Indicators are Boolean data items that can have the values B"0" or B"1".
When you define a record format for a file using DDS, you can condition the options using indicators; indicators can also be used to reflect particular responses. These indicators are known as OPTION and RESPONSE, respectively.
Option indicators provide options such as spacing, underlining, and allowing or requesting data transfer from your ILE COBOL program to a printer or display device. Response indicators provide response information to your ILE COBOL program from a device, such as function keys pressed by a workstation user, and whether data has been entered.
Indicators can be passed with data records in a record area, or outside the record area in a separate indicator area.
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