COBOL Core

A native GnuCOBOL implementation, not a bridge to another Core. All 63 normative vectors across the eleven groups pass, together with native agent, JSON, contract-boundary, tooling, and API declaration checks. The cobol-conformance remote job passes; cobol/v0.1.0 is the released Core implementation tag.

Build and Test

Use GnuCOBOL 2.0 or later and Python 3.10 or later:

python language/cobol/run-tests.py

Set COBC or pass --compiler /path/to/cobc when the compiler is not on PATH. The driver builds one combined COBOL source per suite to avoid an old GnuCOBOL multi-file code-generation issue. Generated files stay in language/cobol/build/. Python only generates and launches native tests; it is not required by a compiled Core consumer.

Native API

Program	Purpose
praxo-run	Agent loop with model, tool dispatcher, policy, and event callbacks
praxo-checkpoint	Registered payload-type JSON envelopes
praxo-context	Token estimate and context compaction
praxo-event	Filter and multi-sink event delivery
praxo-jsonschema	Object/array schema validation
praxo-schema-scalar	Internal scalar schema checks
praxo-schema-visit	Internal recursive object/array checks
praxo-memory	In-memory session records and search
praxo-middleware	Call limits, tool selection, fallback, structured output, email redaction
praxo-path-normalize	Lexical path normalization
praxo-pattern-check	Bounded ASCII pattern matcher
praxo-plugin	Strict manifest parsing and validation
praxo-policy	Lexical path grants
praxo-stream	Stream-kind constants
praxo-toolcall	JSON, XML-style, dotted-tag, and plain tool-call parsing
praxo-json-parse, praxo-json-generate, praxo-json-string, praxo-json-quote, praxo-json-slice, praxo-utf8	Native JSON and UTF-8 utilities

Records are declared in language/cobol/copy/. The agent callback interface is:

call "praxo-run" using px-options px-session px-prompt
    px-result px-user-data

px-options names the model, tool dispatcher, policy, and event programs. px-user-data is a caller-owned 4096-byte callback context. Blank callback status means success; model/tool statuses propagate; a nonblank policy status denies the action. The input session is not mutated, and each run uses local history. Zero or negative px-max-steps selects eight steps; a nonpositive token budget is unlimited.

Scope and Limits

The agent API is wire-shaped but not a full Go model surface: it carries text messages, one tool-call list per response, and callback events. It does not carry full assistant tool-call history, stream parts, event session/run IDs, or provider adapters. The event and stream programs exercise the contract behavior but are not asynchronous runtimes.

JSON inputs are limited to 32768 bytes, 512 nodes, and 64 nested containers. Strings preserve trailing spaces and embedded NUL bytes. Invalid UTF-8, lone surrogates, malformed numbers, and trailing data are rejected. Duplicate object keys are retained; lookup uses the last value. Generated JSON is limited to 16384 bytes. JSON utilities return local JSON_INVALID and JSON_CAPACITY statuses, not new wire error codes.

Checkpoint allowlists wrap JSON values only; they do not instantiate arbitrary native types. Plugin parsing validates the top-level and entrypoint field sets, required launch targets, protocol, isolation, capabilities (including non-adjacent duplicates), and basic identity/version syntax. It does not yet execute plugins, verify signatures, or fully validate permissions, limits, health, SBOM, and signature contents.

Schema validation covers the vector-defined object, array, string, number, integer, boolean, enum, length, pattern, and numeric-bound behavior. Numeric bounds use finite floating-point conversion, so very large integers are not arbitrary precision. Patterns are a bounded ASCII subset: literals, dot, classes/ranges, anchors, and *, +, ?. Groups, alternation, counted repetition, Unicode pattern matching, and unsupported escapes return SCHEMA_PATTERN_UNSUPPORTED instead of accepting data.

Path policy is lexical normalization, not OS confinement. It rejects UNC, drive-relative, and traversal-outside-root paths in the exercised cases but does not resolve symlinks, reparse points, filesystem case rules, or races. Do not use it as a sandbox. Email redaction covers only email addresses, not other PII classes. Memory search uses ASCII case folding and lexical ordering of canonical UTC timestamps.

Gates

api/unreleased.txt inventories public copybook records, module program IDs, and linkage parameters. api-snapshot.py --check runs in the test driver; regenerate intentionally with --update. Tooling tests check fixture determinism, assertion polarity, and snapshot sensitivity. The cobol-conformance CI job runs all of these plus the two original native test programs.

cobol/v0.1.0 is the released source tag. api/unreleased.txt is the legacy filename for the 0.1.0 declaration snapshot; later changes require a new version/tag decision and release review. spec/parity/cobol.md records partial surfaces. The Core sources are MIT-licensed; GnuCOBOL and its runtime are separately licensed external toolchain dependencies.