COBOL FOR FRESHER

Mainframe Refresher Part-1 COBOL-Page: 1

COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language)

History.
Developed by 1959 by a group called COnference on Data Systems Language
(CODASYL). First COBOL compiler was released by December 1959.

First ANSI approved version – 1968
Modified ANSI approved version – 1974 (OS/VS COBOL)
Modified ANSI approved version – 1985 (VS COBOL 2)

This book is written based on IBM COBOL for OS/390 V2R2.

Speciality.
1. First language developed for commercial application development, which can efficiently
handle millions of data.
2. Procedure Oriented Language - Problem is segmented into several tasks. Each task is
written as a Paragraph in Procedure Division and executed in a logical sequence as
mentioned.
3. English Like language – Easy to learn, code and maintain.

Coding Sheet.

1 7 12 72 80

COL-A COLUMN-B

1-6 Page/line numbers – Optional (automatically assigned by compiler)
7 Continuity (-), Comment (*), Starting a new page (/)
Debugging lines (D)
8-11 Column A –Division, Section, Paragraph, 01,77 declarations must begin here.
12.72 Column B –All the other declarations/statements begin here.
73-80 Identification field. It will be ignored by the compiler but visible in the source
listing.

Language Structure.

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Divisions in COBOL.
There are four divisions in a COBOL program and Data division is optional.
1.Identification Division.
2.Environment Division.
3.Data Division.
4.Procedure Division.

Identification Division.
This is the first division and the program is identified here. Paragraph PROGRAM-ID
followed by user-defined name is mandatory. All other paragraphs are optional and used for
documentation. The length of user-defined name for IBM COBOL is EIGHT.

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. PROGRAM NAME.
AUTHOR. COMMENT ENTRY.
INSTALLATION. COMMENT ENTRY.
DATE-WRITTEN. COMMENT ENTRY.
DATE-COMPILED. COMMENT ENTRY.
SECURITY. COMMENT ENTRY.

Security does not pertain to the operating system security, but the information that is
passed to the user of the program about the security features of the program.

Environment Division.
Only machine dependant division of COBOL program. It supplies information about the
hardware or computer equipment to be used on the program. When your program moves from
one computer to another computer, the only section that may need to be changed is
ENVIRONMENT division.

Configuration Section.
It supplies information concerning the computer on which the program will be compiled
(SOURCE-COMPUTER) and executed (OBJECT-COMPUTER). It consists of three paragraphs
– SOURCE COMPUTER, OBJECT-COMPUTER and SPECIAL-NAMES.
This is OPTIONAL section from COBOL 85.

SOURCE-COMPUTER. IBM-4381 (Computer and model # supplied by manufacturer)
WITH DEBUGGING MODE clause specifies that the debugging lines in the
program (statements coded with ‘D’ in column 7) are compiled.

OBJECT-COMPUTER. IBM-4381 (Usually same as source computer)

SPECIAL-NAMES. This paragraph is used to relate hardware names to user-specified mnemonic
names.
1. Substitute character for currency sign. (CURRENCY SIGN IS litearal-1)
2. Comma can be used as decimal point. (DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA)
3. Default collating sequence can be changed. It will be explained later.
4. New class can be defined using CLASS keyword. (CLASS DIGIT is “0” thru “9”)

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Input-Output Section.
It contains information regarding the files to be used in the program and
it consists of two paragraphs FILE-CONTROL & I-O CONTROL.
FILE CONTROL. Files used in the program are identified in this paragraph.
I-O CONTROL. It specifies when check points to be taken and storage areas that are shared by
different files.

Data Division.
Data division is used to define the data that need to be accessed by the program. It has
three sections.
FILE SECTION describes the record structure of the files.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION is used to for define intermediate variables.
LINKAGE SECTION is used to access the external data.
Ex: Data passed from other programs or from PARM of
JCL.

