how do I move NULL into a field ?

Hello:

I need to move NULL or null value into a field in cobol.

eg: I have a field called store-id PIC S99999V COMP-3. since I dont
populate any value into it I need to move NULL into it. It shouldn't be
zero. how do I do that in COBOL.

please help

RM



--
posted via MFF :  http://www.MainFrameForum.com - USENET Gateway

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 21:58:09 GMT, aaryam <member@mainframeforum.com>
wrote:

>I need to move NULL or null value into a field in cobol.
>
>eg: I have a field called store-id PIC S99999V COMP-3. since I dont
>populate any value into it I need to move NULL into it. It shouldn't be
>zero. how do I do that in COBOL.
>
>please help

Move low-values to the group name before you start moving or put a
group name over the individual field, which is functionally the same
as redefines, and move low-values to it.

Caution: it is not common practice to put nulls in packed fields. On
IBM mainframes, a reference to the numeric field name will cause an
abend. Some non-mainframe compilers, for instance Micro Focus, also
cause an abend unless a non-default runtime option is used. Why do you
think you "need" to fill it with nulls?

> Hello
>
> I need to move NULL or null value into a field in cobol
>
> eg: I have a field called store-id PIC S99999V COMP-3. since I don
> populate any value into it I need to move NULL into it. It shouldn't b
> zero. how do I do that in COBOL
>
> please hel
> posted via MFF :  http://www.MainFrameForum.com - USENET Gateway

Since you posted this from MainFrameForum I will assume you are on
an IBM mainframe. Are you sure you know what you're doing?
COMP-3 is PACKED-DECIMAL and I assume by nulls you mean binary zeros?
Moving binary zeros would create an invalid packed field.
Can you say S0C7?

Anyway, here you go:

05 store-id pic S99999V comp-3.
05 store-id-x redefines
store-id pic x(3).

move low-values to store-id-x.

Don't blame me for abends.

"aaryam" <member@mainframeforum.com> wrote in message
news:RbvUc.22870$kC6.13105@cyclops.nntpserver.com...
> Hello:
>
> I need to move NULL or null value into a field in cobol.
>
> eg: I have a field called store-id PIC S99999V COMP-3. since I dont
> populate any value into it I need to move NULL into it. It shouldn't be
> zero. how do I do that in COBOL.
>
> please help
>
> RM
>
>
>
> --
> posted via MFF :  http://www.MainFrameForum.com - USENET Gateway

Is this a DB2 program?   ie, are you asking how to set a column to null via
a host variable?

aaryam wrote:
> Hello:
>
> I need to move NULL or null value into a field in cobol.

Trust me: No you don't.

>
> eg: I have a field called store-id PIC S99999V COMP-3. since I dont
> populate any value into it I need to move NULL into it. It shouldn't
> be zero. how do I do that in COBOL.

"Store-id" An identifier? If an identifier it should never be defined as a
numeric field (part numbers, zip codes, telephone or social security
numbers, etc.). If you can't do arithmetic on the value, it's not a number
and shouldn't be defined as one.

Hi RM,

Null data fields usually don't appear in COBOL code unless the field
is an address or a designated field in a DB2 table.

If it's packed it can't be an address. Could this field be a DB2 table
field?

Regards, Jack.




aaryam <member@mainframeforum.com> wrote in message news:<RbvUc.22870$kC6.13105@cyclops.nnt
pserver.com>...
> Hello:
>
> I need to move NULL or null value into a field in cobol.
>
> eg: I have a field called store-id PIC S99999V COMP-3. since I dont
> populate any value into it I need to move NULL into it. It shouldn't be
> zero. how do I do that in COBOL.
>
> please help
>
> RM

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 18:53:46 -0500, "JerryMouse" <nospam@bisusa.com>
wrote:

> If you can't do arithmetic on the value, it's not a number
>and shouldn't be defined as one.

Well said. For this reason, dates are not numeric.

> > I need to move NULL or null value into a field in cobol. 

COBOL does not have a NULL value.

You can have a numeric zero, or an alphanumeric string of binary zeroes or
spaces, but there is no such thing as

01   FILLER
06   THE-DATA   PIC anything VALUE IS NULL

or

MOVE NULL TO THE-DATA
or
SET THE-DATA  TO NULL

That said, external programs might _consider_ a value as NULL; e.g., a
string of binary zeroes might be _interpreted_ as a null string by a 'C'
language program; or (better example for COBOL programmers) setting a
database indicator value to SQL_NULL tells a database manager that the data
being supplied is to be considered NULL.

MCM

IBM Cobol, which this seems to be, does have a null value -- for
Pointers.

You can use:

SET THE-DATA TO NULL

as long as THE-DATA is defined as usage pointer.


In article <R4HUc.1293$kd2.961@newssvr15.news.prodigy.com>,
"Michael Mattias" <michael.mattias@gte.net> wrote:
 
>
> COBOL does not have a NULL value.
>
> You can have a numeric zero, or an alphanumeric string of binary zeroes or
> spaces, but there is no such thing as
>
> 01   FILLER
>     06   THE-DATA   PIC anything VALUE IS NULL
>
>  or
>
>    MOVE NULL TO THE-DATA
> or
>   SET THE-DATA  TO NULL
>
> That said, external programs might _consider_ a value as NULL; e.g., a
> string of binary zeroes might be _interpreted_ as a null string by a 'C'
> language program; or (better example for COBOL programmers) setting a
> database indicator value to SQL_NULL tells a database manager that the dat
a
> being supplied is to be considered NULL.
>
> MCM

On 17-Aug-2004, aaryam <member@mainframeforum.com> wrote:

> Hello:
>
> I need to move NULL or null value into a field in cobol.
>
> eg: I have a field called store-id PIC S99999V COMP-3. since I dont
> populate any value into it I need to move NULL into it. It shouldn't be
> zero. how do I do that in COBOL.
>
> please help

How does your subsequent program know that this COMP-3 field is null?