Reading COBOL "data files"

I have read through all the newsgroups I could find and am getting
very  about what to do with my files. I have a heaps of
FILExxxx.DAT files, some with matching .CTL files, that I need to read
into something like Access, dBase or delimited text. The files were
created using a custom program written in RM/COBOL-85. I have all the
.COB files. What I can't do is spend any money on a one-off tool. I'm
hoping that somebody can offer me a VB, VB.NET or C# code solution for
reading these.

Also, I have this entire COBOL program but can't run it as I get
messages talking about the need for me to install the RM/COBOL
runtime. Is this available free anywhere? I understand the developer
tools would cost, but surely the runtime is free for end users?

Many thanks in advance,
Scott Hooper

In article <a8341757.0407142138.560efc01@posting.google.com>,
Scott Hooper <shooper@rxworks.com> wrote:

[snip]

>What I can't do is spend any money on a one-off tool.

Hmmmmm... so you have all of these 'documents' in 'Italian' and you want
to be able to translate them into 'German' without learning both languages
spending any money on interpreting services?

You just might get what you pay for, then.

DD

"Scott Hooper" <shooper@rxworks.com> wrote in message
news:a8341757.0407142138.560efc01@posting.google.com...
> I have read through all the newsgroups I could find and am getting
> very  about what to do with my files. I have a heaps of
> FILExxxx.DAT files, some with matching .CTL files, that I need to read
> into something like Access, dBase or delimited text. The files were
> created using a custom program written in RM/COBOL-85. I have all the
> .COB files. What I can't do is spend any money on a one-off tool. I'm
> hoping that somebody can offer me a VB, VB.NET or C# code solution for
> reading these.

Tutorial: Using COBOL-created data with non-COBOL programs.

http://www.talsystems.com/tsihome_h...oads/C2IEEE.htm

The price is right (free for use).

Basically that will tell you you MUST have the COBOL FD or other record
layout documentation - but if you have the *.COB files, you have these
descriptions, so you are probably beyond the most frequent barrier to
success.

I have a Win/32 DLL which uses the FD info and then converts the data to
IEEE format; and several "base" conversion programs (BASIC language). Sounds
like that software would probably be exactly what you want.... except the
part where you say, " What I can't do is spend any money on a one-off tool."

But if you change your mind and are interested in a package of BASIC
language source/executable (PowerBASIC/Windows, very usable with Microsoft
Visual BASIC or any "C" for Windows)   - with the understanding it is not
free - please contact my office.

--
Michael Mattias
Tal Systems, Inc.
Racine WI
mmattias@talsystems.com

There is no such thing as a free lunch.  In this situation it looks
like you're going to get what you will pay for, as it usually works
out.

On 14 Jul 2004 22:38:17 -0700, shooper@rxworks.com (Scott Hooper)
wrote:

> What I can't do is spend any money on a one-off tool.

> install the RM/COBOL runtime. Is this available free anywhere? I understan
d the developer
>tools would cost, but surely the runtime is free for end users?

Scott Hooper wrote:
> I have read through all the newsgroups I could find and am getting
> very  about what to do with my files. I have a heaps of
> FILExxxx.DAT files, some with matching .CTL files, that I need to read
> into something like Access, dBase or delimited text. The files were
> created using a custom program written in RM/COBOL-85. I have all the
> .COB files. What I can't do is spend any money on a one-off tool. I'm
> hoping that somebody can offer me a VB, VB.NET or C# code solution for
> reading these.

Let's start over. WHY do you need to convert these files into (pick from
list)?

>
> Also, I have this entire COBOL program but can't run it as I get
> messages talking about the need for me to install the RM/COBOL
> runtime. Is this available free anywhere? I understand the developer
> tools would cost, but surely the runtime is free for end users?


It's almost free. A few thousand.

"Michael Mattias" <michael.mattias@gte.net> wrote in message news:<zYtJc.36957$eH1.17637907
@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com>...
> "Scott Hooper" <shooper@rxworks.com> wrote in message
> news:a8341757.0407142138.560efc01@posting.google.com... 
>
> Tutorial: Using COBOL-created data with non-COBOL programs.
>
> http://www.talsystems.com/tsihome_h...oads/C2IEEE.htm
>
> The price is right (free for use).
>
> Basically that will tell you you MUST have the COBOL FD or other record
> layout documentation - but if you have the *.COB files, you have these
> descriptions, so you are probably beyond the most frequent barrier to
> success.
>
> I have a Win/32 DLL which uses the FD info and then converts the data to
> IEEE format; and several "base" conversion programs (BASIC language). Soun
ds
> like that software would probably be exactly what you want.... except the
> part where you say, " What I can't do is spend any money on a one-off tool
."
>
> But if you change your mind and are interested in a package of BASIC
> language source/executable (PowerBASIC/Windows, very usable with Microsoft
> Visual BASIC or any "C" for Windows)   - with the understanding it is not
> free - please contact my office.

In the case of RM Cobol, IIRC, .COB files are *object* (or
intermediate code) files. So the OP may not have the FDs after all.

On 15 Jul 2004 15:25:11 -0700, epc8@juno.com (E P Chandler) wrote:

>"Michael Mattias" <michael.mattias@gte.net> wrote in message news:<zYtJc.36
957$eH1.17637907@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com>... 
>
>In the case of RM Cobol, IIRC, .COB files are *object* (or
>intermediate code) files. So the OP may not have the FDs after all.
Not necessarally. The object name can be whatever you tell the
compiler to be. The default is .COB.

People here are aware of that.
The point here is that the OP is not willing to spend money with this,
but this is just not possible.
If he has the FS's (which he may have even if he does not have the
other sources) or if he can has whoever developed the APP for the file
layout, then it would be easy to do this work, and he might even get
someone to do it really cheap.




Frederico Fonseca
ema il: frederico_fonseca at syssoft-int.com

If you know perl WELL, then this link could be useful:--
 
http://perlmonks.thepen.com/21
2360.html 

Lots of assembly required and definately not for the faint hearted, but, its
 all free and you can tweak the program to do anything you want!

"JerryMouse" <nospam@bisusa.com> wrote in message
news:5Kednd6kla7eMGvdRVn-sw@giganews.com...
> Scott Hooper wrote:
[snip] 
>
>
> It's almost free. A few thousand.

Just for the record, not true.

As I have communicated to the OP privately, he can probably accomplish his
mission (which I presume to be, but have not had confirmed, moving data from
the COBOL application to the application sold by his company) by the use of
a single-user Windows runtime (his company's application runs on Windows
only).  The retail cost of a single-user runtime is comparable to the price
of the single-user Windows XP Professional runtime on the same box...

Tom Morrison

Hi Michael,

Well I've heard just about everyone say that I'm not going to get anywhere d
own the free-coz-someone-else-has-already-done-it-in-your-preferred-language
 road, so I would be quite interested in learning more about your suite of p
roducts. Yes, I have a matching FILExxx.COB and COPYxxx.COB for every one of
 my DATAxxx.DAT files, but the COB files do appear to be object files.

Cheers,
Scott Hooper

By the way, reading through this thread, I keep being referred to as "OP". T
he mind boggles with possibilities???