[open-cobol-list] Binary pictures

[Dave Stratford]

Hi folks,

I'm a newcomer to this mail-list but I've been using cobol since 1981. The
version of cobol I use at work has what I guess must be a slightly unusual
addition in that I can specify binary bit pictures as follows:

03  WS-BIT-1              PIC 1 COMP-5.

The largest PICTURE for a single COMP-5 item is PIC S1(63) or PIC 1(64),
so up to two words in size. These items can span byte and word boundaries
when they are part of a group item, and can generally be treated as any
other numeric item, with the obvious limitation of the size. It's
perfectly possible, and valid, to have a picture of S1 COMP-5 which would
allow values of -1,0 and +1 in a two bit field. More normal usage though
is to use bit filed unsigned, so that (IDMSX) database keys, for instance,
are almost always defined as PIC 1(32) COMP-5.

It's only occasionally useful, but when it is it's very useful. Is this
possible in Open COBOL?

Many thanks,

Dave