Producing XML output

You can produce XML output from a COBOL program by using the XML GENERATE statement.

About this task

In the XML GENERATE statement, you identify the source and the output data items. You can optionally also identify:

A field to receive a count of the XML characters generated
A code page in which the generated XML document is to be encoded
A namespace for the generated document
A namespace prefix to qualify the start and end tag of each element, if you specify a namespace
A user-defined element or attribute name in the generated XML document
Attributes or elements to be suppressed according to some specified conditions
Particular items to be specified as attributes, elements or content in the generated XML output.
A statement to receive control if an exception occurs

Optionally, you can generate an XML declaration for the document, and can cause eligible source data items to be expressed as attributes in the output rather than as elements.

You can use the XML-CODE special register to determine the status of XML generation.

After you transform COBOL data items to XML, you can use the resulting XML output in various ways, such as deploying it in a web service, passing it as a message to WebSphere® MQ, or transmitting it for subsequent conversion to a CICS® communication area.

Link-edit considerations: COBOL programs that contain the XML GENERATE statement must be link-edited with AMODE 31.

Related references
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
XML GENERATE statement (Enterprise COBOL for z/OS® Language Reference)