BEGIN1, BEGIN2

The data structure in BEGIN1 defines the system date and time values in several formats. This library item must be the last item included in a COBOL shell DATA DIVISION because it contains the PROCEDURE DIVISION header.

BEGIN2 gets the current date and time and inserts them into the area defined by BEGIN1.

During the execution, the build shell (bldsh) utility automatically includes the contents of BEGIN1 and BEGIN2 in every generated program without the use of the library technique.