Special Registers LIN and COL

LIN and COL are intended to be used for specifying the line number and column number, respectively, of the current cursor position on the screen. Together they form part of the position-spec phrase which is supported in the ACCEPT, DISPLAY and EXHIBIT statements documented later in this chapter. You must set the MS Compiler directive when you submit your source code to your COBOL system if it contains these registers.

The format of both LIN and COL is PIC S9(4) COMP. They are used like ordinary data items, except that they must not be declared; they are automatically declared by the system. You must set them to the desired values before using them in the position-spec phrase.

Note that COL, the abbreviation for COLUMN, is not available as a COBOL reserved word if the MS Compiler directive is set.