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Conference clt::cobol

Title:VAX/DEC COBOL
Notice:Kit,doc,performance talk info-->DIR/KEY=KIT or DOC or PERF_TALK
Moderator:PACKED::BRAFFITT
Created:Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:3250
Total number of notes:13077

3223.0. "VAX/ALPHA Migration questions..." by NETRIX::"CohenRona@mail.dec.com" (Ron Cohen) Fri Apr 04 1997 20:46

Hi

Customer config:   VAX VMS    V5.5             VAX Cobol V4.4
                   VAX Alpha  V6.2             DEC Cobol V2.4

1)In the manual 'Migrating an Application from Open VMS to Open Vms Alpha'
  the following statement is made:
           -In addition, note that DEC COBOL includes the following:
              -Support for file status values that are compatible with
              -VAX COBOL Version 5.1, which differ from those of VAX COBOL
              -Version 5.0 and previous features?
  Is this so? Called the hotline regarding this statement and was told he had
  never heard of this. He was using an earlier version of VAX COBOL than 5.1
  on Alpha and was not getting any inconsistencies.
  Do I need to be concerned with different file status values?

2) The following is a pretty open-ended general type question. We are at the
   beginning of the migration. Any suggestions in resloving (common) data and
   file allignment problems that will arise. Customer's VAX Cobol 4.4 was
   upgraded to reflect Standard85. Any qualifiers that need to be set etc.

Thanks in advance,
Ron         
[Posted by WWW Notes gateway]
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3223.1Possible migration issuesPACKED::BRAFFITTSat Apr 05 1997 13:17125
>Customer config:   VAX VMS    V5.5             VAX Cobol V4.4
>                   VAX Alpha  V6.2             DEC Cobol V2.4

>1)In the manual 'Migrating an Application from Open VMS to Open Vms Alpha'
>  the following statement is made:
>           -In addition, note that DEC COBOL includes the following:
>              -Support for file status values that are compatible with
>              -VAX COBOL Version 5.1, which differ from those of VAX COBOL
>              -Version 5.0 and previous features?
>  Is this so?

    Here are the details on changes related to FILE STATUS from the VAX
    COBOL release notes:
    
******************************
CLT::CLT$LIBRARY:[C79NET.V54.SSB]VAX_COBOL_RN_V54.TXT;1

     V5.4-51       A run-time problem with the following symptom
                   has been corrected. For programs compiled with
                   /STANDARD=V3, an OPEN of an indexed file was at-
                   tempted where the keys declared in the program did
                   not match the keys declared in the file. The OPEN
                   failed but the file status was erroneously reported
                   as 00. The COBOL file status is now set to 94.

     V5.2-35       A restriction disallowing a data item referenced in
                   a FILE STATUS clause that does not have the EXTERNAL
                   attribute from being referenced in FD with the EX-
                   TERNAL attribute has been removed. An informational
                   diagnostic is issued in this situation.

     V5.1-10       File status 49 (incompatible open mode) is now cor-
                   rectly returned when a DELETE or REWRITE operation
                   is attempted on a file where a READ operation has
                   not occurred and the file is not opened in I-O mode.
                   Previously, the compiler would set the file status to
                   43 (no previous READ) in this situation.

     V5.1-10       File status value 21 (sequence error) is now cor-
                   rectly returned and the invalid key condition exists
                   if the program attempts to change the primary key
                   of a record in a sequentially accessed indexed file.
                   Previous versions of VAX COBOL returned 30 (permanent
                   error) under some conditions.

     V5.1-10       File status value 23 (record not found) is now cor-
                   rectly returned and the invalid key condition exists
                   when no records satisfy the condition in the KEY
                   clause of a START statement on a RELATIVE file if
                   the value of the key is zero. Previous versions of
                   VAX COBOL returned file status value 30 (permanent
                   error).

     V5.1-10       File status value 43 (no current record) is now cor-
                   rectly returned on attempts to rewrite or delete the
                   current record, when no current record has been es-
                   tablished. Previous versions of VAX COBOL returned 30
                   (permanent error) under some conditions.

     V5.1-10       File status value 46 (or 16 if /STANDARD = V3) is now
                   correctly returned when a FORMAT 1 READ is attempted
                   and the no next valid record (NNVR) condition exists.

