| # GCC COBOL Compatibility Functions |
| |
| ## Purpose |
| |
| It seems every COBOL compiler includes a library of functions intended |
| to make the COBOL programer's life easier. All of them, as we |
| demonstrate here, can be written in COBOL. They are supplied in COBOL |
| form, not as a library. The user is free to compile them into a |
| utility library. |
| |
| Some of the functions defined here require runtime support from libgcobol. |
| |
| ## Fri Oct 10 16:01:58 2025 |
| |
| At the time of this writing, the functions of greatest concern are |
| those that are defined by Rocket Software (formerly MicroFocus) and |
| emulated by GnuCOBOL. Those are implemented in |
| `gcc/cobol/compat/gnu/lib`. Any calls they would otherwise make to |
| the C library are effected through COBOL POSIX bindings supplied by |
| `gcc/cobol/posix/udf`. |
| |
| As an aid to the developer, a simple example of how these functions |
| are used is found in `gcc/cobol/compat/t/smoke.cbl`. It may by |
| compiled using `gcc/cobol/compat/Makefile`. |
| |
