Adding Web Browsing to Your COBOL Applications

To add Web browsing to your COBOL applications, you include the Web address (or URL) in the VALUE clause of the DISPLAY WEB-BROWSER statement. For example:

display web-browser, value "www.microfocus.com"
   column 5, line 5, size 60, lines 20.

Using this method, your COBOL program can display Web pages containing HTML, scripting, ActiveX controls, Java applet content and more.

Alternatively, your COBOL program can send Internet Explorer to the user's predefined home page (the one defined in the user's control panel, Internet Properties setting). To do this, you use the GO-HOME feature of the WEB-BROWSER control, as in:

display web-browser, go-home = 1

Or, if you want to enable your users to search the Web, you can send the browser to Microsoft's Web portal site using the GO-SEARCH feature, as in:

display web-browser, go-search = 1

If desired, you can dynamically change the browser's location using the MODIFY verb. For instance, if your program displays a combo-box offering many different URL choices, you may need to MODIFY the location of the browser based on a user response (mouse click).

Modify web-browser, value  "www.cobol.com"