Table of Contents

• List of Tables
• Title and Copyright Information
• Preface
  • Intended Audience
  • Documentation Accessibility
  • Related Documents
  • Conventions
• Changes in This Release for Pro*COBOL Programmer's Guide
  • Changes in Pro*COBOL 12c Release 2 (12.2)
    • New Features
• Part I Introduction and Concepts
  • 1 Introduction
    • 1.1 What is Pro*COBOL?
    • 1.2 The Pro*COBOL Precompiler
      • 1.2.1 Language Alternatives
    • 1.3 Advantages of the Pro*COBOL Precompiler
    • 1.4 The SQL Language
    • 1.5 The PL/SQL Language
    • 1.6 Pro*COBOL Features and Benefits
    • 1.7 Directory Structure
      • 1.7.1 Header Files
      • 1.7.2 Library File
      • 1.7.3 Known Problems, Restrictions, and Workarounds
    • 1.8 Compatibility, Upgrading, and Migration
  • 2 Precompiler Concepts
    • 2.1 Key Concepts of Embedded SQL Programming
      • 2.1.1 Steps in Developing an Embedded SQL Application
      • 2.1.2 Embedded SQL Statements
        • 2.1.2.1 Executable versus Declarative Statements
      • 2.1.3 Embedded SQL Syntax
      • 2.1.4 Static Versus Dynamic SQL Statements
      • 2.1.5 Embedded PL/SQL Blocks
      • 2.1.6 Host Variables and Indicator Variables
      • 2.1.7 Oracle Datatypes
      • 2.1.8 Tables
      • 2.1.9 Errors and Warnings
        • 2.1.9.1 SQLCODE/SQLSTATE Status Variables
        • 2.1.9.2 SQLCA Status Variable
        • 2.1.9.3 WHENEVER Statement
        • 2.1.9.4 ORACA
        • 2.1.9.5 Precompiler Options and Error Handling
      • 2.1.10 SQL99 Syntax Support
    • 2.2 Programming Guidelines
      • 2.2.1 Abbreviations
      • 2.2.2 Case-Insensitivity
      • 2.2.3 COBOL Versions Supported
      • 2.2.4 Coding Areas
      • 2.2.5 Commas
      • 2.2.6 Comments
      • 2.2.7 Continuation Lines
      • 2.2.8 Copy Statements
      • 2.2.9 Decimal-Point is Comma
      • 2.2.10 Delimiters
      • 2.2.11 Division Headers that are Optional
      • 2.2.12 Embedded SQL Syntax
      • 2.2.13 Figurative Constants
      • 2.2.14 File Length
      • 2.2.15 FILLER is Allowed
      • 2.2.16 Host Variable Names
      • 2.2.17 Hyphenated Names
      • 2.2.18 Level Numbers
      • 2.2.19 MAXLITERAL Default
      • 2.2.20 Multibyte Datatypes
      • 2.2.21 NULLs in SQL
      • 2.2.22 Paragraph and Section Names
      • 2.2.23 REDEFINES Clause
      • 2.2.24 Relational Operators
      • 2.2.25 Sentence Terminator
    • 2.3 The Declare Section
      • 2.3.1 Contents of a Declare Section
        • 2.3.1.1 An Example
      • 2.3.2 Precompiler Option DECLARE_SECTION
      • 2.3.3 Using the INCLUDE Statement
        • 2.3.3.1 Filename Extensions
        • 2.3.3.2 Search Paths
    • 2.4 Nested Programs
      • 2.4.1 Support for Nested Programs
        • 2.4.1.1 Declaring the SQLCA
        • 2.4.1.2 Nested Program Example
    • 2.5 Conditional Precompilations
      • 2.5.1 An Example
      • 2.5.2 Defining Symbols
    • 2.6 Separate Precompilations
      • 2.6.1 Guidelines
        • 2.6.1.1 Referencing Cursors
        • 2.6.1.2 Specifying MAXOPENCURSORS
        • 2.6.1.3 Using a Single SQLCA
          • 2.6.1.3.1 Version 1.8 and Lower
          • 2.6.1.3.2 Version 2 and Later
        • 2.6.1.4 Using a Single DATE_FORMAT
      • 2.6.2 Restrictions
    • 2.7 Compiling and Linking
    • 2.8 Sample DEPT and EMP Tables
      • 2.8.1 Sample DEPT and EMP Data
    • 2.9 Sample EMP Program: SAMPLE1.PCO
