◦ No operational sign is present.
If the description of the tested item indicates the presence of an operational sign, the item
belongs to the numeric class only if:
◦ The content of the item is numeric (consists entirely of the digit characters 0 through 9 ).
◦ The item is not described as USAGE DISPLAY, and the content of the item consists entirely
of a valid representation for the usage. If a PICTURE clause is specified, its numeric value
is within the range of values implied by the PICTURE clause.
• ALPHABETIC and NOT ALPHABETIC
You cannot use the ALPHABETIC and NOT ALPHABETIC tests with a numeric data item.
Normally, the tested item belongs to the alphabetic class only if its content consists entirely of
some combination of the alphabetic characters A through Z, a through z, and space. When
the CHARACTER-SET clause specifies a program character set other than USASCII or UK, the
set of characters that constitute the alphabetic class is extended as appropriate (see
OBJECT-COMPUTER Paragraph (page 102)).
• ALPHABETIC-LOWER and NOT ALPHABETIC-LOWER
You cannot use the ALPHABETIC-LOWER and NOT ALPHABETIC-LOWER tests with a numeric
data item. The tested item belongs to the alphabetic-lower class only if its content consists
entirely of the lowercase alphabetic characters a through z and space. When the
CHARACTER-SET clause specifies a program character set other than USASCII or UK, the set
of characters that constitute the alphabetic class is extended as appropriate (see
OBJECT-COMPUTER Paragraph (page 102)).
• ALPHABETIC-UPPER and NOT ALPHABETIC-UPPER
You cannot use the ALPHABETIC-UPPER and NOT ALPHABETIC-UPPER tests with a numeric
data item. The tested item belongs to the alphabetic-upper class only if its content consists
entirely of the uppercase alphabetic characters A through Z and space. When the
270 Procedure Division