The ACUCOBOL-GT runtime system, referred to as runcbl in this booklet, runs the programs created by the compiler. Once compiled, programs are ready to run; no linking step is required. Programs compiled with ACUCOBOL-GT are machine transportable. The runtime accommodates for the differences between machines.
To run an ACUCOBOL-GT program, enter the following command, where runcbl represents the name of the runtime on your system:
runcbl [options] [program] [parameters]
Program is the name of the compiled program. Remote name notation is allowed for the name of the compiled program, if your runtime is client-enabled. If the name is omitted, it defaults to "cbl.out". The default name itself can be changed with the configuration file variable DEFAULT_PROGRAM.
Parameters are one or more arguments that can be passed to the program. These arguments are accessed through the CHAINING phrase of the Procedure Division header in the compiled program. If parameters are specified, then program must also be specified. Under VMS, parameters that are not in double quotes are converted to lower case. Enclose parameters in double quotes to preserve case sensitivity.
Options is a series of one or more of the following flags. These options must be preceded by a hyphen. You can specify more than one option by simply combining them. Option characters may be either upper or lower case.
The allowed options are:
| -# switches
| "switches" is a list of SPECIAL-NAMES switches to be turned on
|
| -a library
| Obsolete flag that should not be used
|
| -b
| Inhibits the terminal initialization; useful for running in background.
|
| -c filename
| Alternate configuration file name (used instead of default)
|
| -d
| Sets debugging mode
|
| -e filename
| File to be opened for error messages
Under UNIX systems, redirecting error output causes problems for "more" and "vi". For this reason, we offer two options for redirecting error messages under UNIX: "-e" causes all of the runtime's tracing and error messages and DISPLAY UPON SYSERR output to go to "errorfile". It does not redirect stderr. This means that error output from programs called by CALL "SYSTEM" is not redirected. If you call "more" or "vi" from within COBOL, you can safely use "-e" to redirect error messages. If you expect programs called by CALL "SYSTEM" to send their errors to the error file, use the option "-ee" instead of "-e". |
| +e filename
| File to which error messages are appended
|
| -f
| Suppresses warning messages in Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs on the
Internet.
|
| -h
| Ignores terminal hang-up signals.
|
| -i filename
| Keyboard input taken from filename
|
| -import
| Available for Windows and Windows NT systems. Requires the file
"WEXPRT32.DLL" to be installed in the same directory as the runtime. Imports graphical
screens created with ACUCOBOL-GT Version 3.x or AcuScreensTM. Prepares them for use
with the AcuBench Screen Designer.
|
| -k filename
| "Plays" filename as keystroke input script
|
| -l
| Lists contents of configuration file in error output
|
| +L
| Enables automatic looping with C$CHAIN; used only on MS-DOS systems
|
| --no-save-debug
| Prevents the debugger from reading the .adb file on start and writing to a new
.adb file on exit.
|
| -o filename
| File to be opened for display output
|
| +o filename
| File to which display output is appended
|
| -r filename
| Starts in debugger mode and runs under the command of filename
|
| -s
| Runs the program in "safe" mode (disables system's abort key). Use "-ss" on
UNIX only.
|
| -t
| Captures the runtime's terminal output to a disk file.
|
| -v
| Prints the current version number of runcbl, number of users licensed, and serial number. No program is run.
|
| -vv
| Prints the current version number of runcbl with extended information. No
program is run.
|
| -w
| Suppresses warning message when non-numeric data is used as numeric
|
| -x
| Displays extended error codes for file error "30"
|
| -y library
| Object file library
|
| -z
| After an unexpected runtime termination, causes the program to output the
current contents of memory where a memory access violation occurred
|
The end user may cooperate with the application developer to use some of the ACUCOBOL-GT debugging capabilities.
The runtime debugger supports three modes of operation: source debugging, symbolic debugging, and low-level debugging.
Source debugging offers the ability to view source code. Application developers usually do not deliver programs compiled in this mode to end users.
Symbolic debugging allows you to reference paragraphs and variables by their COBOL identifiers. The application developer may deliver code compiled in this mode in order to facilitate resolution of client questions over the phone.
Low-level debugging is available at any time even if the program was not compiled with any debugging options, but you must use absolute addresses to access variables.
The Trace Files (TF) command is operational in all modes and is particularly useful for tracking data-specific problems in complex applications.