  • 3 Database Concepts
    • 3.1 Connecting to Oracle
    • 3.2 Default Databases and Connections
      • 3.2.1 Concurrent Logons
      • 3.2.2 Using Username/Password
        • 3.2.2.1 Named Database Connections
      • 3.2.3 Automatic Logons
        • 3.2.3.1 The AUTO_CONNECT Precompiler Option
      • 3.2.4 Changing Passwords at Runtime
      • 3.2.5 Connect Without Alter Authorization
        • 3.2.5.1 Standard CONNECT
        • 3.2.5.2 SYSDBA or SYSOPER Privileges
      • 3.2.6 Using Links
    • 3.3 Key Terms
    • 3.4 How Transactions Guard a Database
    • 3.5 Beginning and Ending Transactions
    • 3.6 Using the COMMIT Statement
      • 3.6.1 WITH HOLD Clause in DECLARE CURSOR Statements
      • 3.6.2 CLOSE_ON_COMMIT Precompiler Option
    • 3.7 Using the ROLLBACK Statement
      • 3.7.1 Statement-Level Rollbacks
    • 3.8 Using the SAVEPOINT Statement
    • 3.9 Using the RELEASE Option
    • 3.10 Using the SET TRANSACTION Statement
    • 3.11 Overriding Default Locking
      • 3.11.1 Using the FOR UPDATE OF Clause
        • 3.11.1.1 Restrictions
    • 3.12 Fetching Across Commits
      • 3.12.1 Using the LOCK TABLE Statement
    • 3.13 Handling Distributed Transactions
    • 3.14 Guidelines for Transaction Processing
      • 3.14.1 Designing Applications
      • 3.14.2 Obtaining Locks
      • 3.14.3 Using PL/SQL
      • 3.14.4 X/Open Applications
  • 4 Datatypes and Host Variables
    • 4.1 The Oracle Database Datatypes
      • 4.1.1 Internal Datatypes
      • 4.1.2 External Datatypes
        • 4.1.2.1 CHAR
        • 4.1.2.2 CHARF
        • 4.1.2.3 CHARZ
        • 4.1.2.4 DATE
        • 4.1.2.5 DECIMAL
        • 4.1.2.6 DISPLAY
        • 4.1.2.7 FLOAT
        • 4.1.2.8 INTEGER
        • 4.1.2.9 LONG
        • 4.1.2.10 LONG RAW
        • 4.1.2.11 LONG VARCHAR
        • 4.1.2.12 LONG VARRAW
        • 4.1.2.13 NUMBER
        • 4.1.2.14 OVER-PUNCH
        • 4.1.2.15 RAW
        • 4.1.2.16 ROWID
        • 4.1.2.17 STRING
        • 4.1.2.18 UNSIGNED
        • 4.1.2.19 VARCHAR
        • 4.1.2.20 VARCHAR2
        • 4.1.2.21 VARNUM
        • 4.1.2.22 VARRAW
        • 4.1.2.23 SQL Pseudocolumns and Functions
    • 4.2 Datetime and Interval Datatype Descriptors
    • 4.3 Host Variables
      • 4.3.1 Declaring Host Variables
        • 4.3.1.1 Example Declarations
        • 4.3.1.2 Initialization
        • 4.3.1.3 Restrictions
      • 4.3.2 Referencing Host Variables
        • 4.3.2.1 Group Items as Host Variables
        • 4.3.2.2 Restrictions
    • 4.4 Indicator Variables
      • 4.4.1 Using Indicator Variables
        • 4.4.1.1 On Input
        • 4.4.1.2 On Output
      • 4.4.2 Declaring Indicator Variables
      • 4.4.3 Referencing Indicator Variables
        • 4.4.3.1 Use in Where Clauses
        • 4.4.3.2 Avoid Error Messages
        • 4.4.3.3 ANSI Requirements
        • 4.4.3.4 Indicator Variables for Multibyte NCHAR Variables
        • 4.4.3.5 Indicator Variables with Host Group Items
    • 4.5 VARCHAR Variables
      • 4.5.1 Declaring VARCHAR Variables
      • 4.5.2 Implicit VARCHAR Group Items
      • 4.5.3 Referencing VARCHAR Variables
    • 4.6 Handling Character Data
      • 4.6.1 Default for PIC X
      • 4.6.2 Effects of the PICX Option
      • 4.6.3 Fixed-Length Character Variables
        • 4.6.3.1 On Input
        • 4.6.3.2 On Output
      • 4.6.4 Varying-Length Variables
        • 4.6.4.1 On Input
