Calling sub program using CALL verb

malathys · New User Joined: 07 Aug 2008 Posts: 10 Location: chennai

Hi,

My main program is A

I am calling a sub program B as below;

Bill Woodger · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 4:43 pm

No, calling Cobol sub-programs s something that happens scrillions of times a day.

You've coded something wrong that you haven't yet showed us.

From what you have shown your linkage is correct. You haven't shown why you would think it is wrong.

dick scherrer · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:19 pm

Hello,

The use of WS* field names in the linkage section is confusing at best. . .

Suggest a different prefix (i.e. lk- or link-) for the linkage section variables to make the code more understandable and maintainable.

Robert Sample · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:39 pm

You only gave us 3/4 of the necessary data -- what do the variables look like in the CALLING program?

malathys · New User Joined: 07 Aug 2008 Posts: 10 Location: chennai

Hi All,

Thanks for your response. I am not sure where I am going wrong. If everything is ok, then the values should get passed to sub-program from the main program. But all values are passed as Zeroes or getting reset when going into the sub-program. I am not initializing the variales anywhere in sub-program.

Here is the varible declaration in main-program:

Bill Woodger · Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:22 pm

How/when are you getting values into those fields in the calling program?

How do you know (show the code and relating to the CALL statement) what the account number contains before the call?

How do you know what it contains inside the called program?

The last one like this that I remember, the fields were being set and then the ADDRESS of the whole thing was being changed with a SET statement. You doing anything like that?

dick scherrer · Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:27 pm

Hello,

What is shown is you DISPLAY the account-number immediately before the CALL and also display the account-number as the first executable instruction in the called module?

I suspect there may be multiple definitions for the problem fields. . . Or an addressing problem . . .

Craq Giegerich · Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:36 pm

Are either of these CICS programs? Have you looked at the output listing of the compiles to see if the CALL USING matches up with PROCEDURE DIVISION USING?

malathys · New User Joined: 07 Aug 2008 Posts: 10 Location: chennai

I just tried decalring all the variables under group variable to avoid confusion. CBR-RPT-RETRIEVE is the group variable.

calling pgm:
***********

Bill Woodger · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:37 pm

And the output from the displays is?

And where are the displays in the called module? And their output?

And have you answered all Craq's questions?

malathys · New User Joined: 07 Aug 2008 Posts: 10 Location: chennai

Yes everything matches. call using and procedure division using both matches. This is not a CICS program. This is COBOL-DB2 program.

In Called module, I have not put displays. I am debugging using trace master tool. I am adding watch variables in it and tracking the variables. There I could see that the variables are getting reset.

Also, I am having a logic in called module to search a table if account number in able matches the account number passed in program. There I could see that it is searching for account number all Zeroes in table and the condition not satisfying which returned SQL +100.

Naish · New User Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 82 Location: UK

I feel you might have INITIALIZEd the linkage variable/s somewhere. Anyway too early to comment since only you are aware of your code/processing. It would be helpful to all if you can share more details.

Bill Woodger · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:39 pm

OK, so what do you see as the values when the called program is entered?

Nothing is getting "reset", which would mean set back to some starting value. Something may well be being changed, but then that is likely down to the code in the program.

If the values are correct when the program is entered, then something is changing the values (or where they are) in the program or in another program which is called (if there are any).

Ron Masters · New User Joined: 21 Dec 2011 Posts: 24 Location: UK

Insert this statement

Bill O'Boyle · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 8:11 pm

You're passing four arguments to the sub-program so therefore, in the sub-program LINKAGE Section you MUST specify four parameters, matching the Called program arguments exactly, but represented as 01 levels.

In the PROCEDURE Division of the Called sub-program, the USING must specify these four parameters.

In the Assembler under the covers, the Calling program builds a 16-Byte PARMLIST, which consists of the four argument addresses and is subsequently pointed to by R1 (Register 1) before the CALL (which is a BALR 14,15).

When the sub-program gains control, the PARMLIST is addressed and each four-byte address is assigned to each 01 level in Linkage.

The number of arguments passed by the Calling program in the USING must be matched by the same number of parms, defined as 01 level items in the Called sub-program.

Confused at best....

Ron Masters · New User Joined: 21 Dec 2011 Posts: 24 Location: UK

Have you checked you linked the right object modules together?

pvmr moorthy · New User Joined: 12 Apr 2012 Posts: 1 Location: india

Hi,

Try to initialize the values of working storeage variable with some default values.... And try to use the display statement for the 01 level.

It will clear about the confusion that values are initializing inside the procedure or not.....