IMHO that is not pedantic, just clarifying. In similar circumstances I have advocated (and implemented) using the LE storage obtain and release mechanisms and a LINKAGE section table definition with "OCCURS 1" to utilize as much storage as needed for the business purpose (millions of rows in one case that arose at oh-dark-30 as a production issue). The only drawback in such an implementation is the inability to use compiler-generated subscript-range checking, which I have seldom seen used in production code due to the CPU and elapsed time cost but which can have some value during a debugging session.
As the perl mongers love to day, TMTOWTDI (There's More Than One Way To Do It). Peter -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of John Gilmore Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 10:22 AM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: Re: Unused variables Binyamin Dissen makes a very important point with <begin extract> Adjacent 01 levels have been used to allocate storage larger than the maximum allowed by COBOL. <end extract/> I have recently been accused of being a pedant. Let me therefore act the part. These adjacent 01 levels are typically used to enlarge a COBOL table/array implicitly when one of adequate size cannot be declared explicitly. The issue is not, that is, so much a matter of storage size as it is one of subscript range. (Finally, of course, the two cannot be entirely disentangled.) This practice, which is widespread, has made it impossible for many shops to use even the higher levels of optimization that the pre-4.1 COBOL compilers make available -- This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and delete the message and any attachments from your system. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
