Created On:  22 December 2011

Problem:

Customer is converting from RM COBOL to Visual COBOL and runs into the following compatibility issue:

In some programs RM / COBOL, we use the word PROGRAM-ID to know the name of the current program.

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID.   BASE0006.
       ...
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       PROGRAMA SECTION.
       PROGRAMA-INI.
                 
       ...
       DISPLAY "PROGRAM NAME: ", PROGRAM-ID.

But in Visual COBOL it gives the error "invalid operand".  Why is this?

Resolution:

Visual COBOL has its own set of Library routines that can be found in the documentation under Reference > Library Routines.

An example of how to return program information about the current program and other program in the run-unit is as follows: (please see entry for CBL_GET_PROGRAM_INFO for more detailed information)


       program-id. testProgram.
       data division.
       working-storage section.
       01 wsfunction              pic x(4) comp-5.
       01 param-block.
          05 cblte-gpi-size      pic x(4) comp-5.
          05 cblte-gpi-flags     pic x(4) comp-5.
          05 cblte-gpi-handle    usage pointer.
          05 cblte-gpi-prog-id   usage pointer.
          05 cblte-gpi-attrs     pic x(4) comp-5.
       01 return-buf             pic x(100).
       01 return-buf-len         pic x(4) comp-5 value 100.
       01 status-code     pic x(4) comp-5 value 0.
       procedure division.

           move length of param-block to cblte-gpi-size
           move length of return-buf to return-buf-len
           
         *> Establish the current program and return handle           
           
           move 0 to wsfunction
           perform 100-call-program-info
           display "program name = " return-buf
           
         *> Get first entry point in program
           move 4 to wsfunction
           perform 100-call-program-info
           display "entry point = " return-buf
         
         *> Close the handle that was established
           
           move 6 to wsfunction
           perform 100-call-program-info
           stop run.
       
       100-call-program-info.
                 
           call "CBL_GET_PROGRAM_INFO"
              using
                 by value wsfunction
                 by reference   param-block
                 by reference   return-buf
                 by reference   return-buf-len
             returning      status-code
            end-call.