DATE{(format{separator})}
The DATE keyword is used in a free-form definition to indicate that the item has type date.
It must be the first keyword.
The parameter is optional. It specifies the date format and separator. See Date Data Type for information on the default format for date items.
In the following example,
field date_dft is defined as a date field with
the default format for the module, and
field date_mdy is defined
with *MDY as the format and hyphen as the separator.
DCL-S date_dft DATE;
DCL-S date_mdy DATE(*MDY-);