Literals, Constants, Identifier,
1. Literal is a constant and it can be numeric or non-numeric.
2. Numeric literal can hold 18 digits and non-numeric literal can hold 160 characters in it.
(COBOL74 supports 120 characters only)
3. Literal stored in a named memory location is called as variable or identifier.
4. Figurative Constant is a COBOL reserved word representing frequently used constants. They
are ZERO/ZEROS/ZEROES, QUOTE/QUOTES, SPACE/SPACES, ALL, HIGH-
VALUE/HIGH-VALUES, LOW-VALUE/LOW-VALUES.

Example: 01 WS-VAR1 PIC X(04) VALUE ‘MUSA’.
‘MUSA ‘ is a non-numeric literal. WS-VAR1 is an identifier or variable.

Declaration of variable

Level# $ Variable $ Picture clause $ Value clause $ Usage Clause $ Sync clause.
FILLER
Level#
It specifies the hierarchy of data within a record. It can take a value from the set of
integers between 01-49 or from one of the special level-numbers 66 77 88

01 level. Specifies the record itself. It may be either a group item or an
Elementary item. It must begin in Area A.
02-49 levels. Specify group or elementary items within a record. Group level items
must not have picture clause.
66 level. Identify the items that contain the RENAMES clause.
77 level. Identify independent data item.
88 level. Condition names.

Variable name and Qualifier
Variable name can have 1-30 characters with at least one alphabet in it.
Hyphen is the only allowed special character but it cannot be first or last letter of the name. Name
should be unique within the record. If two variables with same name are there, then use OF
qualifier of high level grouping to refer a variable uniquely.

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Ex: MOVE balance OF record-1 TO balance OF record-2.

FILLER
When the program is not intended to use selected fields in a record structure, define them
as FILLER. FILLER items cannot be initialized or used in any operation of the procedure
division.

PICTURE Clause
Describes the attributes of variable.

DBCS (Double Byte Character Set) is used in the applications that support large character sets.
16 bits are used for one character. Ex: Japanese language applications.

Refreshing Basics
Nibble. 4 Bits is one nibble. In packed decimal, each nibble stores one digit.
Byte. 8 Bits is one byte. By default, every character is stored in one byte.
Half word. 16 bits or 2 bytes is one half word. (MVS)
Full word. 32 bits or 4 bytes is one full word. (MVS)
Double word. 64 bits or 8 bytes is one double word. (MVS)

Usage Clause
DISPLAY Default. Number of bytes required equals to the size of the data item.
COMP Binary representation of data item.
PIC clause can contain S and 9 only.
S9(01) – S9(04) Half word.
S9(05) – S9(09) Full word.
S9(10) - S9(18) Double word.
Most significant bit is ON if the number is negative.
COMP-1 Single word floating point item. PIC Clause should not be specified.
COMP-2 Double word floating-point item. PIC Clause should not be specified.
COMP-3 Packed Decimal representation. Two digits are stored in each byte.
Last nibble is for sign. (F for unsigned positive, C for signed positive
and D for signed negative)
Formula for Bytes: Integer ((n/2) + 1)) => n is number of 9s.
INDEX It is used for preserve the index value of an array. PIC Clause should
not be specified.

VALUE Clause
It is used for initializing data items in the working storage section. Value of item must not
exceed picture size. It cannot be specified for the items whose size is variable.

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Syntax: VALUE IS literal.
VALUES ARE literal-1 THRU | THROUGH literal-2
VALUES ARE literal-1, literal-2
Literal can be numeric without quotes OR non-numeric within quotes OR figurative constant.

SIGN Clause
Syntax SIGN IS (LEADING) SEPARATE CHARACTER (TRAILING).
It is applicable when the picture string contain ‘S’. Default is TRAILING WITH NO SEPARATE
CHARACTER. So ‘S’ doesn’t take any space. It is stored along with last digit.

+1=A +2=B +3=C +4=D +5=E +6=F +7=G +8=H +9=I
-0=}, -1= J, -2= K, -3=L, -4=M, -5=N, -6=O, -7=P, -8=Q, -9=R

SYNC Clause and Slack Bytes
SYNC clause is specified with COMP, COMP-1 and COMP-2 items. These items are
expected to start at half/full/double word boundaries for faster address resolution. SYNC clause
does this but it may introduce slack bytes (unused bytes) before the binary item.

