Name space of external data

In programming languages, the name space is defined as the portion of a load module within which a particular declaration applies or is known. Like the name scope, the name space of external data differs between C and COBOL.

Figure 1 and Figure 2 illustrate that within the same load module, the name space of COBOL programs is the same. However, the name spaces of a COBOL program and a C routine within the same load module are not the same. If you give external data the same name in both languages, an incompatibility in external data mapping can occur.