PIC X is used rather than PIC 99 with the COMP-X and COMP-5 data types. Unlike PIC 99, PIC X shows the length of the data
item and so demonstrates more clearly the use of COMP-X, which is to define a binary item of the specified number of bytes.
Command Line Format
Words printed in italics are generic terms representing names to be devised by you.
Words printed in nonitalic characters are the actual words you must enter. You must type them in upper or lower case as shown.
Material enclosed in square brackets [ ] is optional.
When material is enclosed in braces { }, you must choose from the options within them. If there is only one option in the
braces, the braces indicate repetition.
The ellipsis (. . .) follows { } or [ ] and means you can repeat the material in the { } or [ ]. The number of repetitions
allowed is unlimited unless otherwise stated. If the ellipsis is used with [ ] the material can be omitted altogether.
If a command line does not fit across the page, it is continued on the next line; the continuation line is indented.
Keyboard Keys
Key names and menu choices are emboldened within the text.
Enter refers to the carriage return or Enter key. Where commands to be typed are shown, the Enter key is not explicitly shown;
it is treated as implicit that Enter must be pressed at the end of the line.
Numbers
Hexadecimal numbers are enclosed in quotation marks and preceded by a lower-case "x" or "h"; for example, x"9D", h"03FF".
The "x" is used when the hexadecimal number represents a character string; the "h" when it represents a numerical value.
Path Specifications
All path specifications are based on installation to the default installation directory. If you have installed
Visual COBOL to a non-default installation directory, adjust the path specifications accordingly.
User Interface
Menu choices, and UI control and field names are emboldened within the text.
In some environments, you might notice that what appears on your screen differs in minor ways (for example, version numbers)
from that illustrated in this Help. This does not affect the operation of your software.