01 WS-TEST.
10 WS-VAR1 PIC X(02).
10 WS-VAR2 PIC S9(6) COMP SYNC.

Assumes WS-TEST starts at relative location 0 in the memory, WS-VAR1 occupies zero
and first byte. WS-VAR2 is expected to start at second byte. As the comp item in the example
needs one word and it is coded with SYNC clause, it will start only at the next word boundary
that is 4th byte. So this introduces two slack bytes between WS-VAR1 and WS-VAR2.

REDEFINES
The REDEFINES clause allows you to use different data description entries to describe
the same computer storage area. Redefining declaration should immediately follow the redefined
item and should be done at the same level. Multiple redefinitions are possible. Size of redefined
and redefining need not be the same.

Example:
01 WS-DATE PIC 9(06).
01 WS-REDEF-DATE REDEFINES WS-DATE.
05 WS-YEAR PIC 9(02).
05 WS-MON PIC 9(02).
05 WS-DAY PIC 9(02).

RENAMES
It is used for regrouping of elementary data items in a record. It should be declared at 66
levels. It need not immediately follows the data item, which is being renamed. But all
RENAMES entries associated with one logical record must immediately follow that record's last
data description entry. RENAMES cannot be done for a 01, 77, 88 or another 66 entry.
01 WS-REPSONSE.

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05 WS-CHAR143 PIC X(03).
05 WS-CHAR4 PIC X(04).
66 ADD-REPSONSE RENAMES WS-CHAR143.

CONDITION name
It is identified with special level ‘88’. A condition name specifies the value that a field
can contain and used as abbreviation in condition checking.
01 SEX PIC X.
88 MALE VALUE ‘1’
88 FEMALE VALUE ‘2’ ‘3’.
IF SEX=1 can also be coded as IF MALE in Procedure division.
‘SET FEMALE TO TRUE ‘ moves value 2 to SEX. If multiple values are coded on
VALUE clause, the first value will be moved when it is set to true.

JUSTIFIED RIGHT
This clause can be specified with alphanumeric and alphabetic items for right
justification. It cannot be used with 66 and 88 level items.

OCCURS Clause
OCCURS Clause is used to allocate physically contiguous memory locations to store the
table values and access them with subscript or index. Detail explanation is given in Table
Handling section.

LINKAGE SECTION
It is used to access the data that are external to the program. JCL can send maximum 100
characters to a program thru PARM. Linkage section MUST be coded with a half word binary
field, prior to actual field. If length field is not coded, the first two bytes of the field coded in the
linkage section will be filled with length and so there are chances of 2 bytes data truncation in the
actual field.
01 LK-DATA.
05 LK-LENGTH PIC S9(04) COMP.
05 LK-VARIABLE PIC X(08).
LINKAGE section of sub-programs will be explained later.

Procedure Division.
This is the last division and business logic is coded here. It has user-defined sections and
paragraphs. Section name should be unique within the program and paragraph name should be
unique within the section.

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Procedure division statements are broadly classified into following categories.

MOVE Statement
It is used to transfer data between internal storage areas defined in either file section or
working storage section.

Syntax:
MOVE identifier1/literal1/figurative-constant TO identifier2 (identifier3)
Multiple move statements can be separated using comma, semicolons, blanks or the
keyword THEN.

Numeric move rules:
A numeric or numeric-edited item receives data in such a way that the decimal point is
aligned first and then filling of the receiving field takes place.
Unfilled positions are filled with zero. Zero suppression or insertion of editing symbols
takes places according to the rules of editing pictures.
If the receiving field width is smaller than sending field then excess digits, to the left and/
or to the right of the decimal point are truncated.

