Storage Lengths

Table 1 describes the SQL type conversion, precision, scale, and storage length for COBOL native data types. The COBOL PICTURE clauses in the table are for signed numbers, however, unsigned numbers are handled in a similar manner.

Table 1. COBOL Native Types
Native Data Type Native Length (bytes) COBOL Usage Representation SQL Type Precision (p) Scale (s) Storage Length (bytes)
BINARY 2

4

8

 PIC S9 to S9(4) COMP

PIC S9(5) to S9(9) COMP

PIC S9(10) to S9(18) COMP

 SmallInt

Integer

Decimal

 1 to 4

5 to 9

10 to 18

 n/a

n/a

n/a

 2

4

8
CHARACTER n PIC X(n) Char n n/a n
DECIMAL (p+s)/2+1 PIC S9(p)V9(s) COMP-3 Decimal p+s s (p+s)/2+1

DISPLAY_
NUMERIC

 p+s PIC S9(p)V9(s) Decimal p+s s (p+s)/2+1

FLOAT (single)

(double)

4

8

PIC COMP-1

PIC COMP-2

Decimal

Decimal

p+s
(default 18)
p+s
(default 18)

s
(default 4)
s
(default 4)

4

8
GRAPHIC_G n*2 PIC G(n) DISPLAY-1 NChar n n/a n*2
GRAPHIC_N n*2 PIC N(n) NChar n n/a n*2
GROUP n (sum of all the column lengths that make up the group)   Char n n/a n
NATIVE BINARY 2

4

8

 PIC S9 to S9(4) COMP-5

PIC S9(5) to S9(9) COMP-5

PIC S9(10) to S9(18) COMP-5

 SmallInt

Integer

Decimal

 1 to 4

5 to 9

10 to 18

 n/a

n/a

n/a

 2

4

8
VARCHAR n+2 PIC S9(4) COMP PIC X(n) VarChar n+2 n/a n+2

VARGRAPHIC
_G

 (n*2)+2 PIC S9(4) COMP PIC G(n) DISPLAY-1 NVarChar n+2 n/a (n*2)+2

VARGRAPHIC
_N

 (n*2)+2 PIC S9(4) COMP PIC N(n) NVarChar n+2 n/a (n*2)+2

Table 2 describes the SQL type conversion, precision, scale, and storage length for DB2® native data types. The COBOL usage representation is used only when DB2 table definitions are loaded into a flat file stage.

Table 2. DB2 Native Types
Native Data Type Native Length (bytes) COBOL Usage Representation SQL Type Precision (p) Scale(s) Storage Length (bytes)
CHARACTER n PIC X(n) Char n n/a n
DATE 10 PIC X(10) Date 10 n/a 10
DECIMAL p/2+1 PIC S9(p)V9(s) COMP-3 Decimal p+s s (p+s)/2+1
GRAPHIC n*2 PIC G(n) DISPLAY-1 NChar n n/a n*2
INTEGER 4 PIC S9(9) COMP Integer 9 n/a 4
NUMERIC p PIC S9(p)V9(s) Decimal p+s s n
SMALLINT 2 PIC S9(4) COMP SmallInt 2 n/a 2
TIME 8 PIC X(8) Time 8 n/a 8
TIMESTAMP 26 PIC x(26) Timestamp 26 n/a 26
VARCHAR n+2 PIC S9(4) COMP

PIC X(n)

 VarChar n+2 n/a n+2
VARGRAPHIC (n*2)+2 PIC S9(4) COMP

PIC G(n) DISPLAY-1

 NVarChar n+2 n/a (n*2)+2
Table 3 describes the SQL type conversion, precision, scale, and storage length for Teradata native data types. The COBOL usage representation is used only when Teradata table definitions are loaded into a flat file stage.
Table 3. Teradata Native Types
Native Data Type Native Length (bytes) COBOL Usage Representation SQL Type Precision (p) Scale(s) Storage Length (bytes)
BYTEINT 1 PIC S9(3) COMP Integer 3 n/a 2
CHAR n PIC X(n) Char n n/a n
DATE 10 PIC X(10) Date 10 n/a 10
DECIMAL p/2+1 PIC S9(p)V9(s) COMP-3 Decimal p+s s (p+s)/2+1
FLOAT (double) 8 PIC COMP-2 Decimal p+s (default 18) s (default 4) 8
GRAPHIC n*2 PIC G(n) DISPLAY-1 NChar n n/a n*2
INTEGER 4 PIC S9(9) COMP Integer 9 n/a 4
SMALLINT 2 PIC S9(4) COMP SmallInt 2 n/a 2
TIME 8 PIC X(8) Time 8 n/a 8
TIMESTAMP 26 PIC X(26) Timestamp 26 n/a 26
VARCHAR n+2 PIC S9(4) COMP

PIC X(n)

 VarChar n+2 n/a n+2
VARGRAPHIC (n*2)+2 PIC S9(4) COMP

PIC G(n) DISPLAY-1

 NVarChar n+2 n/a (n*2)+2
Parent topic: Native Data Types