The Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.2 May 2015 PTFs are now available for download. Here are the details:         COMPILER       UI27877 / UI27878 / UI27879        RUNTIME       UI27688(V1R13) / UI27689(V2R1)   List of APARs for Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.2 May 2015 PTFs

The Enterprise COBOL for z/OS 5.x March 2015 Runtime PTFs are now available for download.  This runtime PTF supports applications compiled with the Enterprise COBOL for z/OS 5.1 compiler, and now adds support for applications compiled with the 5.2 compiler.      RUNTIME      UI26506(V1R13) / UI26507(V2R1) PTFs For the list of all APARs fixed, see Fix list for Enterprise COBOL for z/OS

Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.2 provides day 1 support for the new z processor. Besides the ability to generate new z13 instructions, this new compiler also has abilities to use the new Vector Facility for certain COBOL statements, and expand usage of Decimal Floating Point Facility for Packed Decimal calculations. Enterprise COBOL V5.2 provides significant performance improvements over the GA release of Enterprise COBOL V5.1. Well-structured, compute intensive batch applications running on z13 (compiled with Enterprise COBOL V5.2) have shown... [More]

Tags:  cobol enterprise v5

This is the sixth in a series of blog entries on the subject of debugging IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1 using Debug Tool. These blog entries point out some of the improvements you'll see compared to debugging earlier versions of Enterprise COBOL. This blog entry is regarding Debug Tool's support for COBOL data types. With previous versions of COBOL there were several restrictions on which data types were supported in the various Debug Tool commands. In particular, commands which perform assignment, such as MOVE, and commands which... [More]

Tags:  debug cobol

Enterprise COBOL V5 provides increased exploitation of the latest z/Architecture processors, as well as new levels of optimization, to improve the performance of z/OS COBOL applications. To that effect, several new compiler options are introduced in V5, including AFP, ARCH, HGPR, OPTIMIZE, and STGOPT. Some were mentioned in previous blogs and now we want to bring the HGPR option in.   The HGPR option controls the compiler usage of the 64-bit registers provided by z/Architecture processors, and its syntax is as follows:... [More]

Tags:  gpr optimization hgpr

Recently the documentation for COBOL for Enterprise V5.1 was updated to handle some Reader Comment Forms (RCF) and fix defects against this release. The documentation changes aim to address customers' comments on certain topics, fix or update topic links, provide more details for some contents, remove outdated information, and make documentation better conform the IBM style. The updating work is still going on to improve manuals as much as possible, but you can have a view of the change list shown as below and get the idea of what... [More]

This is the fifth in a series of blog entries on the subject of debugging IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1 using Debug Tool. These blog entries point out some of the improvements you'll see compared to debugging earlier versions of Enterprise COBOL. In my most recent blog entry I described some improvements for listing the contents and attributes of COBOL tables (arrays). In this entry I'll continue exploring Debug Tool's support for tables, and how it has improved with COBOL 5.1, providing better usability and support for COBOL... [More]

Tags:  debug cobol

This is the fourth in a series of blog entries on the subject of debugging IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1 using Debug Tool. These blog entries point out some of the improvements you'll see compared to debugging earlier versions of Enterprise COBOL. In this entry I'll describe a number of changes that you'll see when working with COBOL tables (arrays) in Debug Tool. Some of these changes provide more consistent and streamlined output of the table information or contents, and other changes provide better support for COBOL language... [More]

Tags:  debug cobol

This is the third in a series of blog entries on the subject of debugging IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1 using Debug Tool. These blog entries point out some of the improvements you'll see compared to debugging earlier versions of Enterprise COBOL. This entry is regarding Debug Tool's behaviour when stepping over an out-of-line PERFORM . An out-of-line PERFORM is like a procedure call that entails a branch to a named paragraph and an implicit return from that paragraph. This is somewhat similar to calling a sub-program using the CALL... [More]