        • 4.6.4.2 On Output
    • 4.7 Universal ROWIDs
      • 4.7.1 Subprogram SQLROWIDGET
    • 4.8 Globalization Support
    • 4.9 Unicode Support for Pro*COBOL
      • 4.9.1 NLS_LOCAL=YES Restrictions
      • 4.9.2 Character Strings in Embedded SQL
      • 4.9.3 Embedded DDL
      • 4.9.4 Blank Padding
      • 4.9.5 Indicator Variables
      • 4.9.6 Various Combinations of PIC X/PIC N Variables and NCHAR/CHAR Columns
        • 4.9.6.1 PIC X and NCHAR Column
        • 4.9.6.2 PIC N and CHAR column
      • 4.9.7 Working With New Options
    • 4.10 Datatype Conversion
    • 4.11 Explicit Control Over DATE String Format
    • 4.12 Datatype Equivalencing
      • 4.12.1 Usefulness of Equivalencing
      • 4.12.2 Host Variable Equivalencing
        • 4.12.2.1 CONVBUFSZ Clause in VAR Statement
        • 4.12.2.2 An Example
      • 4.12.3 Using the CHARF Datatype Specifier
      • 4.12.4 Guidelines
      • 4.12.5 RAW and LONG RAW Values
    • 4.13 Platform Endianness Support
    • 4.14 Sample Program 4: Datatype Equivalencing
  • 5 Embedded SQL
    • 5.1 Using Host Variables
      • 5.1.1 Output Versus Input Host Variables
    • 5.2 Using Indicator Variables
      • 5.2.1 Input Variables
      • 5.2.2 Output Variables
      • 5.2.3 Inserting NULLs
      • 5.2.4 Handling Returned NULLs
      • 5.2.5 Fetching NULLs
      • 5.2.6 Testing for NULLs
      • 5.2.7 Fetching Truncated Values
    • 5.3 The Basic SQL Statements
      • 5.3.1 Selecting Rows
        • 5.3.1.1 Available Clauses
      • 5.3.2 Inserting Rows
      • 5.3.3 DML Returning Clause
      • 5.3.4 Using Subqueries
      • 5.3.5 Updating Rows
      • 5.3.6 Deleting Rows
      • 5.3.7 Using the WHERE Clause
    • 5.4 Cursors
      • 5.4.1 Declaring a Cursor
      • 5.4.2 Opening a Cursor
      • 5.4.3 Fetching from a Cursor
      • 5.4.4 Closing a Cursor
      • 5.4.5 Using the CURRENT OF Clause
      • 5.4.6 Restrictions
      • 5.4.7 A Typical Sequence of Statements
      • 5.4.8 Positioned Update
      • 5.4.9 The PREFETCH Precompiler Option
    • 5.5 Scrollable Cursors
      • 5.5.1 Using Scrollable Cursors
        • 5.5.1.1 DECLARE SCROLL CURSOR
        • 5.5.1.2 OPEN
        • 5.5.1.3 FETCH
        • 5.5.1.4 CLOSE
      • 5.5.2 The CLOSE_ON_COMMIT Precompiler Option
      • 5.5.3 The PREFETCH Precompiler Option
    • 5.6 Flexible B Area Length
    • 5.7 Fix Execution Plans
      • 5.7.1 SQL File
        • 5.7.1.1 Examples
      • 5.7.2 LOG File
    • 5.8 Sample Program 2: Cursor Operations
  • 6 Embedded PL/SQL
    • 6.1 Embedding PL/SQL
      • 6.1.1 Host Variables
      • 6.1.2 VARCHAR Variables
      • 6.1.3 Indicator Variables
        • 6.1.3.1 Handling NULLs
        • 6.1.3.2 Handling Truncated Values
      • 6.1.4 SQLCHECK
    • 6.2 Advantages of PL/SQL
      • 6.2.1 Better Performance
      • 6.2.2 Integration with Oracle
      • 6.2.3 Cursor FOR Loops
      • 6.2.4 Subprograms
        • 6.2.4.1 Parameter Modes
      • 6.2.5 Packages
      • 6.2.6 PL/SQL Tables
      • 6.2.7 User-Defined Records
    • 6.3 Embedding PL/SQL Blocks
    • 6.4 Host Variables and PL/SQL
      • 6.4.1 PL/SQL Examples
      • 6.4.2 A More Complex PL/SQL Example
      • 6.4.3 VARCHAR Pseudotype
    • 6.5 Indicator Variables and PL/SQL
      • 6.5.1 Handling NULLs
      • 6.5.2 Handling Truncated Values
    • 6.6 Host Tables and PL/SQL
      • 6.6.1 ARRAYLEN Statement
