The DCLGEN member contains two important sets of data.The table structure containing definitions of all the columns present in the table.The host variable declaration in equivalent COBOL data types.Including the DCLGEN member is not mandatory until we explicitly give the host variables declaration in the working storage section. But it ... Read More

The SQLCODE field of SQLCA is used to get the return code for the last executed SQL query from DB2 to COBOL program. Below are the range of return codes which SQLCODE field can take along with their significance.SQLCODE = 0 → Query executed successfully without any issue.SQLCODE > 0 ... Read More

The SQLCA helps in the communication between DB2 and COBOL-DB2 program. The SQLCA has multiple fields which gives us different information regarding the last executed SQL query.The SQLCA is mandatory in a COBOL-DB2 program. However, if we do not give the SQLCA using the INCLUDE statement then the program compilation ... Read More

The DATE, TIME and TIMESTAMP DB2 data types occupy 4, 3 and 10 bytes respectively. The memory occupied by the CHAR data types is occupied as per the size given. Below table shows the equivalent COBOL data types for CHAR, DATE, TIME and TIMESTAMP.DB2 data typeDB2 BytesCOBOL equivalentCOBOL bytesCHAR(z)zPIC X(z)zDATE4PIC ... Read More

The DCLGEN utility converts the table column from DB2 data types to host variables having equivalent COBOL data types. The SMALLINT and INTEGER is converted to COBOL signed numeric data types and DECIMAL is converted to COBOL signed numeric with implied decimal. Below are the equivalent COBOL data types for ... Read More

The main difference between INCLUDE and COPY statement is the PDS member with INCLUDE statement is expanded during pre-compilation while the PDS member with COPY statement is expanded during compilation.Since the DCLGEN member contains column names of the table (table structure) it is necessary to expand it during the pre-compilation. ... Read More

A COBOL-DB2 program can query/update/insert/delete data from multiple DB2 tables. However, in order to achieve this, we must fulfill two main conditions.Notify the structure of the DB2 table to the COBOL-DB2 program. This includes all the columns and data types of these columns.The respective host variables for each column. The ... Read More

We use fields of SQLCA to enquire about the status of the most recently executed SQL query. The SQLCODE is one such field which can take the various values and each value indicates specific error code. For example, -180 error code represents incorrect timestamp format. However, in the logs we ... Read More

A COBOL-DB2 program can have multiple DB2 SQL statements. In order to implement the common error-trapping for all the SQL statements in a COBOL-DB2 program, we will use WHENEVER statement.The WHENEVER statement can direct the control to the error handling section or routine based on the value returned in SQLCODE ... Read More

SQLCA stands for SQL-Communication Area. It is a medium through which DB2 can communicate with the COBOL program. In a typical COBOL-DB2 program, there are many SQL statements used. The main purpose of SQLCA is to inform the COBOL program about the status and other details of the most recently ... Read More