Changes with Enterprise COBOL 5 and 6

There are a few differences from all previous compilers to consider when using Enterprise COBOL 5 or 6. After reading the section about migrating a program or application from the compiler you are currently using, read this section.

The changes with Enterprise COBOL 5 and 6 mainly fall into the following categories:

Migrating to COBOL 5 or 6 is different from earlier COBOL migrations in that we recommend regression testing to see if your programs use invalid data and get different results with COBOL 5 or 6. Previous COBOL compilers generated the same code and the same data layout, so invalid data would get the same results from version to version.

With current service applied, Enterprise COBOL V5.1 is equivalent to Enterprise COBOL V5.2 for migration purposes.

The performance characteristics of Version 5 of the compiler are similar to those of Version 6. Except where otherwise noted, the changes and migration recommendations in this section are applicable to both 5 and 6.