The CODE clause specifies a two-character literal that identifies each print line as belonging to a specific report. 
            
            
               General Format
               
               
               
             
            
            
               Syntax Rules
               
               
               
                  
                  - Literal-1 must be a two-character nonnumeric literal. 
                     
                        
  Literal-1 may be replaced by a mnemonic-name specified in the special-names paragraph. See the OS/VS COBOL Language Reference for additional details. 
                        
                     
                   
                  
                  - If the CODE clause is specified for any report in a file, it must be specified for all reports in that file. 
 
                  
               
               
             
            
            
               General Rules
               
               
               
                  
                  - When the CODE clause is specified, literal-1 is automatically placed in the first two character positions of each report writer
                     logical record. 
                  
 
                  
                  - The positions occupied by literal-1 are not included in the description of the print line, but are included in the logical
                     record size.