The ALTER statement represents one of COBOL's most controversial and historically significant program control mechanisms, serving as a dynamic tool for modifying program flow by changing the destination of GO TO statements during program execution. While considered a legacy feature and generally discouraged in modern programming practices, the ALTER statement embodies COBOL's early approach to dynamic program control by providing runtime modification of transfer points, conditional flow redirection, and adaptive program behavior that enabled early business applications to implement complex decision logic and state-dependent processing patterns before the advent of modern structured programming constructs and sophisticated control flow mechanisms that are now standard in contemporary COBOL development environments.
In historical computing contexts, the ALTER statement served as a critical mechanism for implementing dynamic program behavior, enabling developers to create adaptive business applications that could modify their execution paths based on runtime conditions, user preferences, configuration settings, and business rule changes. While modern COBOL development strongly favors structured programming techniques such as EVALUATE statements, nested IF constructs, and PERFORM procedures, understanding the ALTER statement remains essential for maintaining legacy systems, comprehending historical code bases, and appreciating the evolution of COBOL programming practices from early dynamic control mechanisms to contemporary structured programming paradigms that emphasize code clarity, maintainability, and debugging efficiency over dynamic runtime modification capabilities.
123456789101112131415161718192021*> Basic ALTER statement syntax ALTER paragraph-name-1 TO PROCEED TO paragraph-name-2. *> Example: Basic flow modification MAIN-PROCESSING. ALTER DECISION-POINT TO PROCEED TO PROCESS-OPTION-A. GO TO DECISION-POINT. DECISION-POINT. GO TO PROCESS-OPTION-B. PROCESS-OPTION-A. DISPLAY "Processing Option A". GO TO END-PROCESSING. PROCESS-OPTION-B. DISPLAY "Processing Option B". GO TO END-PROCESSING. END-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "Processing completed".
Basic ALTER syntax modifies the destination of a GO TO statement at runtime.
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344*> Conditional ALTER based on data values 01 PROCESSING-MODE PIC X(10). 88 BATCH-MODE VALUE "BATCH". 88 INTERACTIVE-MODE VALUE "INTERACT". 88 TEST-MODE VALUE "TEST". SETUP-PROCESSING. EVALUATE PROCESSING-MODE WHEN "BATCH" ALTER MAIN-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO BATCH-PROCESSING WHEN "INTERACT" ALTER MAIN-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO INTERACTIVE-PROCESSING WHEN "TEST" ALTER MAIN-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO TEST-PROCESSING WHEN OTHER ALTER MAIN-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO ERROR-PROCESSING END-EVALUATE. GO TO MAIN-SWITCH. MAIN-SWITCH. GO TO DEFAULT-PROCESSING. BATCH-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "Executing batch processing mode". GO TO END-MAIN. INTERACTIVE-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "Executing interactive processing mode". GO TO END-MAIN. TEST-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "Executing test processing mode". GO TO END-MAIN. ERROR-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "Unknown processing mode". GO TO END-MAIN. DEFAULT-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "Default processing (should not reach here)". END-MAIN. DISPLAY "Main processing completed".
Conditional ALTER statements enable dynamic flow control based on runtime conditions.
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061626364*> Multiple ALTER statements for complex flow control 01 ERROR-COUNT PIC 9(3) VALUE 0. 01 RETRY-COUNT PIC 9(2) VALUE 0. 01 MAX-RETRIES PIC 9(2) VALUE 3. INITIALIZE-FLOW-CONTROL. *> Set up initial flow paths ALTER ERROR-HANDLER TO PROCEED TO FIRST-ERROR-ATTEMPT. ALTER RETRY-HANDLER TO PROCEED TO NORMAL-RETRY. ALTER SUCCESS-HANDLER TO PROCEED TO NORMAL-SUCCESS. PROCESS-WITH-ERROR-HANDLING. PERFORM ATTEMPT-OPERATION. IF OPERATION-SUCCESSFUL GO TO SUCCESS-HANDLER ELSE ADD 1 TO ERROR-COUNT GO TO ERROR-HANDLER END-IF. ERROR-HANDLER. GO TO FIRST-ERROR-ATTEMPT. FIRST-ERROR-ATTEMPT. DISPLAY "First error encountered, attempting recovery". ALTER ERROR-HANDLER TO PROCEED TO SECOND-ERROR-ATTEMPT. GO TO RETRY-HANDLER. SECOND-ERROR-ATTEMPT. DISPLAY "Second error encountered, escalating". ALTER ERROR-HANDLER TO PROCEED TO FINAL-ERROR-ATTEMPT. GO TO RETRY-HANDLER. FINAL-ERROR-ATTEMPT. DISPLAY "Final error attempt, terminating". ALTER ERROR-HANDLER TO PROCEED TO ABORT-PROCESSING. GO TO RETRY-HANDLER. RETRY-HANDLER. GO TO NORMAL-RETRY. NORMAL-RETRY. ADD 1 TO RETRY-COUNT. IF RETRY-COUNT < MAX-RETRIES DISPLAY "Retrying operation, attempt: " RETRY-COUNT GO TO PROCESS-WITH-ERROR-HANDLING ELSE DISPLAY "Maximum retries exceeded" GO TO ABORT-PROCESSING END-IF. SUCCESS-HANDLER. GO TO NORMAL-SUCCESS. NORMAL-SUCCESS. DISPLAY "Operation completed successfully". GO TO END-PROCESSING. ABORT-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "Processing aborted due to errors". END-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "End of processing".
