Preprocessor for HP COBOL

The ACUCOBOL-GT compiler includes a preprocessor that is written specifically for providing compatibility with HP COBOL programs. ACUCOBOL-GT automatically invokes the preprocessor for HP COBOL when you specify the -Cp option. This preprocessor handles macro calls with parameters, as well as conditional compilation with these directives.

$IF
$SET
$COMMENT
$PREPROCESSOR
$DEFINE
$INCLUDE

Note: $CONTROL directives are ignored by the ACUCOBOL-GT preprocessor for HP COBOL. The $CONTROL directives are handled by the compiler command arguments.

The compiler determines the source format automatically by examining the first character of the first non-blank line. If that character is blank or a digit, the file is assumed to be an ANSI file, otherwise it is assumed to be in terminal format. You can also specify the format of the source with the -Sa or -St compile options.

The ACUCOBO-LGT preprocessor for HP COBOL currently supports the following directives. They are discussed in more detail below.

$COMMENT

$DEFINE

$IF

$INCLUDE

$PREPROCESSOR

$SET

The $CONTROL directive is not supported by the preprocessor; however, ACUCOBOL-GT provides compile options that handle most of the functionality supported by $CONTROL.