Preface

This document describes the features of the Pro*COBOL precompiler that apply to the Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.]

This Preface contains these topics:

• Intended Audience

• Documentation Accessibility

• Structure

• Related Documents

• Conventions

Intended Audience

Pro*COBOL Getting Started is intended for anyone who wants to use Pro*COBOL who perform the following tasks:

• Embed SQL statements in a COBOL program

• Build Oracle database applications with Pro*COBOL

To use this document, you need to:

• Know how to use a COBOL compiler in the Windows environment

• Be familiar with Windows commands such as deleting and copying files

• Understand the concepts of the search path, configuration files, and directory structure

• Be able to use a text editor to make changes to an ASCII text file

Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at

http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Structure

This document contains:

Chapter 1, " Introducing Pro*COBOL "

This chapter describes the Oracle programmatic interface for the COBOL language running on Windows NT and Windows 98 operating systems.

Chapter 2, " Building Pro*COBOL Applications"

This chapter contains Provides an overview of building Oracle database applications with Pro*COBOL.

Chapter 3, " Pro*COBOL for Windows "

This chapter provides information for the Pro*COBOL precompiler specific to Windows operating systems.

Related Documents

For more information, see these Oracle resources:

• Oracle Database Installation Guide for Windows

• Oracle Database Release Notes for Windows

• Oracle Database Platform Guide for Windows

• Oracle Enterprise Manager Administrator's Guide

• Oracle Net Services Administrator's Guide

• Oracle Real Application Clusters Quick Start

• Oracle Database New Features

• Oracle Database Reference

• Oracle Database Error Messages

• Pro*COBOL Programmer's Guide

Many books in the documentation set use the sample schemas of the seed database, which is installed by default when you install Oracle. Refer to Oracle Database Sample Schemas for information on how these schemas were created and how you can use them yourself.

Printed documentation is available for sale in the Oracle Store at

http://oraclestore.oracle.com/

To download free release notes, installation documentation, white papers, or other collateral, please visit the Oracle Technology Network (OTN). You must register online before using OTN; registration is free and can be done at

http://otn.oracle.com/membership/

If you already have a username and password for OTN, then you can go directly to the documentation section of the OTN Web site at

http://otn.oracle.com/documentation/

Conventions

This section describes the conventions used in the text and code examples of this documentation set. It describes:

• Conventions in Text

• Conventions in Code Examples

• Conventions for Windows Operating Systems

We use various conventions in text to help you more quickly identify special terms. The following table describes those conventions and provides examples of their use.

Code examples illustrate SQL, PL/SQL, SQL*Plus, or other command-line statements. They are displayed in a monospace (fixed-width) font and separated from normal text as shown in this example:

SELECT username FROM dba_users WHERE username = 'MIGRATE';

The following table describes typographic conventions used in code examples and provides examples of their use.

[ ]

DECIMAL (digits [ , precision ])

{ }

{ENABLE | DISABLE}

|

{ENABLE | DISABLE}
[COMPRESS | NOCOMPRESS]

...

CREATE TABLE ... AS subquery;

SELECT col1, col2, ... , coln FROM employees;

.
 .
 .

SQL> SELECT NAME FROM V$DATAFILE;
NAME
------------------------------------
/fsl/dbs/tbs_01.dbf
/fs1/dbs/tbs_02.dbf
.
.
.
/fsl/dbs/tbs_09.dbf
9 rows selected.

acctbal NUMBER(11,2);
acct    CONSTANT NUMBER(4) := 3;

Italics

CONNECT SYSTEM/system_password
DB_NAME = database_name

UPPERCASE

SELECT last_name, employee_id FROM employees;
SELECT * FROM USER_TABLES;
DROP TABLE hr.employees;

lowercase

SELECT last_name, employee_id FROM employees;
sqlplus hr/hr
CREATE USER mjones IDENTIFIED BY ty3MU9;

The following table describes conventions for Windows operating systems and provides examples of their use.

c:\winnt"\"system32 is the same as C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32

C:\oracle\oradata>

C:\>exp scott/tiger TABLES=emp QUERY=\"WHERE job='SALESMAN' and sal<1600\"
C:\>imp SYSTEM/password FROMUSER=scott TABLES=(emp, dept)

HOME_NAME

C:\> net start OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener