COBOL for z/OS

AUDIENCE: Any IS personnel who will be responsible for upgrading, developing, or supporting applications compiled under COBOL II, COBOL/370, or COBOL for z/OS and running under Language Environment.
PREREQUISITES: This course assumes prior experience with COBOL.
DURATION: 2 days. Hands on.
OBJECTIVES: This course examines the IBM Language Environment and its language compilers, COBOL/370 and COBOL for z/OS. Topics covered include the ANSI 85 standard and amendments and all changes added by COBOL II. It covers the newer compile options, intrinsic functions, callable services, and other features of the superset, COBOL/370. It also addresses object-oriented extensions and other features of the COBOL for z/OS compiler.
COURSE CONTENT:
Compiler Options
Compiler options useful during conversion efforts
Using the PROCESS and CONTROL statements
New or changed compiler options in VS COBOL II
New or changed compiler options in COBOL/370
New or changed compiler options in COBOL for z/OS
Compiler options useful for debugging purposes

Language Features
Scope Terminators
· Review rules governing use of scope terminators
EVALUATE statements
· Rules, variations and related clauses and keywords
· Advantages and disadvantages
In-Line PERFORM statements
· Rules and variations
· Effects on structured technique
INITIALIZE statements
· Rules and related clauses
WITH TEST BEFORE/AFTER clauses
Using the LENGTH special register
CONTINUE verbs
CALL BY CONTENT/REFERENCE statements
· Rules, variations and uses
Reference Modification
New Read/Write FILE STATUS checking mechanisms
New changes in Array (Table) Processing
· Rules, uses and limits
· Relative subscripting
SET TO TRUE statements
INSPECT verbs and clauses
Nested programs
· Sharing data: COMMON, GLOBAL and EXTERNAL Data
Obsoleted verbs, clauses and keywords
· EXAMINE, OTHERWISE, AFTER ADVANCING etc
ACCEPT and DISPLAY changes

ANSI Standard Changes
ID DIVISION changes
· Review of obsoleted statements and reserved words
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION changes
· Obsoleted access methods
· Obsoleted storage devices
· New reserved words in SPECIAL NAMES paragraph
· Report Writer: off again, on again
· SELECT statements changes
DATA DIVISION changes
· Obsoleted sections: REPORT and COMMUNICATIONS
· New reserved words in USAGE IS clauses
· Using Un-named data fields
· Nested COPY statements
· The REPLACE verb
· DBCS (Double-Byte Character Set) support
Overview of ANSI 97 Standard

LE Intrinsic Functions and Callable Services
Character-based Intrinsic functions
· CHAR/ORD, MIN/MAX, UPPER/LOWER CASE etc.
Arithmetic Intrinsic Functions
· INTEGER, SUM, RANDOM, MEAN, RANGE, SQRT etc.
· Using the ALL keywords with arrays
Date/Time Intrinsic Functions
· CURRENT DATE, INTEGER-OF-DATE, INTEGER-OF-DAY etc.
· Compatibility issues: LE dates vs. COBOL/370 dates
Year 2000 Callable Service Programs
· Calling CEEDATE, CEEDAYS and CEELOCT
Using LE Callable Service Programs
· Survey of useful Callable Services
· Error-handling with Callable Service programs
· The Inter-language Call feature

Object-oriented Features in COBOL for Z/OS
Advantages and disadvantages of object-oriented design
The Object/Class, Data/Method paradigm
Class definition in the COBOL program
Object definition in the COBOL program
Method definition in the COBOL program
The INVOKE verb
· Rules, variants and clauses
Pre-defined classes
· BASE, NULL and SYSTEM-OBJECT classes
Interaction between `regular'' and `OO'' parts of program:
· Defining Message Tables
· Understanding Message Types and Flows

The CICS Environment
New LE versions of INSPECT, (UN) STRING and CALL verbs
Calling programs under LE and CICS
· Implications of new CALL and GOBACK availability
Performance issues
· How to exploit `above-the-line'' storage under CICS
The ADDRESS OF clause
· Using the LINKAGE SECTION under CICS
Conversion issues for old COBOL CICS programs
· Using the right compiler options
· Structured program code and error-handling

The Debugging Features
Review of debugging-related compile options
Finding replacements for obsoleted debugging verbs:
· READY/RESET TRACE, EXHIBIT, USE for DEBUGGING etc.
Reading the new formatted dumps
· Controlling the dump destination in batch or CICS
· Locating TGT, new BL cells, FCBs, TEMP.STORAGE cells etc.
Using COBOL II''s COBTEST facility
Using LE''s DEBUG TOOL facility
· Review of useful commands and techniques