PL/I to COBOL Data Item Type Mapping

Attention: This topic applies to a feature that is in Early Adopter Program (EAP) release status. We intend to provide the finalized feature in a future release. Please contact Micro Focus Customer Care if you require further clarification.

PL/I data item types are mapped to COBOL data item types for use within the Data File Editor and IMS Database Editor.

Open PL/I data item type	COBOL data item type	Comments
char(n)	pic x	Treated as a character string
pic '(n)9'	pic 9 <= 18 digits pic x > 18 digits	9 and V symbols are supported Treated as a character string
pic '(n)Z9'	pic x	When containing symbols other than 9 and V, treated as a character string
fixed bin(1) - fixed bin(31) native¹ non-native	comp-5 comp	PL/I treats length 1 to 6 as length 7
fixed dec(1) - fixed dec(31) native non-native	comp-3 <= 18 digits > 18 digits	Formatted editing allowed Formatted editing indicates data item contains an illegal value
float bin(1)- float bin(24)	comp-1	Editing disabled for Floating Point
float bin(25) - float bin(52)	comp-2	Editing disabled for Floating Point
float dec(1) - float dec(6)	comp-1	Editing disabled for Floating Point
float dec(7) - float dec(16)	comp-2	Editing disabled for Floating Point
char(n)var native¹ non-native	pic x comp-5 length comp length	Treated as a character string plus two bytes for the length preceding the string
widechar(`n`)	pic x	Treated as a character string of two bytes times `n`
widechar(`n`) var native¹ non-native	pic x comp-5 length comp length	Treated as a character string of two bytes times n plus two bytes for the length preceding the string
bit(`n`)	pic x	Bits mapped to the byte(s) that contain them with an indication shown for the bit positions occupied, e.g., (--bbb---) Note: PL/I bit storage format is either bit swapped or left to right.
pointer	pointer
structure	group item
union	group item
¹The `native` option could present problems for data files that contain `comp-5` binary fields. Data File Tools cannot interpret files created on a byte swapped platform that are subsequently moved to a non-byte swapped platform. In this case, where files are used on different byte order platforms, specify the `non-native` option instead.

Mapping Restrictions

The following Open PL/I data item types are not supported in their original form, but are mapped to a form of COBOL pic x as indicated:

Open PL/I data type item	COBOL pic x
char varying	pic x(n +2 for length bytes)
bit	pic x(len/8)
widechar	pic x(n*2)
widechar varying	pic x(n*2 + 2 for length bytes)

The following Open PL/I data item types are not supported:

PL/I unique features such as BIT and OFFSET not present in COBOL
BASED data items with the REFER option; however, data items up to the first REFER are included in the structure description
Arrays of more than three dimensions
Arrays with lower bounds of zero or a negative value