What was the primary purpose of CA MetaCOBOL?
CA MetaCOBOL was primarily used to preprocess COBOL source code, enabling features like conditional compilation, macro processing, and code generation. This allowed developers to write more maintainable and efficient COBOL programs.
What were some common operations performed with CA MetaCOBOL?
Common operations included defining and expanding macros using the `MCBL` command, including or excluding code sections based on conditions with `IF/ELSE/ENDIF` directives, and generating code based on templates. Configuration involved setting compiler options and defining macro libraries.
Did CA MetaCOBOL expose any APIs?
While CA MetaCOBOL itself did not expose APIs in the modern sense, it interacted with the COBOL compiler through preprocessed source code. The output of MetaCOBOL was standard COBOL code, which was then compiled using a standard COBOL compiler.
What were the main system components of CA MetaCOBOL?
The main components included the preprocessor engine, macro libraries, and configuration files. The preprocessor engine read the COBOL source code, processed MetaCOBOL directives, and generated standard COBOL code. Macro libraries contained reusable code snippets and templates.