        • 6.6.1.1 Optional Keyword EXECUTE to ARRAYLEN Statement
    • 6.7 Cursor Usage in Embedded PL/SQL
    • 6.8 Stored PL/SQL and Java Subprograms
      • 6.8.1 Creating Stored Subprograms
      • 6.8.2 Calling a Stored PL/SQL or Java Subprogram
        • 6.8.2.1 Anonymous PL/SQL Block
        • 6.8.2.2 CALL Statement
        • 6.8.2.3 CALL Example
      • 6.8.3 Using Dynamic PL/SQL
      • 6.8.4 Subprograms Restriction
    • 6.9 Sample Program 9: Calling a Stored Procedure
      • 6.9.1 Remote Access
    • 6.10 Cursor Variables
      • 6.10.1 Declaring a Cursor Variable
      • 6.10.2 Allocating a Cursor Variable
      • 6.10.3 Opening a Cursor Variable
        • 6.10.3.1 Opening Indirectly through a Stored PL/SQL Procedure
        • 6.10.3.2 Opening Directly from Your Pro*COBOL Application
      • 6.10.4 Fetching from a Cursor Variable
      • 6.10.5 Closing a Cursor Variable
      • 6.10.6 Freeing a Cursor Variable
      • 6.10.7 Restrictions on Cursor Variables
      • 6.10.8 Sample Program 11: Cursor Variables
        • 6.10.8.1 SAMPLE11.SQL
        • 6.10.8.2 SAMPLE11.PCO
  • 7 Host Tables
    • 7.1 Host Tables
    • 7.2 Advantages of Host Tables
    • 7.3 Tables in Data Manipulation Statements
      • 7.3.1 Declaring Host Tables
        • 7.3.1.1 Restrictions
      • 7.3.2 Referencing Host Tables
      • 7.3.3 Using Indicator Tables
      • 7.3.4 Host Group Item Containing Tables
      • 7.3.5 Oracle Restrictions
      • 7.3.6 ANSI Restriction and Requirements
    • 7.4 Selecting into Tables
      • 7.4.1 Batch Fetches
      • 7.4.2 Using SQLERRD(3)
      • 7.4.3 Number of Rows Fetched
      • 7.4.4 Restrictions on Using Host Tables
      • 7.4.5 Fetching NULLs
      • 7.4.6 Fetching Truncated Values
      • 7.4.7 Sample Program 3: Fetching in Batches
    • 7.5 Inserting with Tables
      • 7.5.1 Restrictions on Host Tables
    • 7.6 Updating with Tables
      • 7.6.1 Restrictions in UPDATE
    • 7.7 Deleting with Tables
      • 7.7.1 Restrictions in DELETE
    • 7.8 Using Indicator Tables
    • 7.9 The FOR Clause
      • 7.9.1 Restrictions
        • 7.9.1.1 In a SELECT Statement
        • 7.9.1.2 With the CURRENT OF Clause
    • 7.10 The WHERE Clause
    • 7.11 Mimicking the CURRENT OF Clause
    • 7.12 Tables of Group Items as Host Variables
    • 7.13 Sample Program 14: Tables of Group Items
    • 7.14 Additional Array Insert/Select Syntax
    • 7.15 Using Implicit Buffered Insert
  • 8 Error Handling and Diagnostics
    • 8.1 Why Error Handling is Needed
    • 8.2 Error Handling Alternatives
      • 8.2.1 SQLCA
      • 8.2.2 ORACA
      • 8.2.3 ANSI SQLSTATE Variable
      • 8.2.4 Declaring SQLSTATE
        • 8.2.4.1 SQLSTATE Values
    • 8.3 Using the SQL Communications Area
      • 8.3.1 Contents of the SQLCA
      • 8.3.2 Declaring the SQLCA
      • 8.3.3 Key Components of Error Reporting
        • 8.3.3.1 Status Codes
        • 8.3.3.2 Warning Flags
        • 8.3.3.3 Rows-Processed Count
        • 8.3.3.4 Parse Error Offset
        • 8.3.3.5 Error Message Text
      • 8.3.4 SQLCA Structure
        • 8.3.4.1 SQLCAID
        • 8.3.4.2 SQLCABC
        • 8.3.4.3 SQLCODE
        • 8.3.4.4 SQLERRM
        • 8.3.4.5 SQLERRD
        • 8.3.4.6 SQLWARN
        • 8.3.4.7 SQLEXT
      • 8.3.5 PL/SQL Considerations
      • 8.3.6 Getting the Full Text of Error Messages
      • 8.3.7 DSNTIAR
      • 8.3.8 WHENEVER Directive
