COBCH1787 Data-name <name> at line <line-no> in the <description-name> is not declared; implicit definition created

A forward-referenced data-name was not declared in the source program. The compiler has created an implicit definition for the data item that is compatible with the reference.

The implicit definition does not have the external attribute except for the cases when the PADDING CHARACTER clause is associated with an external file or an OCCURS DEPENDING ON clause is associated with an external table.

The forward-referenced data-name may come from one of the following:

  • CRT STATUS clause
  • CURSOR clause
  • FILE STATUS clause
  • RELATIVE KEY phrase
  • PADDING CHARACTER clause
  • LINAGE clause
  • FOOTING, TOP, and BOTTOM phrases of the LINAGE clause
  • RECORD VARYING DEPENDING ON clause
  • VALUE OF CLAUSE
  • OCCURS DEPENDING ON clause

Definitions for the external-file-name data-name in the ASSIGN clause and the data-name in the VALUE OF FILE-ID clause are implicitly created without producing this error.