Embedded SQL/COBOL accepts the following declarations of numeric variables:

You can use any data items in the numeric category to assign and receive Ingres numeric data in database tables and forms. However, only use non‑scaled COMP, COMP‑3, COMP‑5, and DISPLAY items of 10 digit positions or less to specify simple numeric objects, such as table field row numbers. Generally, try to use COMP data items with no scaling to interact with Ingres integer‑valued objects, since the internal format of COMP data is compatible with Ingres integer data. Ingres effects the necessary conversions between all numeric data types, so the use of DISPLAY and COMP‑3 scaled data items is allowed. For more information on type conversion, see Data Type Conversion in this chapter.

Ingres supports data items declared with USAGE COMP‑5. When you specify this clause, the data item is stored in the same machine storage format as the native host processor rather than in the byte‑wise Micro Focus storage format. Of course, sometimes the two storage formats are identical. Since the Ingres runtime system that is linked into your COBOL runtime support module (RTS) is written in C, it is important that Ingres interact with native data types rather than Micro Focus data types. Consequently, many of your normal USAGE COMP data items are transferred (using COBOL MOVE statements) into internally declared Ingres USAGE COMP‑5 data items. Data items declared with this USAGE cause a compiler information message (209 ‑I) to occur.

Dynamic SQL requires that your program point directly at result data items. In that case, you may be required to use USAGE COMP‑5 data items, rather than having the option to use COMP or COMP-5. For details on dynamic SQL, see Dynamic Programming for COBOL in this chapter.