Editing COBOL Std 5 Program Structure (section)

=== 5.6 Method-Dispatch Pattern ===

Inter-tier calls use a method-dispatch pattern: the caller places a verb string into a control-block method field, invokes the subprogram, and inspects the result code on return.

<syntaxhighlight lang="cobol">
           MOVE 'connect'   TO DAL-METHODS
           CALL 'primes'    USING PRIMES-DAL
           IF dal-method-ok
               CONTINUE
           ELSE
               PERFORM E000-HANDLE-ERROR
           END-IF
</syntaxhighlight>

The called program must implement an A000 EVALUATE block on its method field and set the result code before EXIT PROGRAM. Valid result codes are defined in [[#7.1 Return-Code Standard|§7.1]].

{{Ambox
| type  = stop
| text  = '''Prohibited''' — Direct SQL in business-logic or presentation programs. All database access must go through the DAL tier.
}}