Tags:  debug cobol

This is the second in a series of blog entries that I'll be creating on the subject of debugging IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1 using Debug Tool. In particular, I'll be pointing out some of the improvements you'll see compared to debugging earlier versions of Enterprise COBOL. This entry is regarding Debug Tool's AUTOMONITOR feature. Specifically, it is about how AUTOMONITOR handles statements that use the LENGTH OF or ADDRESS OF special registers. I'll use this simple example program to illustrate the differences... [More]

Tags:  debug cobol

This is the first in a series of blog entries that I'll be creating on the subject of debugging IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1 using Debug Tool. In particular, I'll be pointing out some of the improvements you'll see compared to debugging earlier versions of Enterprise COBOL. The first improvement has to do with Level 88 Condition Names. With previous versions of Enterprise COBOL, the LIST command will show you the value of the Level 88 Condition Name (TRUE or FALSE), but not the value of variable with which the Condition Name... [More]

Tags:  debug cobol

The  COBOL for AIX Fix Pack 12 (October 2014 PTF) for 4.1.1  is now available at the following links and on  Fix Central : COBOL for AIX Fix Pack 12 (October 2014 PTF) for 4.1.1 Fix list for COBOL for AIX Fixed APARs are listed on the 'Fix list' page, along with links to all COBOL for AIX Fix Packs.  Please note that the term 'Fix Pack' is equivalent to 'PTF', and both terms may be used interchangeably.

With Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5, the new STGOPT option can be used to control storage optimization. This option syntax is as follows:                  .--STGOPT--. >>----------NOSTGOPT------------------------>< NOSTGOPT is the default option. SO is the abbreviation for STGOPT and NOSO is for NOSTGOPT. If STGOPT is specified, the compiler will discard any or all of the following data items, and will not allocate storage for them. Unreferenced... [More]

Tags:  stgopt

Enterprise COBOL for z/OS, V5.1 offers many features for programmers and applications managers, but it also takes some work to get to use it.  Learn everything you need to know to get up and running with Enterprise COBOL V5.1 in this recording of a recent webinar by IBM’s own “Captain COBOL”, Tom Ross.  This webinar covers what has changed, what is better, and what you will have to change in order to use the new compiler. There are a few small source code changes, but most of the changes will be outside of your COBOL... [More]

Tags:  mainframe pdse migration os/vs cobol vs

With Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5, you can use the DISPSIGN option to control output formatting for DISPLAY of signed numeric items. The syntax of this option is as follows:                              .--COMPAT--.     >>-DISPSIGN(-+----SEP----+-)---------------------->< The default is DISPSIGN(COMPAT). If you specify DISPSIGN(COMPAT), formatting for displayed values of signed numeric items is compatible... [More]

Tags:  display dispsign

With Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1.1, the LIST option output in the compiler listing is enhanced to include a new special register table . There you can find the location information for all the COBOL special register variables. The offset to the table can be found in the second entry of the PPA3, and the offset is relative to the starting address of the PPA3.The special register table format is similar with that of the base locator table. The following example further explains the special register table:   Each entry in the special... [More]

Tags:  special_register_table ppa3 list

The Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1.1 July 2014 PTFs are now available for download. Here are the details:       COMPILER      UI19849/UI19850/UI19851      RUNTIME      UI19787/UI19859(V1R13) / UI19788/UI19860(V2R1) PTFs    Lis t of  APA Rs f or E nter pris e CO BOL  for  z/OS  V5. 1.1  July 2014  PTF s

SHARE Pittsburgh , August 3rd to 8th will have three exciting, informative sessions on our latest COBOL compiler for the mainframe - Enterprise COBOL for z/OS, V5, presented by IBM's own "Captain COBOL", Tom Ross ! 16149: How to Take Advantage of the New COBOL V5 Compiler - Migration This session will tell you everything you need to know to get up and running with Enterprise COBOL V5.1.  We will talk about what has changed, what is better, and what you will have... [More]

Tags:  performance cobol share mainframe migration

The Enterprise COBOL for z/OS Version 5 Release 1 Performance Tuning Guide  is now available.  This paper identifies key performance benefits and tuning considerations when using IBM® Enterprise COBOL for z/OS Version 5 Release 1.  Learn about the major performance features and options available in this latest COBOL compiler release,  tuning considerations for many compiler and runtime options that affect performance of COBOL applications and coding techniques to get the best performance from COBOL applications. ... [More]

