Microsoft KB Archive/38119

Record Is Locked Until READ or WRITE Different Record

PSS ID Number: Q38119 Article last modified on 11-19-1988

2.00 2.10 2.20 | 2.10 2.20 MS-DOS | XENIX

Summary: Page 398 of the “Microsoft COBOL Reference Manual” for Versions 2.x of either XENIX or MS-DOS, states the following: “The AUTOMATIC record LOCKING mode automatically locks any record that is the target of a READ statement. The same record is automatically unlocked by the next READ, WRITE, REWRITE, or CLOSE.” The first sentence is clear, but the phrasing of the second sentence may be misleading. The record is actually locked for as long as that record’s information is held in the FD Section variable name. To unlock a record you must read or write to a different record or CLOSE the file. This information applies to all versions of Microsoft COBOL and is just a clarification of the documentation.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1988.