Multiple ALTER statements can create complex dynamic flow control patterns.
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419420421422423424425IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. ALTER-DEMO. DATA DIVISION. WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. *> Configuration and control variables 01 SYSTEM-CONFIGURATION. 05 PROCESSING-TYPE PIC X(15). 88 DEVELOPMENT-MODE VALUE "DEVELOPMENT". 88 PRODUCTION-MODE VALUE "PRODUCTION". 88 MAINTENANCE-MODE VALUE "MAINTENANCE". 88 EMERGENCY-MODE VALUE "EMERGENCY". 05 ERROR-HANDLING-LEVEL PIC 9(1). 88 BASIC-ERRORS VALUE 1. 88 DETAILED-ERRORS VALUE 2. 88 VERBOSE-ERRORS VALUE 3. 05 LOGGING-ENABLED PIC X(1). 88 LOGGING-ON VALUE "Y". 88 LOGGING-OFF VALUE "N". *> Processing statistics 01 PROCESSING-STATISTICS. 05 RECORDS-PROCESSED PIC 9(7) VALUE 0. 05 ERRORS-ENCOUNTERED PIC 9(5) VALUE 0. 05 WARNINGS-GENERATED PIC 9(5) VALUE 0. 05 FLOW-ALTERATIONS PIC 9(4) VALUE 0. *> Dynamic flow control flags 01 FLOW-CONTROL-FLAGS. 05 CURRENT-FLOW-STATE PIC X(20). 05 PREVIOUS-FLOW-STATE PIC X(20). 05 FLOW-CHANGE-REASON PIC X(50). 05 ALTER-TRACE-ENABLED PIC X(1) VALUE "Y". 88 TRACE-ON VALUE "Y". 88 TRACE-OFF VALUE "N". *> Sample business data 01 BUSINESS-DATA. 05 CUSTOMER-RECORD. 10 CUSTOMER-ID PIC X(10). 10 CUSTOMER-NAME PIC X(30). 10 ACCOUNT-STATUS PIC X(10). 10 CREDIT-RATING PIC X(5). 05 TRANSACTION-RECORD. 10 TRANSACTION-ID PIC X(15). 10 TRANSACTION-TYPE PIC X(10). 10 AMOUNT PIC S9(8)V99. 10 STATUS-CODE PIC X(5). *> Error handling variables 01 ERROR-HANDLING-DATA. 05 CURRENT-ERROR-CODE PIC X(10). 05 ERROR-DESCRIPTION PIC X(100). 05 ERROR-SEVERITY PIC X(10). 05 RECOVERY-ACTION PIC X(50). PROCEDURE DIVISION. MAIN-PROCESSING. DISPLAY "=== ALTER Statement Demonstration ===". DISPLAY " ". PERFORM INITIALIZE-SYSTEM-CONFIGURATION PERFORM SETUP-DYNAMIC-FLOW-CONTROL PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-BASIC-ALTER PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-CONDITIONAL-ALTER PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-COMPLEX-FLOW-CONTROL PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-ERROR-HANDLING-ALTER PERFORM DISPLAY-PROCESSING-STATISTICS DISPLAY " ". DISPLAY "ALTER statement demonstration completed". STOP RUN. INITIALIZE-SYSTEM-CONFIGURATION. DISPLAY "1. Initializing System Configuration:". DISPLAY " ==================================". *> Set initial configuration MOVE "DEVELOPMENT" TO PROCESSING-TYPE. MOVE 2 TO ERROR-HANDLING-LEVEL. MOVE "Y" TO LOGGING-ENABLED. DISPLAY " Processing Type: " PROCESSING-TYPE. DISPLAY " Error Handling Level: " ERROR-HANDLING-LEVEL. DISPLAY " Logging Enabled: " LOGGING-ENABLED. DISPLAY " ". SETUP-DYNAMIC-FLOW-CONTROL. DISPLAY "2. Setting Up Dynamic Flow Control:". DISPLAY " =================================". *> Initialize flow control based on configuration EVALUATE TRUE WHEN DEVELOPMENT-MODE ALTER MAIN-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO DEVELOPMENT-PROCESSING MOVE "DEVELOPMENT-FLOW" TO CURRENT-FLOW-STATE DISPLAY " Flow configured for development mode" WHEN PRODUCTION-MODE ALTER MAIN-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO PRODUCTION-PROCESSING MOVE "PRODUCTION-FLOW" TO CURRENT-FLOW-STATE DISPLAY " Flow configured for production mode" WHEN MAINTENANCE-MODE ALTER MAIN-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO MAINTENANCE-PROCESSING MOVE "MAINTENANCE-FLOW" TO CURRENT-FLOW-STATE DISPLAY " Flow configured for maintenance mode" WHEN EMERGENCY-MODE ALTER MAIN-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO EMERGENCY-PROCESSING MOVE "EMERGENCY-FLOW" TO CURRENT-FLOW-STATE DISPLAY " Flow configured for emergency mode" WHEN OTHER ALTER MAIN-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO DEFAULT-PROCESSING MOVE "DEFAULT-FLOW" TO