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

makes the organization of the file line sequential.
ACCESS MODE clause
makes the access mode of the file sequential (the default).
FILE STATUS clause
defines filestat as the file-status data item for the file. When a COBOL run-time I-O routine
completes an operation on the file, it stores the status code in filestat before returning
control to your program (see I-O Status Code (page 247)).
filestat
is an alphanumeric, nonnational data item defined in the Working-Storage Section,
Extended-Storage Section, or Linkage Section.
File Description Entries
The syntax for a file description entry for a line sequential file is:
718 Using HP COBOL in the OSS Environment