Indicator Variables

You can associate any host variable with an optional indicator variable. Each time the host variable is used in a SQL statement, a result code is stored in its associated indicator variable. Thus, indicator variables let you monitor host variables.

Indicator variables must be explicitly declared as PIC S9(4) COMP. Their references must be prefixed with a colon ":" in SQL statements and must immediately follow the host variable they refers to.

Possible values for indicator variables are:

Input	-1	The value of the host variable is ignored and NULL will be used, instead.
	>=0	The whole value of the host variable will be used, no matter the value of the indicator variable.
Output	-2	The column value does not fit the host variable, but the length of the column value cannot be determined.
	-1	The column value is NULL. The program may not use the value of the host variable.
	0	The column value fits the host variable.
	>0	The column value does not fit the host variable. The indicator variable value is the length, in characters for national items, of the column value.

Code example

The content of column1 is stored in the host variable named item1. The indicator variable ind1 is also set.

...   working-storage section.   ...   exec sql include SQLCA end-exec. 77 item1 pic 9(3). 77 ind1 pic s9(4) comp. ...   procedure division.   ...   exec sql select column1 into :item1:ind1 from table1 where column1 = 1 end-exec. ...

Note: an indicator variable is implicitly defined for every data-item with a Format 3 picture string.

The following definition:

01  item-1 PIC X(10) VARYING.

Is translated by the Compiler to:

01  item-1.     03  item-1-arr pic X(10).     03  item-1-len pic S9(4) COMP-5.