[open-cobol-list] NULL and EVALUATE

[Bill Klein]

First, I was in error (in an earlier post) when I indicated that "NULL" was
a figurative constant.  This may (or may not) be true for some extension to
the '85 Standard - but it is NOT true for the '02 Standard. 

Rather it is defined as "8.4.2.10 Predefined-address" (see page 98) 
   and/or
 "predefined object reference" (see page 96)

NEITHER of these is valid as the "Selection-subject" in an EVALUATE
statement.

See for example SR(1) on page 98 (for the NULL address)

"1) This format may be used only as a sending operand in an INITIALIZE or a
SET statement; as an argument in a program-prototype format CALL statement,
a function-prototype format function activation, or a method invocation; or
in a data-pointer or program-pointer relation-condition."

  ***

I am NOT certain about Micro Focus, but IBM *does* call NULL a figurative
constant - so it could be used as a selection-subject, see:
   http://publibz.boulder.ibm.com/cgi-bin/bookmgr_OS390/BOOKS/igy3lr20/1.3.7