COBOL - WHEN-COMPILED Statement

The WHEN-COMPILED special register contains the date at the start of the compilation.

WHEN-COMPILED is an alphanumeric data item that has the implicit definition.

01  WHEN-COMPILED GLOBAL PICTURE X(16) USAGE DISPLAY.

The WHEN-COMPILED special register has the format.

MM/DD/YYhh.mm.ss (MONTH/DAY/YEARhour.minute.second)

For example, if compilation began at 2:04 PM on 15 October 2007, WHEN-COMPILED would contain the value 10/15/0714.04.00.

Tips:

1. WHEN-COMPILED can be used only as the sending field in a MOVE statement.
   
   
2. WHEN-COMPILED special register data cannot be reference-modified.

The compilation date and time can also be accessed with the intrinsic function WHEN-COMPILED. That function supports four-digit year values and provides additional information.

The WHEN-COMPILED function returns the date and time the program was compiled as provided by the system on which the program was compiled. The function type is alphanumeric.

FUNCTION WHEN-COMPILED

The returned value is the date and time of compilation of the source program that contains this function.

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