Configuring Your Application for Visual Studio

As an RM/COBOL user, you can modernize your applications for Visual COBOL by using the DIALECT"RM" Compiler directive, which enables compilation and run-time behavior highly compatible with RM/COBOL.
Note: If your RM/COBOL source code uses RM/Panels syntax, refer to the RM/Panels Conversion Example for your IDE instead.

This tutorial demonstrates migrating your RM/COBOL source code to Visual COBOL using the Visual Studio IDE. It takes you through creating a new project, setting the Compiler directive, and then importing the RM/COBOL source into the project.

There are three additional files included in your Visual COBOL installation that are intended for RM/COBOL modernizations: ADISCTRL, cobkeymp, and a .dir (directives) file. The first two files configure the Micro Focus enhanced ACCEPT/DISPLAY syntax run-time support module (Adis) for interactive programs. The directives file contains REMOVE directives, which un-reserves many Micro Focus COBOL reserved words that may be used within your RM/COBOL programs. This tutorial also takes you through utilizing those in your application.

  1. Create a Native Visual COBOL Project
    Create the solution and project in which your RM/COBOL source code will be imported.
  2. Set the DIALECT“RM” Compiler Directive for the Project
    Set the DIALECT"RM" directive at project level, so that it applies to all programs within the project.
  3. Import your RM/COBOL Source Code
    Import one or more of your source files into the project.
  4. Customizing the Reserved Words List
    There are words that may be in your RM/COBOL source code that are reserved in Micro Focus COBOL; their presence will cause syntax errors unless you remove them from the reserved words list.
  5. Add Adis Support to the Project
    Add Adis support to your project to alter the default behavior of the enhanced ACCEPT and DISPLAY statements in Micro Focus COBOL.
  6. Add the RM/COBOL Keyboard Configuration
    Add a keyboard configuration file to the project that sets the typical function key operations when executing ACCEPT statements in an RM/COBOL environment.
  7. Build and Run the Project
    Build the project(s) within the solution and then run the application.
  8. Appendices
Parent topic: Converting RM/COBOL Applications
Related reference
Conversion Example: Using Visual Studio