Alphanumeric Move Rules:
Alphabetic, alphanumeric or alphanumeric-edited data field receives the data from left to
right. Any unfilled field of the receiving filed is filled with spaces.
When the length of receiving field is shorter than that of sending field, then receiving
field accepts characters from left to right until it is filled. The unaccomodated characters on the
right of the sending field are truncated.
When an alphanumeric field is moved to a numeric or numeric-edited field, the item is
moved as if it were in an unsigned numeric integer mode.
CORRESPONDING can be used to transfer data between items of the same names
belonging to different group-items by specifying the names of group-items to which they belong.
MOVE CORRESPONDING group-1 TO group-2

Group Move rule
When MOVE statement is used to move information at group level, the movement of
data takes place as if both sending and receiving fields are specified as alphanumeric items. This
is regardless of the description of the elementary items constituting the group item.

Samples for understanding MOVE statement (MOVE A TO B)

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ARITHMETIC VERBS
All the possible arithmetic operations in COBOL using ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY
and DIVIDE are given below:

GIVING is used in the following cases:
1.To retain the values of operands participating in the operation.
2.The resultant value of operation exceeds any of the operand size.

ROUNDED option
With ROUNDED option, the computer will always round the result to the PICTURE
clause specification of the receiving field. It is usually coded after the field to be rounded. It is
prefixed with REMAINDER keyword ONLY in DIVIDE operation.
ADD A B GIVING C ROUNDED.
DIVIDE..ROUNDED REMAINDER
Caution: Don’t use for intermediate computation.

ON SIZE ERROR
If A=20 (PIC 9(02)) and B=90 (PIC 9(02)), ADD A TO B will result 10 in B where the
expected value in B is 110. ON SIZE ERROR clause is coded to trap such size errors in
arithmetic operation.
If this is coded with arithmetic statement, any operation that ended with SIZE error will
not be carried out but the statement follows ON SIZE ERROR will be executed.
ADD A TO B ON SIZE ERROR DISPLAY ‘ERROR!’.

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COMPUTE
Complex arithmetic operations can be carried out using COMPUTE statement. We can
use arithmetic symbols than keywords and so it is simple and easy to code.
+ For ADD, - for SUBTRACT, * for MULTIPLY, / for DIVIDE and ** for exponentiation.
Rule: Left to right – 1.Parentheses
2.Exponentiation
3.Multiplication and Division
4.Addition and Subtraction

Caution: When ROUNDED is coded with COMPUTE, some compiler will do rounding for every
arithmetic operation and so the final result would not be precise.

77 A PIC 999 VALUE 10
COMPUTE A ROUNDED = (A+2.95) *10.99
Result: (ROUNDED(ROUNDED(12.95) * ROUNDED(10.99)) =120 or
ROUNDED(142.3205) = 142
So the result can be 120 or 142.Be cautious when using ROUNDED keyword with
COMPUTE statement.

All arithmetic operators have their own explicit scope terminators. (END-ADD, END-
SUBTRACT, END-MULTIPLY, END-DIVIDE, END-COMPUTE). It is suggested to use them.
CORRESPONDING is available for ADD and SUBTRACT only.

INITIALIZE
VALUE clause is used to initialize the data items in the working storage section whereas
INITIALIZE is used to initialize the data items in the procedure division.
INITIALIZE sets the alphabetic, alphanumeric and alphanumeric-edited items to
SPACES and numeric and numeric-edited items to ZERO. This can be overridden by
REPLACING option of INITIALIZE. FILLER, OCCURS DEPENDING ON items are not
affected.
Syntax: INITIALIZE identifier-1
REPLACING (ALPHABETIC/ALPHANUMERIC/ALPHA-NUMERIC-
EDITED
NUMERIC/NUMERIC-EDITED)
DATA BY (identifier-2 /Literal-2)
ACCEPT
ACCEPT can transfer data from input device or system information contain in the
reserved data items like DATE, TIME, DAY.
ACCEPT WS-VAR1 (FROM DATE/TIME/DAY/OTHER SYSTEM VARS).
If FROM Clause is not coded, then the data is read from terminal. At the time of
execution, batch program will ABEND if there is no in-stream data from JCL and there is no
FROM clause in the ACCEPT clause.

