In order to store non-numeric data (like, LOW-VALUES or special codes) in numeric keys, this directive allows a data item that has been defined as numeric in the COBOL program to be treated as alphanumeric text (CHAR (n) n 1-max column length) in the database.

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Moving a non-numeric value such as "A234" into numeric fields without using the $EFD ALPHA directive will cause the field content to be treated as invalid data.

In the following example, the KEY IS code-key has been specified and the following record definition is present. CODE-NUM is a numeric value and is the key field, since group items are disregarded in the database.

Using the $EFD ALPHA directive will change a non-numeric value such as "A234" so that the record will not be rejected by the database, since "A234" is an alphanumeric value and CODE-NUM is a numeric value.

Now, the following operation can be used without worrying about rejection.