Technical data

Preface
This manual describes how to develop Oracle CODASYL DBMS database
programs with HP COBOL on the OpenVMS Alpha, OpenVMS Industry Standard
64 (OpenVMS I64), or OpenVMS VAX operating system. It also contains
information about HP COBOL language features specific to OpenVMS.
The HP COBOL DBMS Database Programming Manual is a component of the
HP COBOL documentation set. Complete information about HP COBOL can be
found in the HP COBOL User Manual and HP COBOL Reference Manual.
HP COBOL is a Hewlett-Packard Company implementation of COBOL (COmmon
Business-Oriented Language), which is widely used throughout the world for
business data processing. HP COBOL is a high-performance language for
commercial application development that runs under the OpenVMS Alpha,
OpenVMS I64, or OpenVMS VAX operating system. HP COBOL is based on the
1985 ANSI COBOL Standard X3.23–1985 and Federal Information Processing
Standard Publication 21-3 (FIPS-PUB 21-3). The FIPS standard identifies the
ANSI standard as the standard adopted by the U.S. federal government and
as the criteria on which federal validation is based. HP COBOL also contains
Hewlett-Packard extensions to COBOL.
Oracle CODASYL DBMS, including DML (data manipulation language), is based
on the 1979 CODASYL Standard for databases.
HP COBOL is the new name for what has formerly been known as Compaq
COBOL, DEC COBOL, DIGITAL COBOL, and VAX COBOL. HP COBOL,
unmodified, refers to the following products:
HP COBOL for OpenVMS Industry Standard 64
HP COBOL for OpenVMS Alpha
HP COBOL for Tru64 UNIX
HP COBOL for OpenVMS VAX
Any references to the former names in product documentation or other
components should be construed as references to the HP COBOL names.
Intended Audience
This manual is designed for experienced applications programmers who have
a basic understanding of the usage of the COBOL language and database
programming. If you are a new COBOL user, you may need to read introductory
COBOL textbooks or take COBOL courses. Some familiarity with your operating
system is also recommended. This is not a tutorial manual.
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