Rex Pommier wrote: /* begin extract */ As far as what Tom was talking about below, he was doing a logical OR of the hex for "X" and the hex for "Z", and coming up with X'EF'. I'm guessing the compiler isn't intelligent enough to try to do a logical OR of the values within the parentheses so the compiler threw the error. /* end extract */ Now it is certainly true that EBCDIC 'X' = x'e7' = b'1110_0111'EBCDIC 'Z' = x'e9' = b'1110_1001' and that their inclusive-OR is b'1110_1111' = EBCDIC 'F'. These notions of logical operations on the corresponding bits of a byte, relevant in assembly language and in some other statement-level procedural languages, are, however, entirely alien to historical COBOL, which lacks explicit bit or boolean variables. The new ANSI Standard COBOL does/will support bit operations, but I know of no currently implemented, operational mainframe COBOL compiler that does so directly, i.e., without the use of library-subroutine calls like those that CICS makes/made available for COBOL APs to use where CICS makes/made bit setting and/or testing necessary. This new COBOL bitwise-operations syntax is baroque, not at all perspicuous for anyone who has studied boolean algebra; and the chief but unacknowledged reason for its elaboration is the need to avoid confusion with traditional abbreviated-IF constructions that would make them incompatible with this newest, for the moment, COBOL. There is a moral here: Never infer unknown COBOL function or syntax from those of another, 'superior', better known statement-level procedural language. Analogies almost always break down. COBOL is its own unique universe of discourse. John Gilmore Ashland, MA 01721-1817 USA _________________________________________________________________ Want to do more with Windows Live? Learn “10 hidden secrets” from Jamie. http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!550F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008
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