Running COBOL programs under z/OS UNIX

To run COBOL programs in the z/OS® UNIX environment, compile them using Enterprise COBOL or COBOL for OS/390® & VM. The programs must be reentrant, so use the compiler and linker option RENT.

If you are going to run the programs from the z/OS UNIX file system, use the linker option AMODE 31. Any AMODE 24 program that you call from within a z/OS UNIX application must reside in an MVS™ Start of changePDSEEnd of change.

Restrictions: The following restrictions apply to running under z/OS UNIX:

  • SORT and MERGE statements are not supported.
  • You cannot use the old COBOL interfaces for preinitialization (runtime option RTEREUS) to establish a reusable environment.
  • You cannot run a COBOL program compiled with the NOTHREAD option in more than one thread. If you start a COBOL application in a second thread, you get a software condition from the COBOL run time. You can run NOTHREAD COBOL programs in the initial process thread (IPT) or in one non-IPT that you create from a C or PL/I routine.

    You can run a COBOL program in more than one thread if you compile all the COBOL programs in the application with the THREAD option.

You can use Debug Tool to debug z/OS UNIX programs in remote debug mode, for example, by using the Debug Perspective of IBM® Developer for z Systems®, or in full-screen mode (MFI) using a VTAM® terminal.

related references  
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