Tags:  cobol performance tuning

The Institute for Data Center Professionals at Marist College is pleased to offer an on line COBOL Application Programming Certificate beginning in the Fall of 2014. The demand for COBOL knowledge and skills will likely continue long into the future as an estimated 200 Billion lines of COBOL code continues to run major businesses around the world.    The three class COBOL Application Programming Certificate will train students to become z/OS COBOL application programmers. The three classes in the Certificate are:   Introduction... [More]

Tags:  certificate programming

Question - I don't see the IGYOPxxx optimizer messages anymore in the 5.1 compiles.  Specificially the message IGYOP3094-W   There may be a loop from the "PERFORM" statement at "PERFO                      optimization was not attempted.                           This is a common... [More]

The  COBOL for AIX Fix Pack 11 (June 2013 PTF) for 4.1.1  is now available at the following links and on  Fix Central :          COBOL for AIX Fix Pack 11 (June 2014 PTF) for 4.1.1        Fix list for COBOL for AIX Fixed APARs are listed on the 'Fix list' page, along with links to all COBOL for AIX Fix Packs.  Please note that the term 'Fix Pack' is equivalent to 'PTF', and both... [More]

The Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1.1 May 2014 PTFs are now available for download. Here are the details:     List of APARs for Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1.1 May 2014 PTFs

If you're looking for more information about Enterprise COBOL for z/OS, V5.1 then you'll have several opportunities at IBM's Innovate 2014 conference, June 1 through 5. On Monday, June 2, from 12:30 to 1:15 in session 2481 - "How Compilers Reduce Operating Costs for Running Business Critical Applications on System z" is a Birds of a Feather session where you will be able to chat with us about the Enterprise COBOL for z/OS, Enterprise PL/I for z/OS, and z/OS XL C/C++ compilers. On Tuesday, June 3, from 12:30 to 1:30,... [More]

Tags:  innovate systemz mainframe cobol

AMODE 24 support has been added to Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V5.1.1. For more information refer to the following: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21667752

Broadcast date: March 12, 2014, 11:00 a.m. EDT / 3:00 p.m. GMT Developed for: Application programmers and managers; operations managers; system programmers Technical level: Basic    You will learn how to: Improve insight into application regressions and quality Reduce test environment cost and set-up time Reduce bottlenecks in mobile development caused by back-end systems testing Expedite test and delivery cycles   Speakers: Timothy Hahn, Distinguished Engineer, CTO Enterprise Modernization, IBM Software Group Francois Dumont,... [More]

Tags:  testing mainframe software

At SHARE in Anaheim, March 9 to 14, Tom Ross and Peter Elderon , members of the IBM compiler development team,  will be presenting the following sessions regarding Enterprise COBOL or z/OS, V5.1:   15247: zOMG The Next COBOL Compiler has Arrived! - Part 1 of 2   15246: zOMG The Next COBOL Compiler Has Arrived - Part 2 of 2  ... [More]

Tags:  zenterprise cobol share mainframe

Both IMS and Enterprise COBOL had new and exciting announcements this year. COBOL and IMS continue to deliver leading edge technologies to facilitate application integration, modernization, as well as improving application performance. Roland Koo, Product Manager for Rational Compilers, and Haley Fung, IMS Senior Developer, identify why it is important to upgrade to the latest versions of IMS and COBOL together. Speakers: Haley Fung, Roland Koo, and Kimberly Gist. Go HERE to listen to this informative podcast.  

Tags:  cobol sql mainframe ims

The COBOL for AIX Fix Pack 10 (December 2013 PTF) for 4.1.1 is now available at the following links and on  Fix Central :     COBOL for AIX Fix Pack 10 (December 2013 PTF) for 4.1.1      Fix list for COBOL for AIX Fixed APARs are listed on the 'Fix list' page, along with links to all COBOL for AIX Fix Packs.  Please note that the term 'Fix Pack' is equivalent to 'PTF', and both terms may be used... [More]