Because of differences in how data is interpreted in different run-time environments, your program may need to convert the data that passes from one environment to another. Data conversion occurs at COBOL preparation time and at COBOL or Java run time.
The COBOL preparation process converts file content, file-path information, and values of environment variables when transferring workstation-based files to a build server. The steps needed to establish a data conversion table in this case are described later.
Your code also uses a conversion table in the following run-time situations:
In this case, you can specify the conversion table in a callLink element that refers to the called program. Alternatively, you can indicate (in that callLink element) that the system variable sysVar.callConversionTable identifies the conversion table at run time.
In this case, you also can specify the conversion table in a callLink element that refers to the called program. Alternatively, you can indicate (in that callLink element) that the system variable sysVar.callConversionTable identifies the conversion table at run time.
In this case, you can specify the conversion table in a asynchLink element that refers to the program to which control is transferred. Alternatively, you can indicate (in that asynchLink element) that the system variable sysVar.callConversionTable identifies the conversion table at run time.
In these cases, you specify the bidirectional conversion table in the system variable sysVar.formConversionTable.
You would use run-time conversion, for example, if your code places values into one of two redefined records, each of which refers to the same area of memory as a record that is passed to another program. Assume that the characteristics of the data that you pass would be different, depending on the redefined record to which you assign values. In this case, the requirements of data conversion cannot be known at generation time.
The next sections provide the following details:
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