Undeclared Data Items in Clauses

In Visual COBOL, you receive a COBCH0250 STATUS field data-name missing or illegal error if a data item used in the File Status clause is not declared in the Working-Storage section. In RM/COBOL, you do not have to declare the data item in Working Storage.

With the DIALECT"RM" directive, serious error COBCH0250 is no longer generated by Visual COBOL for the undeclared items. Instead, a non-serious COBCH1787 is generated. This error can be suppressed or ignored. It indicates that a default definition has been provided. The default definition is the same as the one supplied by RM/COBOL, but it might not be the desired definition. If it is not the desired definition, modify your program to define the data item as desired.