OpenCOBOL is amazingly complete ANSI85 + plus much of 2002. Some 
OpenCOBOL only functions may help you with string processing.

Function TRIM()
Function SUBSTITUTE()
Function CONCATENATE()

Trim especially helps with calling NON-COBOL functions, for example:
STRING Trim(my-str-var) x"00" delimited by size into my-C-parm.
Call "my-C-Func" using my-C-parm.

or

Compute Actual-length-entered = Length(trim(mystring)).


Substitute works like INSPECT only better, because substitute strings 
can vary in length.

Concatenate is like STRING, less verbiage.

Use the Compiler option -ffunctions-all so you won't need to include the 
key word "FUNCTION" in your source code.

http://opencobol.add1tocobol.com/OpenCOBOL%20Programmers%20Guide.pdf

--
Mike


On 09/19/2012 09:38 AM, Robert W. Mills wrote:
> It is currently in pure OpenCOBOL 1.1.
>
> My routines that handle $include files and copy modules already use recursion. Will have a look at a recursive solution for handling the nested macros as well. Thanks for the suggestion.
>
> regards,
> Robert W.Mills
>
>
> On 19 Sep 2012, at 02:39 PM, Michael Anderson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> On 09/18/2012 08:54 AM, Robert W. Mills wrote:
>>> After 4 years without them on OpenCOBOL & MicroFocus I decided to write my own preprocessor.
>>>
>>> The current version runs a bit slow (has to make 2 passes of the source file and uses an indexed work file) and can not handle nested macros
>> Depending on what language used for your preprocessor, it seem to me that "if" the macro handler is a separate function call, then you could add some recursive logic to it?
>>
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