Rules for Using Numeric Picture Data

The rules for using numeric picture data are as follows:

  1. A numeric picture cannot contain more than one sign character ('+', '–', 'S', 'T', 'I', 'R', 'CR', or 'DB') unless all such sign characters are part of a drifting string.
  2. When a zero value is assigned to a numeric pictured variable and the numeric picture does not contain at least one '9', the entire value is filled with blanks or with asterisks (*), depending on which zero-suppression character was used.
  3. When a nonzero value is assigned to a numeric pictured variable, and the 'V' is followed by zero-suppression characters or by part of a drifting string, the 'V' stops zero suppression. For example: 
    DECLARE A PICTURE 'ZZZV.ZZ'; 
DECLARE B PICTURE '***V.**CR';

    In this example, a value of . 01 assigned to A and B produces boxes and .boxes. A value of zero assigned to A and B produces boxes and ********.

  4. If a 'V' is not given, a 'V' is implied at the rightmost end of the numeric picture.
  5. Each '9', 'Z', or '*' is considered to be a digit of precision. Within a drifting string each 'S', '+', '–', or '$', except the first one, is considered to be a digit of precision. All digits of precision following the 'V' are fractional digits. For example: 
    DECLARE A PICTURE 'ZZZV.ZZ' 
DECLARE B PICTURE '---V.z--'

    In this example, A has a precision of (5,2), while B has a precision of (4,2).

  6. Negative values cannot be assigned to a numeric pictured variable unless the picture contains a 'CR', 'DB', '–', or 'S'. An error condition is signaled if a negative value is assigned to a numeric pictured variable that does not contain 'S', '+', '–', 'T', 'I', 'R', 'CR', or 'DB'.
  7. Values assigned to numeric pictured variables are truncated and aligned with the `V' as they would be when assigned to a fixed decimal variable of the equivalent precision.
  8. Used in contexts that expect an arithmetic value, or used with a relational operator, numeric pictured values are converted to fixed-point decimal values with a precision p and q that are determined by the numeric picture.
  9. A numeric pictured value is operated upon as if it were a character-string value only when it is assigned to a character-string variable, and when it is an operand of the concatenate operator or of a built-in function that expects character-string operands. In all other contexts, numeric pictured values are operated upon as if they were fixed-point decimal values.

Following are more examples of picture format output.

Example     Data