        • 8.3.8.1 Conditions
        • 8.3.8.2 SQLWARNING
        • 8.3.8.3 SQLERROR
        • 8.3.8.4 NOT FOUND or NOTFOUND
        • 8.3.8.5 Actions
        • 8.3.8.6 CONTINUE
        • 8.3.8.7 DO CALL
        • 8.3.8.8 DO PERFORM
        • 8.3.8.9 GOTO or GO TO
        • 8.3.8.10 STOP
      • 8.3.9 Coding the WHENEVER Statement
        • 8.3.9.1 DO PERFORM
        • 8.3.9.2 DO CALL
        • 8.3.9.3 Scope
        • 8.3.9.4 Careless Usage: Examples
      • 8.3.10 Getting the Text of SQL Statements
    • 8.4 Using the Oracle Communications Area
      • 8.4.1 Contents of the ORACA
      • 8.4.2 Declaring the ORACA
      • 8.4.3 Enabling the ORACA
      • 8.4.4 Choosing Runtime Options
      • 8.4.5 ORACA Structure
        • 8.4.5.1 ORACAID
        • 8.4.5.2 ORACABC
        • 8.4.5.3 ORACCHF
        • 8.4.5.4 ORADBGF
        • 8.4.5.5 ORAHCHF
        • 8.4.5.6 ORASTXTF
        • 8.4.5.7 Diagnostics
        • 8.4.5.8 ORASTXT
        • 8.4.5.9 ORASFNM
        • 8.4.5.10 ORASLNR
        • 8.4.5.11 Cursor Cache Statistics
        • 8.4.5.12 ORAHOC
        • 8.4.5.13 ORAMOC
        • 8.4.5.14 ORACOC
        • 8.4.5.15 ORANOR
        • 8.4.5.16 ORANPR
        • 8.4.5.17 ORANEX
      • 8.4.6 ORACA Example Program
    • 8.5 How Errors Map to SQLSTATE Codes
      • 8.5.1 Status Variable Combinations
  • 9 Oracle Dynamic SQL
    • 9.1 Dynamic SQL
    • 9.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Dynamic SQL
    • 9.3 When to Use Dynamic SQL
    • 9.4 Requirements for Dynamic SQL Statements
    • 9.5 How Dynamic SQL Statements Are Processed
    • 9.6 Methods for Using Dynamic SQL
      • 9.6.1 Method 1
      • 9.6.2 Method 2
      • 9.6.3 Method 3
      • 9.6.4 Method 4
      • 9.6.5 Guidelines
        • 9.6.5.1 Avoiding Common Errors
    • 9.7 Using Method 1
      • 9.7.1 The EXECUTE IMMEDIATE Statement
      • 9.7.2 An Example
    • 9.8 Sample Program 6: Dynamic SQL Method 1
    • 9.9 Using Method 2
      • 9.9.1 The USING Clause
    • 9.10 Sample Program 7: Dynamic SQL Method 2
    • 9.11 Using Method 3
      • 9.11.1 PREPARE
      • 9.11.2 DECLARE
      • 9.11.3 OPEN
      • 9.11.4 FETCH
      • 9.11.5 CLOSE
    • 9.12 Sample Program 8: Dynamic SQL Method 3
    • 9.13 Using Oracle Method 4
      • 9.13.1 Need for the SQLDA
      • 9.13.2 The DESCRIBE Statement
      • 9.13.3 SQLDA Contents
      • 9.13.4 Implementing Method 4
    • 9.14 Using the DECLARE STATEMENT Statement
    • 9.15 Using Host Tables
    • 9.16 Using PL/SQL
      • 9.16.1 With Method 1
      • 9.16.2 With Method 2
      • 9.16.3 With Method 3
      • 9.16.4 With Method 4
      • 9.16.5 Caution
    • 9.17 Dynamic SQL Statement Caching
• Part II Applications
  • 10 ANSI Dynamic SQL
    • 10.1 Basics of ANSI Dynamic SQL
      • 10.1.1 Precompiler Options
    • 10.2 Overview of ANSI SQL Statements
    • 10.3 Sample Code
    • 10.4 Oracle Extensions
      • 10.4.1 Reference Semantics
      • 10.4.2 Using Tables for Bulk Operations
    • 10.5 ANSI Dynamic SQL Precompiler Options
    • 10.6 Full Syntax of the Dynamic SQL Statements
      • 10.6.1 ALLOCATE DESCRIPTOR
        • 10.6.1.1 Variables
        • 10.6.1.2 Examples
      • 10.6.2 DEALLOCATE DESCRIPTOR
      • 10.6.3 GET DESCRIPTOR
      • 10.6.4 SET DESCRIPTOR
        • 10.6.4.1 Example
      • 10.6.5 Use of PREPARE
      • 10.6.6 DESCRIBE INPUT
      • 10.6.7 DESCRIBE OUTPUT
      • 10.6.8 EXECUTE