CURRENT-FLOW-STATE DISPLAY " Flow configured for default mode" END-EVALUATE. ADD 1 TO FLOW-ALTERATIONS. DISPLAY " ". DEMONSTRATE-BASIC-ALTER. DISPLAY "3. Basic ALTER Demonstration:". DISPLAY " ===========================". DISPLAY " Initial flow destination set, executing...". GO TO MAIN-FLOW-SWITCH. MAIN-FLOW-SWITCH. GO TO DEFAULT-PROCESSING. DEVELOPMENT-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Executing development processing logic". DISPLAY " - Enhanced debugging enabled". DISPLAY " - Verbose logging active". DISPLAY " - Test data validation". ADD 1 TO RECORDS-PROCESSED. GO TO CONTINUE-DEMONSTRATION. PRODUCTION-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Executing production processing logic". DISPLAY " - Optimized performance mode". DISPLAY " - Standard error handling". DISPLAY " - Audit trail enabled". ADD 1 TO RECORDS-PROCESSED. GO TO CONTINUE-DEMONSTRATION. MAINTENANCE-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Executing maintenance processing logic". DISPLAY " - System diagnostics enabled". DISPLAY " - Resource monitoring active". DISPLAY " - Backup procedures initiated". ADD 1 TO RECORDS-PROCESSED. GO TO CONTINUE-DEMONSTRATION. EMERGENCY-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Executing emergency processing logic". DISPLAY " - Critical operations only". DISPLAY " - Maximum error tolerance". DISPLAY " - Emergency notifications sent". ADD 1 TO RECORDS-PROCESSED. GO TO CONTINUE-DEMONSTRATION. DEFAULT-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Executing default processing logic". DISPLAY " - Standard operations". DISPLAY " - Normal error handling". ADD 1 TO RECORDS-PROCESSED. CONTINUE-DEMONSTRATION. DISPLAY " ". DEMONSTRATE-CONDITIONAL-ALTER. DISPLAY "4. Conditional ALTER Demonstration:". DISPLAY " =================================". *> Simulate different error conditions MOVE "ERR001" TO CURRENT-ERROR-CODE. MOVE "Database connection timeout" TO ERROR-DESCRIPTION. MOVE "WARNING" TO ERROR-SEVERITY. DISPLAY " Simulating error condition: " CURRENT-ERROR-CODE. DISPLAY " Error description: " ERROR-DESCRIPTION. DISPLAY " Severity: " ERROR-SEVERITY. *> Alter flow based on error severity EVALUATE ERROR-SEVERITY WHEN "WARNING" ALTER ERROR-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO WARNING-HANDLER MOVE "Warning processing flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN "ERROR" ALTER ERROR-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO ERROR-HANDLER MOVE "Error processing flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN "CRITICAL" ALTER ERROR-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO CRITICAL-HANDLER MOVE "Critical error processing flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN OTHER ALTER ERROR-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO UNKNOWN-ERROR-HANDLER MOVE "Unknown error processing flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON END-EVALUATE. ADD 1 TO FLOW-ALTERATIONS. DISPLAY " Flow altered: " FLOW-CHANGE-REASON. GO TO ERROR-FLOW-SWITCH. ERROR-FLOW-SWITCH. GO TO UNKNOWN-ERROR-HANDLER. WARNING-HANDLER. DISPLAY " Processing warning condition". DISPLAY " - Logging warning message". DISPLAY " - Continuing normal processing". ADD 1 TO WARNINGS-GENERATED. GO TO CONTINUE-CONDITIONAL-DEMO. ERROR-HANDLER. DISPLAY " Processing error condition". DISPLAY " - Attempting error recovery". DISPLAY " - Notifying system administrator". ADD 1 TO ERRORS-ENCOUNTERED. GO TO CONTINUE-CONDITIONAL-DEMO. CRITICAL-HANDLER. DISPLAY " Processing critical error condition". DISPLAY " - Initiating emergency procedures". DISPLAY " - Escalating to management". ADD 1 TO ERRORS-ENCOUNTERED. GO TO CONTINUE-CONDITIONAL-DEMO. UNKNOWN-ERROR-HANDLER. DISPLAY " Processing unknown error condition". DISPLAY " - Using default