The Copybook entity

With this entity, you can obtain Data Structure descriptions in COBOL and generate them in a file. Each description is stored in a COBOL source library and can be integrated into programs with the COPY statement.

A single Data Structure can be used to generate various descriptions. Each description is adapted to a particular purpose in the calling program. It can be integrated into the FILE SECTION or in the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION, depending on the parameters you enter.

To indicate all the parameters that are required to generate each description, you must create and describe a Copybook.

You must then generate the Copybook from the Design Explorer view or the generation command line. The generation produces a file with a .cpy extension under the Copybook instance. If you double-click the file, it opens in the standard COBOL editor.

However, you can also open it in the specific PDP COPY editor. To do so, right-click the file and select Open with > PDP COBOL COPY Editor. You will then be warned of any desynchronization between the generated code and the design.

Two sample descriptions of a Data Structure are available. One is generated in the FILE SECTION and the other is generated in the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.


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