      • 10.6.9 Use of EXECUTE IMMEDIATE
      • 10.6.10 Use of DYNAMIC DECLARE CURSOR
      • 10.6.11 OPEN Cursor
      • 10.6.12 FETCH
      • 10.6.13 CLOSE a Dynamic Cursor
      • 10.6.14 Differences From Oracle Dynamic Method 4
      • 10.6.15 Restrictions
    • 10.7 Sample Programs: SAMPLE12.PCO
  • 11 Oracle Dynamic SQL: Method 4
    • 11.1 Meeting the Special Requirements of Method 4
      • 11.1.1 Advantages of Method 4
      • 11.1.2 Information the Database Needs
      • 11.1.3 Where the Information is Stored
      • 11.1.4 How Information is Obtained
    • 11.2 Understanding the SQL Descriptor Area (SQLDA)
      • 11.2.1 Purpose of the SQLDA
      • 11.2.2 Multiple SQLDAs
      • 11.2.3 Declaring a SQLDA
    • 11.3 The SQLDA Variables
    • 11.4 Prerequisite Knowledge
      • 11.4.1 Using SQLADR
      • 11.4.2 Converting Data
      • 11.4.3 Coercing Datatypes
      • 11.4.4 Handling NULL/Not NULL Datatypes
    • 11.5 The Basic Steps
    • 11.6 A Closer Look at Each Step
      • 11.6.1 Declare a Host String
      • 11.6.2 Declare the SQLDAs
      • 11.6.3 Set the Maximum Number to DESCRIBE
      • 11.6.4 Initialize the Descriptors
      • 11.6.5 Store the Query Text in the Host String
      • 11.6.6 PREPARE the Query from the Host String
      • 11.6.7 DECLARE a Cursor
      • 11.6.8 DESCRIBE the Bind Variables
      • 11.6.9 Reset Number of Place-Holders
      • 11.6.10 Get Values for Bind Variables
      • 11.6.11 OPEN the Cursor
      • 11.6.12 DESCRIBE the Select List
      • 11.6.13 Reset Number of Select-List Items
      • 11.6.14 Reset Length/Datatype of Each Select-List Item
      • 11.6.15 FETCH Rows from the Active Set
      • 11.6.16 Get and Process Select-List Values
      • 11.6.17 CLOSE the Cursor
    • 11.7 Using Host Tables with Method 4
    • 11.8 Sample Program 10: Dynamic SQL Method 4
  • 12 Multithreaded Applications
    • 12.1 Introduction to Threads
    • 12.2 Runtime Contexts in Pro*COBOL
    • 12.3 Runtime Context Usage Models
      • 12.3.1 Multiple Threads Sharing a Single Runtime Context
      • 12.3.2 Multiple Threads Sharing Multiple Runtime Contexts
    • 12.4 User Interface Features for Multithreaded Applications
      • 12.4.1 THREADS Option
      • 12.4.2 Embedded SQL Statements and Directives for Runtime Contexts
        • 12.4.2.1 Host Tables of SQL-CONTEXT Are Not Allowed
        • 12.4.2.2 EXEC SQL ENABLE THREADS
        • 12.4.2.3 EXEC SQL CONTEXT ALLOCATE
        • 12.4.2.4 EXEC SQL CONTEXT USE
        • 12.4.2.5 EXEC SQL CONTEXT FREE
      • 12.4.3 Communication with Pro*C/C++ Programs
      • 12.4.4 Multithreading Programming Considerations
        • 12.4.4.1 Restrictions on Multithreading
      • 12.4.5 Multiple Context Examples
        • 12.4.5.1 Example 1
        • 12.4.5.2 Example 2
        • 12.4.5.3 Example 3
        • 12.4.5.4 Example 4
        • 12.4.5.5 Example 5
    • 12.5 Multithreaded Example
  • 13 Large Objects (LOBs)
    • 13.1 Using LOBs
      • 13.1.1 Internal LOBs
      • 13.1.2 External LOBs
      • 13.1.3 Security for BFILEs
      • 13.1.4 LOBs Compared with LONG and LONG RAW
      • 13.1.5 LOB Locators
      • 13.1.6 Temporary LOBs
      • 13.1.7 LOB Buffering Subsystem
    • 13.2 How to Use LOBs
      • 13.2.1 LOB Locators in Your Application
      • 13.2.2 Initializing a LOB
        • 13.2.2.1 Internal LOBs
        • 13.2.2.2 External LOBs
