VAX-11 COBOL-74

This document is the VAX-11 COBOL-74 Language Reference Manual, published in January 1979. It serves as a comprehensive guide for programmers already familiar with COBOL, detailing the language as implemented on the VAX-11 system and adhering to the 1974 ANSI COBOL standard (ANSI Document X3.23-1974).

The manual systematically outlines the COBOL language structure through its four main divisions:

1. Identification Division: Identifies the program and its source listing, including program IDs and compilation dates.
2. Environment Division: Describes the program's hardware environment, specifying source and object computers, and detailing input-output control, file organizations (sequential, relative, indexed), access modes (sequential, random, dynamic), and file status.
3. Data Division: Focuses on data description, covering file and record structures, data item characteristics, and various clauses like PICTURE, OCCURS, VALUE, REDEFINES, RENAMES, USAGE, SIGN, and SYNCHRONIZED.
4. Procedure Division: Outlines the executable logic of a COBOL program, defining statements, sentences, arithmetic and conditional expressions, and providing detailed descriptions of numerous COBOL verbs and their functionalities for data manipulation, input/output operations, and control flow (e.g., ACCEPT, ADD, CALL, CLOSE, DELETE, DISPLAY, DIVIDE, INSPECT, MOVE, MULTIPLY, OPEN, PERFORM, READ, REWRITE, SEARCH, SET, START, STOP, STRING, SUBTRACT, UNSTRING, USE, WRITE).

Beyond these core divisions, the document also covers the Library Module (Chapter 6), which addresses the copying of text from library files. It includes appendices listing COBOL reserved words, character sets (ASCII), and file status key values, along with a comprehensive glossary of COBOL terms.

The document is explicitly not a tutorial, but a reference for experienced COBOL programmers working on the VAX-11/VMS V01.5 and VAX-11 COBOL-74 V04 systems.