&#39;FUNCTION: To save the programmer effort by automatically incorporating<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;library subroutines into the source program.&#39;<br /><br />in Cobol whole &#39;functions&#39; (subroutines) and even code snipplets are &#39;copied&#39; into the main source file by the copy statement. That&#39;s different to preprocessor macros, -definitions, -literals and, since ansi c, function prototypes.<br />&nbsp;<br>