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Expansion of Host-variable

The expanded parameters of host-variable identify declared program variables.

Syntax

Expansion of host-variable

►►─── :host-variable-name ─┬──────────────────────────────────────┬───────────►◄
                           └─ indicator :indicator-variable-name ─┘
Parameters
:host-variable-name

Identifies the name of a host variable previously declared to the program.

indicator :indicator-variable

Identifies the name of a host variable previously declared to the program to serve as an indicator variable.

Indicator-variable must reference a variable that was declared with a numeric data type.

Usage

A Colon Must Precede the Variable Name

When you reference a host variable in an SQL statement, you must precede the variable name with a colon (:).

No Comma Between Host and Indicator Variables

There is no required separator between a host variable and its associated indicator variable when they are referenced in an SQL statement. The only valid separator is the optional keyword indicator.

Non-bulk Structure in COBOL

In certain SQL statements embedded in a COBOL application program, host-variable may refer to a non-bulk structure defined in the host program.

Note: For more information about commas as separators, see the CA IDMS SQL Programming Guide.

Example

The following SELECT statement retrieves data into host variables. BIRTH-DATE-I is an indicator variable that is associated with BIRTH-DATE-HOST because the BIRTH_DATE column may contain null values.

EXEC SQL
   SELECT DEPT_ID, DEPT_NAME, EMP_ID
      INTO :DEPT-ID-HOST,
           :DEPT-NAME-HOST,
           :EMP-ID-HOST,
           :BIRTH-DATE-HOST :BIRTH-DATE-I
      FROM DEPARTMENT D, EMPLOYEE E
      WHERE D.DEPT_ID = E.DEPT_ID
END-EXEC