The following table summarizes the main advantages of the different executable file formats available in Visual COBOL.
| Advantages | File type |
|---|---|
| Operating system format | Callable shared object System executable Shared library |
| Executes quickly | Callable shared object Generated code System executable Shared library |
| Shareable | Callable shared object System executable Shared library |
| Used for mixed-language applications | Callable shared object System executable Shared library |
| Dynamically loaded and only run when called from a COBOL program | Callable shared object Generated code Intermediate code |
| Portable to other processors and operating systems | Intermediate code |
| Submodules can easily be replaced without relinking the entire application | Callable shared object Generated code Intermediate code Shared library |
All of the file formats can be used when debugging a program.