error handling". ADD 1 TO ERRORS-ENCOUNTERED. CONTINUE-CONDITIONAL-DEMO. DISPLAY " ". DEMONSTRATE-COMPLEX-FLOW-CONTROL. DISPLAY "5. Complex Flow Control Demonstration:". DISPLAY " ====================================". *> Simulate complex business logic with multiple decision points MOVE "CUST001" TO CUSTOMER-ID. MOVE "JOHN DOE" TO CUSTOMER-NAME. MOVE "ACTIVE" TO ACCOUNT-STATUS. MOVE "AAA" TO CREDIT-RATING. DISPLAY " Processing customer: " CUSTOMER-ID " - " CUSTOMER-NAME. DISPLAY " Account status: " ACCOUNT-STATUS. DISPLAY " Credit rating: " CREDIT-RATING. *> Set up complex flow based on customer data EVALUATE ACCOUNT-STATUS WHEN "ACTIVE" EVALUATE CREDIT-RATING WHEN "AAA" ALTER CUSTOMER-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO PREMIUM-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING MOVE "Premium customer flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN "AA" THRU "BBB" ALTER CUSTOMER-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO STANDARD-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING MOVE "Standard customer flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN OTHER ALTER CUSTOMER-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO BASIC-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING MOVE "Basic customer flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON END-EVALUATE WHEN "SUSPENDED" ALTER CUSTOMER-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO SUSPENDED-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING MOVE "Suspended customer flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN "CLOSED" ALTER CUSTOMER-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO CLOSED-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING MOVE "Closed customer flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN OTHER ALTER CUSTOMER-FLOW-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO UNKNOWN-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING MOVE "Unknown customer status flow" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON END-EVALUATE. ADD 1 TO FLOW-ALTERATIONS. DISPLAY " Flow decision: " FLOW-CHANGE-REASON. GO TO CUSTOMER-FLOW-SWITCH. CUSTOMER-FLOW-SWITCH. GO TO UNKNOWN-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. PREMIUM-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Premium customer processing activated". DISPLAY " - VIP service level". DISPLAY " - Enhanced credit limits". DISPLAY " - Priority support queue". GO TO END-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. STANDARD-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Standard customer processing activated". DISPLAY " - Regular service level". DISPLAY " - Standard credit limits". DISPLAY " - Normal support queue". GO TO END-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. BASIC-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Basic customer processing activated". DISPLAY " - Basic service level". DISPLAY " - Limited credit options". DISPLAY " - Standard support". GO TO END-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. SUSPENDED-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Suspended customer processing activated". DISPLAY " - Account review required". DISPLAY " - Limited transaction access". DISPLAY " - Compliance verification needed". GO TO END-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. CLOSED-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Closed customer processing activated". DISPLAY " - Account closure procedures". DISPLAY " - Final statement generation". DISPLAY " - Archive customer data". GO TO END-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. UNKNOWN-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Unknown customer status processing". DISPLAY " - Manual review