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November 2020 documentation refresh for Enterprise COBOL for z/OS, 6.3

  
Enterprise COBOL for z/OS 6.3 documentation is refreshed today, to include the following enhancements:
 
Enhancements in COBOL 6.3 with PTFs installed: (For a complete list of Enterprise COBOL PTFs, check https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/604539):
  • PH30975: New "when-phrase" and "generic-suppression-phrase" are added to the JSON GENERATE statement so that you can conditionally suppress data items during JSON GENERATE.
    Note: COBOL Runtime LE APAR PH31172 must also be applied on all systems where programs that make use of this new feature are linked or run. (JSON GENERATE statement)
  • PH31047: New date and time intrinsic functions are introduced that support encoding and decoding of date and time information to and from formats specified in ISO 8601, and that support encoding and decoding date and time information to and from integers that are suitable for arithmetic.
    Note: COBOL Runtime LE APAR PH31133 must also be applied on all systems where programs that make use of these new date and time intrinsic functions are linked or run.
    • The following intrinsic functions are added as part of the 2002 COBOL Standard:
      • TEST-DATE-YYYYMMDD: The TEST-DATE-YYYYMMDD function tests whether a date in standard date form (YYYYMMDD) is a valid date in the Gregorian calendar. (TEST-DATE-YYYYMMDD)
      • TEST-DAY-YYYYDDD: The TEST-DAY-YYYYDDD function tests whether a date in Julian date form (YYYYDDD) is a valid date in the Gregorian calendar. (TEST-DAY-YYYYDDD)
    • The following intrinsic functions are added as part of the 2014 COBOL Standard: 
      • COMBINED-DATETIME: The COMBINED-DATETIME function combines a date in integer date form and a time in standard numeric time form into a single numeric item from which both date and time components can be derived. (COMBINED-DATETIME)
      • FORMATTED-CURRENT-DATE: The FORMATTED-CURRENT-DATE function returns a character string that represents the current date and time provided by the system on which the function is evaluated. (FORMATTED-CURRENT-DATE)
      • FORMATTED-DATE: The FORMATTED-DATE function converts a date from its integer date form to the requested format. (FORMATTED-DATE)
      • FORMATTED-DATETIME: The FORMATTED-DATETIME function uses a combined time and date format to convert and combine a date in the integer date form and a numeric time expressed as seconds past midnight to a formatted date and time representation according to that combined date and time format. (FORMATTED-DATETIME)
      • FORMATTED-TIME: The FORMATTED-TIME function uses a format to convert a value that represents seconds past midnight to a formatted time of day in the requested format. (FORMATTED-TIME)
      • INTEGER-OF-FORMATTED-DATE: The INTEGER-OF-FORMATTED-DATE function converts a date that is in a specified format to an integer date form. (INTEGER-OF-FORMATTED-DATE)
      • SECONDS-FROM-FORMATTED-TIME: The SECONDS-FROM-FORMATTED-TIME function converts a time that is in a specified format to a numeric value that represents the number of seconds after midnight. (SECONDS-FROM-FORMATTED-TIME)
      • SECONDS-PAST-MIDNIGHT: The SECONDS-PAST-MIDNIGHT function returns a value in standard numeric time form that represents the current local time of day provided by the system on which the function is evaluated. (SECONDS-PAST-MIDNIGHT)
      • TEST-FORMATTED-DATETIME: The TEST-FORMATTED-DATETIME function tests whether a data item that represents a date, a time, or a combined date and time is valid according to the specified format. (TEST-FORMATTED-DATETIME)
  • Runtime APARs PH29755(V2R3/V2R4) and PH30338(V2R3/V2R4 AMODE 64): New support is added for LLA/VLF managed programs where DWARF diagnostic information is included. (TEST)
    Documentation fixes in COBOL 6.3:
    - In Migration Guide:
    Editorial updates highlight:

    The English PDF files are also refreshed to include the updates above. You can find the latest English PDF files from the Enterprise COBOL for z/OS library page at     https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/611415.

    If you have any comments regarding COBOL docs, please send them to     compinfo@cn.ibm.com.