     V5.1-10       Correct file status values are now returned during
                   the execution of CLOSE statements that reference
                   optional files that are not present.
    
>2) The following is a pretty open-ended general type question. We are at the
>   beginning of the migration. Any suggestions in resloving (common) data and
>   file allignment problems that will arise. Customer's VAX Cobol 4.4 was
>   upgraded to reflect Standard85. Any qualifiers that need to be set etc.

    VAX COBOL V5.4 and DEC COBOL V2.4 support OpenVMS versions 6.1, 6.2,
    7.0. Since the customer is already running OpenVMS Alpha V6.2, I would
    suggest the following upgrade path
    
    	Upgrade to OpenVMS VAX V6.2
    	Upgrade to VAX COBOL V5.4
    
    For this phase of the migration, the VAX COBOL V5.4 release notes are a
    comprehensive summary covering VAX COBOL V5.x.  Also, make sure to get
    a copy of the new VAX COBOL User Manual and Reference Manual which have
    been updated for V5.4.
    
    Since you are already building the applications with /STANDARD=85, one
    other thing to try is to build the applications with
    
    	/WARNINGS=ALL/CHECK=ALL
    
    to help identify potential problem spots in the migration.
    
    After the customer applications are running successfully with VAX COBOL
    V5.4 under OpenVMS VAX V6.2, then you could consider migrating the
    selected applications to DEC COBOL V2.4 under OpenVMS Alpha V6.2.
    
    For this phase of the migration, the DEC COBOL V2.4 release notes and
    the DEC COBOL User Manual - Compatibility Appendix are the key
    references.
    
    The suggested qualifiers to use again are
    
    	/WARNINGS=ALL/CHECK=ALl
    
    Note that you should build DEC COBOL applications initially /NOALIGN
    (the default) for compatibility with VAX COBOL record alignment.  There
    is considerable flexibility with DEC COBOL's /ALIGN and alignment
    directives that you can explore to enhance runtime performance after
    you have the applications running correctly under DEC COBOL.
    
    Note also that you should build DEC COBOL applications initially
    /FLOAT=D (the default) for close  (but not 100%) compatibility with VAX
    COBOL.  The implementations of D float on VAX and Alpha are not 100%
    compatible.  DEC COBOL supports 3 different double precision floating
    point formats.  Check the sources for uses of COMP-2 to see the extent
    to which the customer relies on double precision floating.
    
    Depending on whether you are using other languages such as DEC C or
    database products within your applications, you may need to use the
    flexibility in /ALIGN (and the alignment directives) and /FLOAT to
    juggle compatibility with VAX COBOL versus compatibility with other
    products.
    
    The compatibility appendix highlights many things you may need to
    examine based on input we've gotten over the last 5 years from other
    specialists and customers doing migrations.
3223.2Some reasons for upgrading to a supported VAX COBOL configurationPACKED::BRAFFITTMon Apr 07 1997 16:0427
    Ron,
    
    I got your VoiceMail, but your extension 178 was busy when I called
    back.
    
    You should continue to post questions in this Notes conference.
    VoiceMail to any particular person who responds in this Notes
    conference will usually result in a much less timely response than a
    response you will get to a question posted in this conference.
    
    To answer your question about the ramifications of not upgrading the
    VAX COBOL environment first, the VAX COBOL V5.4 release notes give the
    details on the changes that have been made between VAX COBOL V4.4 and
    V5.4.  DEC COBOL V2.4 is designed to be highly compatible with VAX
    COBOL V5.4, and the compatibility appendix in the DEC COBOL User Manual
    covers differences between DEC COBOL and VAX COBOL V5.4.  In assessing
    potentional problems you may hit, you will need to take into account
    the material in the VAX COBOL V5.4 release notes in addition to the
    material in the compatibility appendix if you don't first complete an
    upgrade to VAX COBOL V5.4.
    
    VAX COBOL V4.4 is no longer supported on any version of VAX/VMS or
    OpenVMS VAX, so it may be more difficult for you to isolate problems
    during the migration if you don't have a supported VAX COBOL
    configuration against which to make comparisons.  This is why I
    recommended that you first upgrade the VAX COBOL environment to a
    supported configuration.