cobol: Accept arbitrarily-sized PIC X for ANY LENGTH

Cobol parser now accepts any PIC X(n) for ANY LENGTH parameters under MF dialect.

By Xavier Del Campo Romero September 17, 2026 committed

Under the MF dialect, the Cobol compiler now correctly accepts arbitrary-sized PIC X(n) data items when they are used as formal parameters declared with PIC X ANY LENGTH. This change ensures that the compiler properly handles variable-length character data passed between programs.

In Details

In the GCC Cobol front-end, when using the '-dialect mf' option, parameters declared as PIC X ANY LENGTH should accommodate any PIC X(n) passed by the caller. This commit modifies the parser logic (parse.y) to accept and correctly handle such arbitrarily sized PIC X arguments, ensuring type compatibility for dynamic character data.

For Context

PIC X ANY LENGTH: A Cobol data item description that specifies a variable-length alphanumeric string. It can hold character data of any specified length.
PIC X(n): A Cobol data item description for a fixed-length alphanumeric string, where 'n' specifies the exact number of characters.
MF dialect: A Cobol compiler dialect option in GCC that emulates the Micro Focus COBOL compiler's behavior, often used for compatibility with existing COBOL applications.

Filed Under: cobolcompilerdialect

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