        • 13.2.2.3 Temporary LOBs
        • 13.2.2.4 Freeing LOBs
    • 13.3 Rules for LOB Statements
      • 13.3.1 For All LOB Statements
      • 13.3.2 For the LOB Buffering Subsystem
      • 13.3.3 For Host Variables
    • 13.4 LOB Statements
      • 13.4.1 APPEND
      • 13.4.2 ASSIGN
      • 13.4.3 CLOSE
      • 13.4.4 COPY
      • 13.4.5 CREATE TEMPORARY
      • 13.4.6 DISABLE BUFFERING
      • 13.4.7 ENABLE BUFFERING
      • 13.4.8 ERASE
      • 13.4.9 FILE CLOSE ALL
      • 13.4.10 FILE SET
      • 13.4.11 FLUSH BUFFER
      • 13.4.12 FREE TEMPORARY
      • 13.4.13 LOAD FROM FILE
      • 13.4.14 OPEN
      • 13.4.15 READ
      • 13.4.16 TRIM
      • 13.4.17 WRITE
      • 13.4.18 DESCRIBE
      • 13.4.19 READ and WRITE Using the Polling Method
    • 13.5 LOB Sample Program: LOBDEMO1.PCO
  • 14 Precompiler Options
    • 14.1 The procob Command
      • 14.1.1 Case-Sensitivity
    • 14.2 Actions During Precompilation
    • 14.3 About the Options
      • 14.3.1 Precedence of Option Values
      • 14.3.2 Macro and Micro Options
      • 14.3.3 Determining Current Values
    • 14.4 Entering Precompiler Options
      • 14.4.1 On the Command Line
      • 14.4.2 Inline
        • 14.4.2.1 Advantages
        • 14.4.2.2 Scope of EXEC ORACLE
      • 14.4.3 Configuration Files
      • 14.4.4 Column Properties Support
    • 14.5 Scope of Precompiler Options
    • 14.6 Quick Reference
    • 14.7 Using Pro*COBOL Precompiler Options
      • 14.7.1 ASACC
      • 14.7.2 ASSUME_SQLCODE
      • 14.7.3 AUTO_CONNECT
      • 14.7.4 CHARSET_PICX
      • 14.7.5 CHARSET_PICN
      • 14.7.6 CLOSE_ON_COMMIT
      • 14.7.7 COMMON_PARSER
      • 14.7.8 CONFIG
      • 14.7.9 DATE_FORMAT
      • 14.7.10 DB2_ARRAY
      • 14.7.11 DBMS
      • 14.7.12 DECLARE_SECTION
      • 14.7.13 DEFINE
      • 14.7.14 DYNAMIC
      • 14.7.15 END_OF_FETCH
      • 14.7.16 ERRORS
      • 14.7.17 File_ID
      • 14.7.18 FIPS
      • 14.7.19 FORMAT
      • 14.7.20 HOLD_CURSOR
      • 14.7.21 HOST
      • 14.7.22 IMPLICIT_SVPT
      • 14.7.23 INAME
      • 14.7.24 INCLUDE
      • 14.7.25 IRECLEN
      • 14.7.26 LITDELIM
      • 14.7.27 LNAME
      • 14.7.28 LRECLEN
      • 14.7.29 LTYPE
      • 14.7.30 MAX_ROW_INSERT
      • 14.7.31 MAXLITERAL
      • 14.7.32 MAXOPENCURSORS
      • 14.7.33 MODE
      • 14.7.34 NESTED
      • 14.7.35 NLS_LOCAL
      • 14.7.36 ONAME
      • 14.7.37 ORACA
      • 14.7.38 ORECLEN
      • 14.7.39 OUTLINE
      • 14.7.40 OUTLNPREFIX
      • 14.7.41 PAGELEN
      • 14.7.42 PICN_ENDIAN
      • 14.7.43 PICX
      • 14.7.44 PLAN_BASELINE
      • 14.7.45 PLAN_PREFIX
      • 14.7.46 PLAN_RUN
      • 14.7.47 PLAN_FIXED
      • 14.7.48 PLAN_ENABLED
      • 14.7.49 MEMFORPREFETCH
      • 14.7.50 PREFETCH
      • 14.7.51 RELEASE_CURSOR
      • 14.7.52 RUNOUTLINE
      • 14.7.53 SELECT_ERROR
      • 14.7.54 SQLCHECK
      • 14.7.55 STMT_CACHE
      • 14.7.56 TYPE_CODE
      • 14.7.57 UNSAFE_NULL
      • 14.7.58 USERID
      • 14.7.59 VARCHAR
      • 14.7.60 XREF
• A Operating System Dependencies
  • A.1 System-Specific References in this Manual
    • A.1.1 COBOL Versions
    • A.1.2 Host Variables
      • A.1.2.1 Declaring
      • A.1.2.2 Naming
    • A.1.3 INCLUDE Statements
    • A.1.4 MAXLITERAL Default
    • A.1.5 PIC N or Pic G Clause for Multi-byte Globalization Support Characters
    • A.1.6 RETURN-CODE Special Register May Be Unpredictable.
