On Wed, 6 Jan 2021 08:25:33 -0000 (UTC), Martin Gregorie
 declaimed the following:


>
>COBOL is another language that historically tended to support only the
>latest syntax, which is a pain since source files can be huge. I've
>worked on COBOL program modules that ran to over 5000 lines back in the
>day, i.e before 1978, when COBOL didn't yet support writing separately
>compiled subroutines (no LINKAGE SECTION), though AFAIK COBOL has always
>supported calling subroutines written in other languages).

 LINKAGE SECTION was part of the COBOL-74 standard, and I recall it
existed on the Xerox Sigma-6 COBOL that was used at my college when I
attended (76-80). Our assignments may not have used it -- or we only had a
short intro to the concept.

 However, I'm fairly certain my college compiler did not support "copy
books"... And since that time-frame meant 24x80 text terminals, and line
mode text editors, one would have to manually duplicate the section from a
listing... Or write the program on the IBM 029 card punch -- feeding the
linkage section into it in duplicate mode, then inserting the copy into the
second file...



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 Wulfraed                 Dennis Lee Bieber         AF6VN
 wlfraed@ix.netcom.com    http://wlfraed.microdiversity.freeddns.org/

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