Static or Dynamic Call Option in Cobol

Depending on the linkage options, the object module of the calling program is linked with the object module of the called program “before or during” execution – referred to as static or dynamic linking.

Note : Even if your program is coded to call a program statically, the compiler can convert it to the dynamic call if system defaulted to DYNAM compiler options.

DYNAM- If we give this compiler option, we need to give only dynamic calls and no static calls in COBOL program.

NODYNAM – If we give this compiler option, we can give both static and dynamic calls in the COBOL program.

Static CALLs

In the static CALL, the COBOL program and all called programs are part of the same load module. When control is transferred, the called program already resides in storage, and a branch to it takes place. Subsequent executions of the CALL statement make the called program available in its last-used state unless the called program has the INITIAL attribute.

In Static all, a subroutine is called like:

CALL ‘A’ USING arguments

CALL statement specifies the name of the subroutine as a literal.

The compiler generates object code for this which will cause the linker to copy the object module a.obj into your executable when it is linked. So, if you modify “A” and recompile it, you must also relink all of the executables that call “A”, because the each of the executables contains its own copy of “A”.

Advantages:

• Fewer files are needed to distribute your application because your application can

be built into a single EXE file, or perhaps an EXE for your main, and a couple of DLLs for subordinate modules. This generally makes it simpler to distribute and/or upgrade your end users.

Note: A dynamic-link library (DLL) is a module that contains functions and data that can be used by another module (application or DLL).

• No risk of mixing/matching different versions of your called subroutines, because

they are bundled into your main program.

Dis-advantages:

• You must relink all of the EXE and DLL files in your application that use a statically linked subroutine in order to use the newer version of the subroutine.
• If your application contains DLLs that call a subroutine statically, each DLL will have its own copy of the subroutine, including the storage defined in the subroutine. As a result, your application uses more storage than necessary.
• If your application has multiple DLLs that use the same statically named subroutine, each DLL has its own copy of that subroutine and its storage. Therefore, if you set a value in the subroutine in one of the DLLs, it’s local to that DLL. The copy linked to the other DLLs will not know about this. This can be either a Good Thing or a Bad Thing, of course, but it’s definitely a trap for the unwary.

Dynamic CALLs

In the dynamic CALL, the called COBOL subprogram is not link-edited with the main program, but is instead link-edited into a separate load module, and, at run time, is loaded only when it is called.

When a dynamic CALL statement calls a subprogram that is not resident in storage, the subprogram is loaded from secondary storage into the region or partition containing the main program and a branch to the subprogram is performed. The first dynamic call to a subprogram within a run unit obtains a fresh copy of the subprogram. Subsequent calls to the same subprogram (by either the original caller or any other subprogram within the same run unit) result in a branch to the same copy of the subprogram in its last-used state, provided the subprogram does not possess the INITIAL attribute.

When a CANCEL statement is issued for a subprogram, the storage occupied by the subprogram is freed, and a subsequent call to the subprogram functions as though it were the first call. A subprogram can also be canceled from a program other than the original called

In COBOL, the dynamic form of a subroutine call is coded like this:

SUBROUTINE-A PIC X(8) VALUE ‘A’. . . .

CALL SUBROUTINE-A USING arguments

The dynamic form of the CALL statement specifies the name of the subroutine using a variable; the variable contains the name of the subroutine to be invoked. The difference is that the name of the subroutine is found in the variable SUBROUTINEA. The compiled code will cause the operating system to load the subroutine when it is required instead of incorporating it into the executable.

Advantages:

• You don’t need to relink your application if you change something in your subroutine; only the subroutine DLL needs to be relinked.
• All executables that call this subroutine will share the same DLL; both the code and data. Since your application only loads one copy of a dynamically called subroutine, it uses less memory.
• Changes in values contained within the dynamically called subroutine are available to all the DLLs that use it because they all share the same copy of the subroutine.

Disadvantages:

• Every dynamically called subroutine must be linked as a DLL (unless you use an import library to expose other entry points in a DLL). Therefore, if your application consists of hundreds of subroutines and they’re all called dynamically, you will need to distribute hundreds of DLLs.
• It’s possible to mix versions of your DLLs. This can be a problem both with distributing your application and with end-users installing updates improperly.
• If one of your DLLs is missing, you may not know about it until the user exercises some facility that tries to call that DLL. At that point, your application will terminate abnormally unless you handle this situation.
• If you CALL a DLL, CANCEL it, then CALL it again, you incur more I/O because the routine needs to be reloaded if you CANCEL it. This can slow down an application because it requires more disk activity
• If you mix and match static and dynamic calls to the same subroutine, your software might have several different versions in memory at once. Guess how much fun it will be trying to debug THAT mess?

Static or Dynamic:

Which call is better Static or Dynamic, the answer is it depends.

Static subroutines are nice, because your application can be built into a single EXE file or perhaps an EXE for your main, and a couple of DLLs for subordinate modules.

Dynamic subroutines are nice because you can manage memory differently and you can update a portion of your application by shipping a newer DLL instead of the entire application.

COBOL Blog: Click Here

IBM Reference: Click Here