IS SPECIAL-NAMES Clause

General Format

   [ IS SPECIAL-NAMES   {CURSOR        } ]
                        {CRT STATUS    }
                        {CHART STATUS  }
                        {SCREEN CONTROL}
                        {EVENT STATUS  }

Syntax Rule

The syntax is identical to declaring data-name in Special-Names with the indicated phrase. See Input-Output Section for more information.

General Rule

Only one data item can be declared for each Special-Names type. Items identified in the IS SPECIAL-NAMES phrase cannot appear in the Special-Names paragraph of the Environment Division. If there is a corresponding item, the declaration must be identical.

The advantage of the IS SPECIAL-NAMES syntax over naming the items in Special-Names is that a single COPY library can be used to include all of your commonly used Special-Names items. For example, you might have a COPY library that reads:

* Declare commonly used screen handling items

01  SCREEN-CONTROL IS SPECIAL-NAMES SCREEN CONTROL.
    03  ACCEPT-CONTROL     PIC 9.
    03  CONTROL-VALUE      PIC 999.

01  CURSOR-POSITION IS SPECIAL-NAMES CURSOR.
    03  CURSOR-ROW         PIC 999.
    03  CURSOR-COL         PIC 999.

77  CRT-STATUS IS SPECIAL-NAMES CRT STATUS PIC 9(5).