required". DISPLAY " - Status verification needed". END-CUSTOMER-PROCESSING. ADD 1 TO RECORDS-PROCESSED. DISPLAY " ". DEMONSTRATE-ERROR-HANDLING-ALTER. DISPLAY "6. Error Handling ALTER Demonstration:". DISPLAY " ====================================". *> Demonstrate dynamic error handling flow DISPLAY " Setting up dynamic error handling based on configuration". EVALUATE ERROR-HANDLING-LEVEL WHEN 1 ALTER ERROR-PROCESSING-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO BASIC-ERROR-PROCESSING MOVE "Basic error handling" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN 2 ALTER ERROR-PROCESSING-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO DETAILED-ERROR-PROCESSING MOVE "Detailed error handling" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN 3 ALTER ERROR-PROCESSING-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO VERBOSE-ERROR-PROCESSING MOVE "Verbose error handling" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON WHEN OTHER ALTER ERROR-PROCESSING-SWITCH TO PROCEED TO DEFAULT-ERROR-PROCESSING MOVE "Default error handling" TO FLOW-CHANGE-REASON END-EVALUATE. ADD 1 TO FLOW-ALTERATIONS. DISPLAY " Error handling flow: " FLOW-CHANGE-REASON. *> Simulate an error condition MOVE "SYS500" TO CURRENT-ERROR-CODE. MOVE "System resource exhaustion" TO ERROR-DESCRIPTION. DISPLAY " Simulating error: " CURRENT-ERROR-CODE. GO TO ERROR-PROCESSING-SWITCH. ERROR-PROCESSING-SWITCH. GO TO DEFAULT-ERROR-PROCESSING. BASIC-ERROR-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Basic error processing:". DISPLAY " - Error logged: " CURRENT-ERROR-CODE. DISPLAY " - Standard recovery attempted". GO TO END-ERROR-PROCESSING. DETAILED-ERROR-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Detailed error processing:". DISPLAY " - Error code: " CURRENT-ERROR-CODE. DISPLAY " - Description: " ERROR-DESCRIPTION. DISPLAY " - Stack trace captured". DISPLAY " - Recovery procedures initiated". GO TO END-ERROR-PROCESSING. VERBOSE-ERROR-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Verbose error processing:". DISPLAY " - Error code: " CURRENT-ERROR-CODE. DISPLAY " - Description: " ERROR-DESCRIPTION. DISPLAY " - System state captured". DISPLAY " - Diagnostic information collected". DISPLAY " - Automated recovery attempted". DISPLAY " - Support team notified". GO TO END-ERROR-PROCESSING. DEFAULT-ERROR-PROCESSING. DISPLAY " Default error processing:". DISPLAY " - Minimal error handling". DISPLAY " - Basic logging only". END-ERROR-PROCESSING. ADD 1 TO ERRORS-ENCOUNTERED. DISPLAY " ". DISPLAY-PROCESSING-STATISTICS. DISPLAY "7. Processing Statistics:". DISPLAY " ======================". DISPLAY " Records processed: " RECORDS-PROCESSED. DISPLAY " Errors encountered: " ERRORS-ENCOUNTERED. DISPLAY " Warnings generated: " WARNINGS-GENERATED. DISPLAY " Flow alterations made: " FLOW-ALTERATIONS. DISPLAY " ". DISPLAY " ALTER Statement Analysis:". DISPLAY " - Dynamic flow control demonstrated". DISPLAY " - Conditional processing paths shown". DISPLAY " - Error handling flexibility illustrated". DISPLAY " - Legacy programming technique explained". DISPLAY " ". DISPLAY " Modern Alternatives to ALTER:". DISPLAY " - EVALUATE statements for multi-way branching". DISPLAY " - Nested IF constructs for conditional logic". DISPLAY " - PERFORM procedures for structured flow". DISPLAY " - Function pointers in modern COBOL". DISPLAY " - Object-oriented programming constructs".
The ALTER statement is considered obsolete in modern COBOL programming and is strongly discouraged for new development. It creates code that is difficult to debug, maintain, and understand. Modern COBOL compilers may not support ALTER, and many coding standards prohibit its use. This documentation is provided for educational purposes and legacy system maintenance only.