Problem:

Release 4.0 With SP2 for Server Express the treatment of VALUE clauses in the FILE SECTION has changed.

Before it was used during program start up to initialize the data items with the desired values (line in WORKING-STORAGE), now it is ignored. Because this behaviour is documented, it cannot considered to be a bug.

Questions: Is it possible to get the old behaviour back (maybe by a compiler option)? Or what else solution can you provide to make our old programs run as before?

Example:

000100 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.

000200 PROGRAM-ID.    A.

000300 ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.

000400 INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.

000500 FILE-CONTROL.

000600     SELECT FQS001 ASSIGN TO XX

000700            ORGANIZATION IS LINE SEQUENTIAL.

000800 DATA DIVISION.

000900 FILE SECTION.

001000 FD  FQS001.

001100 01  RQS001    PIC X(80)  VALUE ALL "A".

001200 PROCEDURE DIVISION.

001300     DISPLAY RQS001.

001400     STOP RUN.

compile: cob -V a.cbl "-C defaultbyte(85)"

With SP1 the program will output ALL "A"

With SP2 the output will be ALL "U"

Resolution:

This used to be a bug in Server Express 4.0 and has now been rectified. This means therefore that you may have some wrong coding in your previous version taken over to your new version where this bug has been fixed.

Here is a workaround (asterisked out what is wrong):

file-control.

           select myfile assign "myfile".

data division.

file section.

fd myfile.

01 myrec.

03 myrec1  pic x(5) value "ABCDE".

03 myrec2  pic x(3).

working-storage section.

procedure division.

*    initialize myrec all to value

           open output myfile

           move "FGH" to myrec2

           write myrec

           close myfile

           open input myfile

           read myfile

               at end display "oops"

           end-read

           display "record contains:" myrec

*(output display "ABCDEFGH")

           close myfile

           stop run.