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Micro Focus Visual COBOL 2.3 for Visual Studio 2015 > General Reference > Compiler Directives > Compiler Directives - Alphabetical List > SYMBSTART
Micro Focus Visual COBOL 2.3 for Visual Studio 2015 > General Reference > Compiler Directives > Run-time Behavior > Run-time Behavior - Compatibility with Other COBOL Dialects > SYMBSTART

SYMBSTART

Sets the number from which the Compiler counts positions in the collating sequence when compiling the SYMBOLIC CHARACTERS clause.

Syntax:

>>-.---.--SYMBSTART--"integer"-------------><
   +-/-+

Parameters:

integer The number to be used.

Properties:

Default: SYMBSTART"1" (Dialect)
Phase: Syntax check
$SET: Initial

Comments:

For ANSI conformance use SYMBSTART"1"; for compatibility with previous products use SYMBSTART"0".

Example:

With SYMBSTART"1", the COBOL statement: 

symbolic characters bee is 67

declares a symbolic character bee representing "B" since, counting from 1, "B" is the 67th character in the ASCII collating sequence. With SYMBSTART"0", bee represents "C".

Parent topic: Run-time Behavior - Compatibility with Other COBOL Dialects
Parent topic: Compiler Directives - Alphabetical List
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