Describing the data
Define the characteristics of your data, and group your
data definitions into one or more of the sections in the DATA
DIVISION.
About this task
You can use these sections for defining the following types of data:
- Data used in input-output operations:
FILE SECTION - Data developed for internal processing:
- To have storage be statically allocated and exist for the life
of the run unit:
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION - To have storage be allocated each time a program is entered, and
deallocated on return from the program:
LOCAL-STORAGE SECTION
- To have storage be statically allocated and exist for the life
of the run unit:
- Data from another program:
LINKAGE SECTION
The Enterprise COBOL compiler limits the maximum
size of DATA DIVISION elements. For details, see
the related reference about compiler limits below.