cobol-source-lookup

COBOL Source Lookup Recipes

Use these recipes to find factual metadata in COBOL source. Each recipe gives the grep pattern, where to look, and common pitfalls.

Transaction ID

The transaction ID is the 4-character identifier for the program (CICS or IMS).

Where to look:

1. Any variable with TRANID or TRANSID in its name, with a VALUE clause in WORKING-STORAGE:

   Grep pattern: "TRANID|TRANSID" on the source file
   

   The VALUE clause contains the actual transaction ID (e.g., VALUE 'XXXX'). Common names: LIT-THISTRANID, WS-TRANID, LIT-TRANID, WS-TRANSACTION-ID.

2. EXEC CICS RETURN TRANSID(x) in PROCEDURE DIVISION:

   Grep pattern: "RETURN.*TRANSID" on the source file
   

   Resolve the variable x by looking up its VALUE in DATA DIVISION.

3. CSD definition files (.csd):

   Grep pattern: "DEFINE TRANSACTION" in CSD files
   

   Maps transaction ID to program name authoritatively.

Pitfalls:

• Do NOT infer transaction ID from SEND MAP or RECEIVE MAP -- those are screen operations, not transaction identifiers.
• Some programs reference multiple transaction IDs (e.g., menu programs that START other transactions). The program's OWN transaction ID is typically in a variable with "THIS" in the name (e.g., LIT-THISTRANID).
• Variables like *NEXTTRANID or *RETURNTRANID are NOT this program's transaction -- they reference the next program to invoke.

File / Dataset Names

CICS programs:

Grep pattern: "EXEC CICS.*(READ|WRITE|REWRITE|DELETE)" on the source file

Then find FILE(x) or DATASET(x) in the same EXEC CICS block. Resolve x against DATA DIVISION if it's a variable name (e.g., FILE(LIT-ACCTFILENAME) -- look up LIT-ACCTFILENAME VALUE to get ACCTDAT).

Batch programs:

Grep pattern: "OPEN (INPUT|OUTPUT|I-O|EXTEND)" on the source file

The file name follows the OPEN keyword. Cross-reference with SELECT ... ASSIGN TO in ENVIRONMENT DIVISION for physical file mapping.