The PICTURE clause describes the length, general characteristics and
editing requirements of a screen item.
General Format
Syntax Rules
The PICTURE clause can include any standard editing characters.
The PICTURE clause must be used in conjunction with one or more
of the FROM, TO or USING clauses. The USING clause must not be used with either
the FROM or TO clause.
PIC is an abbreviation for PICTURE.
The PICTURE clause is allowed only with elementary items.
The PICTURE clause need not be the same as the PICTURE clause of
the data item referenced in the FROM, TO or USING clause but it must be such
that the implied MOVE is legal.
General Rules
The character-string describes the length and category of the
screen item. It is used in the same way as the character-string in the PICTURE
clause for a data item.
We recommend that every numeric screen item either be a numeric
edited item or contain only 9's in its PICTURE clause. Editing and de-editing
are applied as necessary when data is moved to or from the associated data
item.