Decompile COBOL

[Beep]

I am trying to use a file that I have no FD for. How can I find out the file description of a COBOL file???

 

[gregsimpson]

I think you will get more help from the forum if you are able to specify what platform you are using and anything else such as which COBOL product you are using.

 

[Beep]

I'm sorry. I am trying to maintain old NCR code - We are using RM/COBOL 85 and I am now running this on a Windows 2000 Professional Workstation with an NT 4.0/Win 2000 network. All of the COBOL code is run using a menuing system called Easymenu (which uses JCL statements) - and some of the system was created using FlexGen. I have tried to fing the file description in FlexGen but I don't think that this program was created that way. I would like to use the same FD as another COBOL file but I have no source code for the programs that use it.

 

[k5tm]

There is no direct way for determining the record layout unless your application vendor compiled the programs with the symbol table information (the compiler's Y option). Most application vendors don't distribute symbol table info because it takes space and exposes the data layout to reverse engineering.

I think that FlexGen keeps a data dictionary around somewhere, so it may be possible that there is information in such a dictionary if the file you are interested in has been incorporated into the FlexGen scheme (e.g. for reporting purposes). The FlexGen folks might be able to help you.

Good luck. Tom Morrison