rexx exec find copy book size in cobol program

BIBHU PRASANNA SINGH · New User Joined: 09 Jun 2013 Posts: 2 Location: INDIA

Can someone help me find a rexx exec to find the copybook length?

Akatsukami · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 8:51 pm

Doing so would require implementing a significant part of the compiler in Rexx. I recommend that instead you create a skeleton program that includes the copybook, compile it in the foreground, and then use Rexx (or another tool) to pare down the listing to what you want.

mistah kurtz · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 9:43 pm

The cobol copybook parser COBDFSYM would probably be useful for this.
This is a Rexx routine provided by IBM to generate SYMNAMES from cobol copybook.

You can refer to the SORTTRCK document to understand how to use it.

Pandora-Box · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:11 pm

Why not make use of tools like file manager or file aid or etc?

Bill Woodger · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:40 pm

Why do you want to know the copybook length?

BIBHU PRASANNA SINGH · New User Joined: 09 Jun 2013 Posts: 2 Location: INDIA

Actually what i meant was instead of using changeman's listing option or file manager or manually calculating the copybook, can't a rexx macro be designed so that we can know a particular copybook length ?

Bill Woodger · Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:07 pm

If you want to put an absurd amount of effort into it, feel free (if your employer is happy with that).

You could put less effort into it, and have it not work all the time.

Or just pick it up from the compiler output, where the compiler has already done all the work, which is guaranteed to match what the compiler does (because it is the compiler) without you even having to write a line of code.

dick scherrer · Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:09 pm

Hello and welcome to the forum,

Yes, this can be done in REXX, but there is NO reason to do so.

If you search within the forum, you should find multiple ways to get a "copybook" length.

You did Not answer Bill's question:
Why do you want to know the copybook length?

Bill O'Boyle · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 12:46 am

Create a dummy COBOL program, add a COPY statement of the target copybook into WS, compile the program (using NOCOMPILE option) and you're done.

No muss, no fuss....

Nic Clouston · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:00 am

I have a rexx program that can do this BUT ... it is highly tailored to do copybooks that fit a certain criteria so no OCCURS or REDEFINES are needed and the PIC has to start in a certain column. It gives incorrect results if the copybook has not been maintained according to the rules. Only took a day to write and test. Probably another day or two and I could extend it but I do not need to.

dick scherrer · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:01 am

Hi Bill,

Yup, this was suggested in the first reply to the topic.

Not sure why TS does not want to try this.

Also, if TS organization has CA-Easytrieve, there is a feature that will convert a COBOL definition to an Easytrieve definition, which shows the displacement/length of all of the fields.

?

d

Bill O'Boyle · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 6:12 am

Dick,

Sorry, blew right past that....

mbizzle · Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 6:54 pm

I registered just so I could share this fix to COBDFSYM.

I had been using it for a few years now, and loved it and was sad when our upgrade from cobol compiler V4 to V6 bricked this program. Luckily, it was a fairly simple fix to update it.
Here are the fixes you need to make to allow it to be compatible with the V6 (and i assume V5) compilers.
I am posting this on a few forums so that others may find it that have the same issue.

change this line
parse var line 92 asmdef datatyp .
to
parse var line 87 asmdef datatyp .

and add this line

do until left(line,1) = '1'
call Put_line
parse pull line
if pos('End of Data Division Map',line)<> 0 then leave
end