MicroFocus COBOL data is similar to standard zoned decimal numeric data in that the last byte is a letter or symbol that contains the value's sign along with the last digit. MicroFocus COBOL data is only signed if it is negative. The last character conforms to this layout:

  p=0     u=5
  q=1     v=6
  r=2     w=7
  s=3     x=8
  t=4     y=9

For example, in MicroFocus Cobol the value -123 is written as 12s.

Beginning in SAS 9.2, a new informat VMSZNw.d reads this type of data.

Prior to SAS 9.2, this data can be read on VMS with the VMSZNw.d informat. On other operating systems, values can be read using the following sample code:

                                                                  
  data _null_;                                                         
    input mfc $char6.;                                                 
    len=length(mfc);                                                   
    substr(mfc,len,1)=translate(substr(mfc,len,1),                     
      '{ABCDEFGHI}JKLMNOPQR',                                          
      '0123456789pqrstuvwxy');                                         
    n=input(mfc,zd6.);                                                 
  put n=;                                                              
  cards;                                                               
  543210                                                               
  543211                                                               
  543212                                                               
  543213                                                               
  54321p                                                               
  54321q                                                               
  54321r                                                               
  54321s                                                               
  ;                                                                    
  run;                                                                 

Operating System and Release Information

Product Family	Product	System	Product Release		SAS Release
			Reported	Fixed*	Reported	Fixed*
SAS System	Base SAS	64-bit Enabled Solaris	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		64-bit Enabled HP-UX	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		z/OS	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		z/OS 64-bit	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft® Windows® for 64-Bit Itanium-based Systems	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter 64-bit Edition	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise 64-bit Edition	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit Edition	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft® Windows® for x64	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows XP Professional	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Windows Vista	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Windows Vista for x64	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		64-bit Enabled AIX	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		HP-UX IPF	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Linux	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Linux for x64	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		OpenVMS on HP Integrity	9.2		9.2 TS1M0
		Solaris for x64	9.2		9.2 TS1M0

* For software releases that are not yet generally available, the Fixed Release is the software release in which the problem is planned to be fixed.

As of SAS 9.2, the VMSZNw.d informat can read MicroFocus COBOL data. The last position of the number is a letter that represents the last digit of the value as well as the sign of the value.

---

/* The 'y' in the last position represents a 9 and makes the entire 
value negative */

data a;
infile datalines truncover;
input x vmszn5.;
datalines;
1234y
;
proc print;run;

Obs       x

1     -12349

Type:	Usage Note
Priority:
Topic:	SAS Reference ==> Informats ==> Date and Time ==> VMSZN Common Programming Tasks ==> Reading and Writing External Data

Date Modified:	2023-04-05 13:45:00
Date Created:	2005-11-21 13:22:22