Deciding which conversion tools to use and install them

If you use the available conversion tools, you will find that upgrading can be a very simple procedure. The following conversion tools can help in upgrading your source programs to Enterprise COBOL programs:

COBOL Conversion Tool (CCCA)

The COBOL and CICS® Command Level Conversion Aid (CCCA) automatically converts your old COBOL source programs, either OS/VS COBOL, VS COBOL II, or IBM® COBOL with CMPR2, into 85 COBOL Standard code that you can compile with Enterprise COBOL. CCCA also provides you with reports of the statements that were changed.

CCCA is bundled with IBM® Debug for z/OS® (IDz) 14.2 or earlier versions, and it is removed since IDz 15.0. After IDz 14.2 reached EOS on September 30, 2022, you can download CCCA from here at no charge.

For details about CCCA, see COBOL and CICS Command Level Conversion Aid for z/OS (CCCA).

OS/VS COBOL MIGR compiler option

The MIGR option identifies source statements that need to be converted to compile under Enterprise COBOL.

CMPR2, FLAGMIG, and NOCOMPILE compiler options

The COBOL CMPR2, FLAGMIG, and NOCOMPILE options identify source statements that need to be converted to compile under Enterprise COBOL. The CMPR2 and FLAGMIG options are not available in Enterprise COBOL, but you can use your older compilers with these options to flag the statements that need to be changed in order to compile with Enterprise COBOL.

Enterprise COBOL V4.2 FLAGMIG4 compiler option

A new compiler option, FLAGMIG4, is available with APAR PM93450 for Enterprise COBOL V4.2 to help you migrate to Enterprise COBOL 5 or 6. It is also recommended that you install PTFs for APARs PI12240, PI26838, and PI58762 as these contain updates to the FLAGMIG4 option.

The FLAGMIG4 option identifies language elements in Enterprise COBOL V4 programs that are not supported, or that are supported differently in Enterprise COBOL 5 or 6. The compiler generates a warning diagnostic message for all such language elements.

Note: The source code changes for COBOL V5 and V6 are rarely used COBOL language features and do not affect 99% of COBOL users.

Another conversion tool you might want to use is COBOL Report Writer Precompiler. It enables you to either continue using Report Writer code or convert your Report Writer code to non-Report Writer code. The Report Writer Precompiler is product number 5798-DYR.

These conversion tools are fully described in Conversion tools for source programs.

If you plan to use CCCA or COBOL Report Writer Precompiler, install it at this time. For installation instructions, see the documentation for the conversion tool(s) you plan to use.