Using signs and currency symbols

The picture characters S, +, and – specify signs in numeric character data. The picture character $ (or the currency symbol) specifies a currency symbol in the character value of numeric character data. Only one type of sign character can appear in each field.

currency symbol

Specifies the currency symbol.

Consider the following example:

  dcl Price picture '$99V.99';
  Price = 12.45;

The character value of Price is '$12.45'. Its arithmetic value is 12.45.

For information about specifying a character as a currency symbol, refer to Defining currency symbols.

S

Specifies the plus sign character (+) if the data value is >=0; otherwise, it specifies the minus sign character (-). The rules are identical to those for the currency symbol.

Consider the following example:

  dcl Root picture 'S999';

The value 50 is held as '+050', the value 0 as '+000', and the value -243 as '-243'.

+

Specifies the plus sign character (+) if the data value is >=0; otherwise, it specifies a blank. The rules are identical to those for the currency symbol.

-

Specifies the minus sign character (-) if the data value is <0; otherwise, it specifies a blank. The rules are identical to those for the currency symbol.

Signs and currency symbols can be used in either a static or a drifting manner.