COBOL Manual for TNS and TNS/R Programs

Source Program Organization and Format

HP COBOL Manual for TNS and TNS/R Programs—522555-006

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Global and Local Names

A data-name (which names a data item) or a file-name (which names a file connector)

can be either global or local.

Suppose that program X declares data-name Y, and program X contains program Z,

which also declares data-name Y. When program Z references data-name Y, it is

referencing the Y that it declared, not the Y that program X declared, whether program

X declared its Y to be global or not.

Some names are always global; other names are always local; and some names are

either global or local, depending on specifications in the program that declares the

names:

In some circumstances, a data description, file description, or record description entry

cannot specify the GLOBAL clause (see GLOBAL Clause).

If a data-name, file-name, or condition-name declared in a data description entry is not

global, the name is local.

Global names are inherited by contained programs. Suppose program OUTER

declares a name X to be global and contains program INNER, which contains program

INNERMOST. As long as program INNER does not define the name X explicitly, a

reference to X in INNER refers to the X defined in OUTER. Also, as long as program

INNERMOST does not define the name X and program INNER does not define X as a

global name, a reference to X in INNERMOST refers to the X defined in OUTER.

Global names, as well as local names, can be associated with external and internal

objects.

Name It is global if a GLOBAL clause is in …

Record-name its record description entry

the file description entry for the file-name associated with its record

description entry (if the record-name is in the File Section)

Data-name its record description entry

Condition-name an entry to which its data description entry is subordinate (that is, if a

data-name is declared global, all condition-names subordinate to it are

automatically global)

File-name its file description entry