Code generation
Once the program has been designed, you can ask the IDE to generate the source code.
In order to generate FD/SL copybooks, in the Data page of the isCOBOL Explorer:
1. Right click on the fd name.
2. Choose Generate FD/SL from the pop-up menu.
In order to generate the code for the whole program, in the Structural page of the isCOBOL Explorer:
1. Click on the program name to select it.
2. Click the Generate Program button in the tool-bar.
or, alternatively
1. Right click on the program name..
2. Choose Generate Program from the pop-up menu
At this point, the quickest way to reach the generated source is:
1. Right click on the program name.
2. Choose View %Program%.cbl from the pop-up menu.
The IDE will automatically show the Code Editor with the generated source code inside.
Warning: any modification done inside the source code tagged areas (the blocks of code delimited by *begin and *end comments) will be lost during the next generation.
In order to configure which parts of the code must be generated in addition to the output format and other code generation options:
1. Click on the Window menu.
2. Choose Preferences.
3. Choose isCOBOL / Code Generator from the tree.
The Code Generator options also include Program Tag. In this panel its possible to choose one or more copybooks that must always be generated in the program’s Working Storage and Procedure Division.
When the code generation is completed, generated files are available in the source, screen and cpy folders of your project and they can be compiled, run and debugged as the standard COBOL programs. Refer to Compiling and Run and Debug for information about compiling and debugging programs.
Do not modify generated files directly. When you need to modify a Screen Program, always do it using designers and paragraph editors and then regenerate the code, otherwise your modification will be overwritten during the next code generation.