Source Program Compare

Q:

What programming languages are supported by Source Program Compare, and how do you specify the language?

A:

There is a setting you use to specify the programming language, and you set that to the first letter of the language:

• For Assembler, columns 1 through 72 are compared. (This setting can also be used for PL/1 programs, or for JCL that has sequence numbers in columns 73-80.)
• For Cobol, columns 7 through 72 are compared.
• For JCL, columns 1 through 80 are compared.
• For RPG, columns 6 through 74 are compared.

Q:

Are sequence numbers required?

A:

The relevant part of the input from each file is stored in an internal array and lines can be compared without any sequence numbers.

Q:

If SPC will compare any two versions of an 80-byte file, why is it called "Source Program" compare?

A:

SPC has special options that make comparing program source files easier. You can ignore parts of the record that are not significant to the programming language. For example, only columns 7 through 72 are compared if you indicate the language is COBOL.