    • A.1.7 Byte-Order of Binary Data
• B Reserved Words, Keywords, and Namespaces
  • B.1 Reserved Words and Keywords
  • B.2 Reserved Namespaces
• C Performance Tuning
  • C.1 Causes of Poor Performance
  • C.2 Improving Performance
  • C.3 Using Host Tables
  • C.4 Using PL/SQL and Java
  • C.5 Optimizing SQL Statements
    • C.5.1 Optimizer Hints
      • C.5.1.1 Giving Hints
  • C.6 SQL Statement Caching
  • C.7 Using Indexes
  • C.8 Taking Advantage of Row-Level Locking
  • C.9 Eliminating Unnecessary Parsing
    • C.9.1 Handling Explicit Cursors
      • C.9.1.1 Cursor Control
    • C.9.2 Using the Cursor Management Options
      • C.9.2.1 Private SQL Areas and Cursor Cache
      • C.9.2.2 Resource Use
      • C.9.2.3 Infrequent Execution
      • C.9.2.4 Frequent Execution
      • C.9.2.5 Effect on the Shared SQL Area
      • C.9.2.6 Embedded PL/SQL Considerations
      • C.9.2.7 Parameter Interactions
  • C.10 Avoiding Unnecessary Reparsing
• D Syntactic and Semantic Checking
  • D.1 Syntactic and Semantic Checking Basics
  • D.2 Controlling the Type and Extent of Checking
  • D.3 Specifying SQLCHECK=SEMANTICS
    • D.3.1 Enabling a Semantic Check
      • D.3.1.1 Connecting to Oracle
      • D.3.1.2 Using DECLARE TABLE
• E Embedded SQL Statements and Precompiler Directives
  • E.1 Summary of Precompiler Directives and Embedded SQL Statements
  • E.2 About the Statement Descriptions
  • E.3 How to Read Syntax Diagrams
    • E.3.1 Statement Terminator
    • E.3.2 Required Keywords and Parameters
    • E.3.3 Optional Keywords and Parameters
    • E.3.4 Syntax Loops
    • E.3.5 Multi-part Diagrams
    • E.3.6 Oracle Names
  • E.4 ALLOCATE (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.5 ALLOCATE DESCRIPTOR (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.6 CALL (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.7 CLOSE (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.8 COMMIT (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.9 CONNECT (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.10 CONTEXT ALLOCATE (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.11 CONTEXT FREE (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.12 CONTEXT USE (Oracle Embedded SQL Directive)
  • E.13 DEALLOCATE DESCRIPTOR (Embedded SQL Statement)
  • E.14 DECLARE CURSOR (Embedded SQL Directive)
  • E.15 DECLARE DATABASE (Oracle Embedded SQL Directive)
  • E.16 DECLARE STATEMENT (Embedded SQL Directive)
  • E.17 DECLARE TABLE (Oracle Embedded SQL Directive)
  • E.18 DELETE (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.19 DESCRIBE (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.20 DESCRIBE DESCRIPTOR (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.21 ENABLE THREADS (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.22 EXECUTE ... END-EXEC (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.23 EXECUTE (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.24 EXECUTE DESCRIPTOR (Executable Embedded SQL
  • E.25 EXECUTE IMMEDIATE (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.26 FETCH (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.27 FETCH DESCRIPTOR (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.28 FREE (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.29 GET DESCRIPTOR (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.30 INSERT (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.31 LOB APPEND (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.32 LOB ASSIGN (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.33 LOB CLOSE (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.34 LOB COPY (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.35 LOB CREATE TEMPORARY (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.36 LOB DESCRIBE (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.37 LOB DISABLE BUFFERING (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.38 LOB ENABLE BUFFERING (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.39 LOB ERASE (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.40 LOB FILE CLOSE ALL (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.41 LOB FILE SET (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.42 LOB FLUSH BUFFER (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.43 LOB FREE TEMPORARY (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.44 LOB LOAD (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.45 LOB OPEN (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.46 LOB READ (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.47 LOB TRIM (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.48 LOB WRITE (Executable Embedded SQL Extension)
  • E.49 OPEN (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.50 OPEN DESCRIPTOR (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.51 PREPARE (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.52 ROLLBACK (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.53 SAVEPOINT (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.54 SELECT (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.55 SET DESCRIPTOR (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.56 UPDATE (Executable Embedded SQL)
  • E.57 VAR (Oracle Embedded SQL Directive)
  • E.58 WHENEVER (Embedded SQL Directive)
• F Pro*COBOL for Windows
  • F.1 Compiling and Linking Pro*COBOL Applications
    • F.1.1 How to Use the IDE
    • F.1.2 How to Use the Animator Products
    • F.1.3 The COBOL and CBLLINK Commands
    • F.1.4 The COBSQL Command
  • F.2 Sample Programs
    • F.2.1 Building the Demonstration Table
    • F.2.2 Building the Sample Programs
    • F.2.3 Sample Files
• Index