Diagnostic Report

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Diagnostic Report

Lists incorrect source

The Diagnostic Report lists all source program lines found to contain a potential error condition. Each line listed is followed by a diagnostic message. The message identifies the problem portion of the COBOL statement with an asterisk (*), indicates the type of condition detected with a keyword indicator, and briefly describes the condition.

Sample report

PRANDEM2 DIAGNOSTIC LISTING DICTIONARY LOADER dd mmm yy 1425 PAGE 2 GEN-LN SOURCE CARD REMARKS 130000 MOVE SPACE TOO DETAIL-REC. * ($$$) SYNTAX ERROR

Diagnostic Report messages

The Diagnostic Report lists three types of diagnostic messages:

Syntax ($$$)

One of the following three messages appears following the $$$ indicator:

'Character-string' NOT ALLOWED
The character string reported is a valid COBOL keyword or expression, but it cannot be used where it appears.
PROCEDURE NOT FOUND
The operand of the PERFORM statement is undefined.
SYNTAX ERROR
The word or construction does not conform to COBOL syntax rules.

ANS, ANS68, ANS74

The appropriate form of the following diagnostic message appears following the ANS, ANS68, or ANS74 indicators:

ANS/ANS-68/ANS-74 DOES NOT ALLOW 'keyword'

The keyword reported violates ANS 1968 standards for COBOL (ANS-68), 1974 standards (ANS-74), or both 1968 and 1974 standards (ANS).

Logical flow (FLO)

One of the following messages appears following the FLO indicator:

```
ALTER TO procedure-name IN PROCEDURE
```
```
PERFORM procedure-name-1 THRU procedure-name-n
```
The ALTER statement causes the altered paragraph to transfer into the THRU range of a PERFORM procedure that does not contain the altered paragraph.

ALTER TO procedure-name OUT OF PROCEDURE
PERFORM procedure-name-1 THRU procedure-name-n
The ALTER statement sets the altered paragraph so that it will transfer out of the THRU range of the PERFORM procedure in which the altered paragraph resides.

```
ALTERED PARAGRAPH NEVER REACHED
```
This paragraph is never reached when the program is executed. The paragraph is altered however, by a statement that can be reached.
```
END OF PROC DIV REACHED
```
Program flow can fall through the end of the last paragraph of the PROCEDURE DIVISION. Program flow, should be ended by a STOP RUN statement.
```
GO TO procedure-name IN PROCEDURE
PERFORM procedure-name-1 THRU procedure-name-n
```
The GO TO statement resides outside the THRU range of the PERFORM procedure and transfers control to a paragraph inside the PERFORM procedure.
```
GO TO procedure-name OUT OF PROCEDURE
PERFORM procedure-name-1 THRU procedure-name-n
```
The GO TO statement transfers control out of the THRU range of the PERFORM in which the GO TO resides.
```
PARAGRAPH NEVER REACHED
```
Program flow cannot reach this paragraph during execution of the program
```
PERFORM EXIT BEFORE ENTRY
```
A statement of the form PERFORM procedure-name-1 THRU procedure-name-n has been found where the procedure-name-n precedes procedure-name-1 in the program.
```
PERFORM RANGE OVERLAPS
PERFORM procedure-name-1 THRU procedure-name-n
```
The range of this PERFORM statement overlaps the range of PERFORM procedure-name-1 THRU procedure-name-n. Either the two names have a common entry or exit, or one range is not completely nested in the other.
```
PROCEDURE EXIT NEVER REACHED
```
The procedure name in the statement flagged can never be reached at execution time. The name is referred to, however, by a statement of the form PERFORM procedure-name-1 THRU procedure-name-n. This message is also issued for a paragraph referred to by an ALTER statement of the form ALTER procedure-name-1 to procedure-name-2, where either procedure-name-1 or procedure-name-2 cannot be reached.
```
REACHED FROM LAST PARA/SECT AND
PERFORM procedure name-1 THRU procedure-name-2
```
Program flow can reach this statement in either of the following ways:
- From the end of the preceding paragraph or as the first paragraph of a performed chapter.
- From a PERFORM statement that refers to this paragraph as the entry point of the performed procedure.
```
SENTENCE NEVER REACHED
```
This sentence will never be reached during program execution.
```
STATEMENT NEVER REACHED
```
This statement (within a sentence) will never be reached during program execution.

Types of problems flagged

Note that with the exception of two of the three syntax messages, Diagnostic Report messages identify problems that normal COBOL compilation might not flag. These problems fall into two categories as follows:

Problem	Description
Compatibility	ANS messages flag areas of potential compatibility in successfully compiled programs that might be run through another compiler.
Logical flow	FLO messages flag potential flaws in logic that could not be detected by the COBOL compiler. For example, FLO diagnostics can aid in identifying statements that can never be reached during execution.

Syntax errors in compiled programs

Note that messages identifying syntax errors may be issued for programs that have compiled successfully. Such error messages usually identify minor differences in the syntax requirements enforced by the user's compiler and the Program Processor. For example, some compilers do not flag as erroneous COBOL statements that begin in column 8 instead of 12. The Program Processor flags such statements. If these syntax errors are not important to the user, they can be ignored.