DATE option returns six digit current date in YYYYMMDD
DAY returns 5 digit current date in YYDDD
TIME returns 8 digit RUN TIME in HHMMSSTT
DAY-OF-WEEK returns single digit whose value can be 1-7 (Monday-Sunday respectively)

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DISPLAY
It is used to display data. By default display messages are routed to SYSOUT.
Syntax: DISPLAY identifier1| literal1 (UPON mnemonic name)

STOP RUN, EXIT PROGRAM & GO BACK
STOP RUN is the last executable statement of the main program. It returns control back
to OS.
EXIT PROGRAM is the last executable statement of sub-program. It returns control back
to main program.
GOBACK can be coded in main program as well as sub-program as the last statement. It
just gives the control back from where it received the control.

Collating Sequence
There are two famous Collating Sequence available in computers. IBM and IBM
Compatible machine use EBCDIC collating sequence whereas most micro and many mainframe
systems use ASCII collating sequence. The result of arithmetic and alphabetic comparison would
be same in both collating sequences whereas the same is not true for alphanumeric comparison.

Default collating sequence can be overridden by an entry in OBJECT-COMPUTER and
SPECIAL NAMES paragraphs.
1. Code the PROGRAM COLLATING SEQUENCE Clause in the Object computer
paragraph. PROGRAM COLLATING SEQUENCE IS alphabet-name
2. Map the alphabet-name in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph as follows:
ALPHABET alphabet-name is STANDARD-1 | NATIVE
NATIVE stands for computer’s own collating sequence whereas STANDARD-1 stands for
ASCII collating sequence.

IF/THEN/ELSE/END-IF
The most famous decision making statement in all language is ‘IF’. The syntax of IF
statement is given below: IF can be coded without any ELSE statement. THEN is a noise word
and it is optional.

If ORs & ANDs are used in the same sentence, ANDs are evaluated first from left to
right, followed by ORs. This rule can be overridden by using parentheses.
The permitted relation conditions are =, <, >, <=, >=, <>
CONTINUE is no operation statement. The control is just passed to next STATEMENT.
NEXT SENTENCE passes the control to the next SENTENCE. If you forgot the difference
between statement and sentence, refer the first page.
It is advised to use END-IF, explicit scope terminator for the IF statements than period,
implicit scope terminator.

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IF condition1 AND condition2 THEN
Statement-Block-1
ELSE
IF condition3 THEN
CONTINUE
ELSE
IF condition4 THEN
Statement-Block-2
ELSE
NEXT SENTENCE
END-IF
END-IF
END-IF

Statement-Block-2 will be executed only when condition 1, 2 and 4 are TRUE and
condition 3 is FALSE.

Implied operand: In compound conditions, it is not always necessary to specify both
operands for each condition. IF TOTAL=7 or 8 is acceptable. Here TOTAL=8 is implied
operation.

SIGN test and CLASS test
SIGN test is used to check the sign of a data item. It can be done as follows –
IF identifier is POSITIVE/NEGATIVE/ZERO

CLASS test is used to check the content of data item against pre-defined range of values. It can
be done as follows -
IF identifier is NUMERIC/ALPHABETIC/ALPHABETIC-HIGHER/
ALPHABETIC-LOWER
You can define your own classes in the special names paragraph. We have defined a class DIGIT
in our special names paragraph. It can be used in the following way.
IF identifier is DIGIT

Negated conditions.
Any simple, relational, class, sign test can be negated using NOT.
But it is not always true that NOT NEGATIVE is equal to POSITIVE. (Example ZERO)

EVALUATE
With COBOL85, we use the EVALUATE verb to implement the case structure of other
languages. Multiple IF statements can be efficiently and effectively replaced with EVALUATE
statement. After the execution of one of the when clauses, the control is automatically come to
the next statement after the END-EVALUATE. Any complex condition can be given in the
WHEN clause. Break statement is not needed, as it is so in other languages.
General Syntax
EVALUATE subject-1 (ALSO subject2..)
WHEN object-1 (ALSO object2..)
WHEN object-3 (ALSO object4..)

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WHEN OTHER imperative statement
END--EVALUATE
1.Number of Subjects in EVALUATE clause should be equal to number of objects in
every WHEN clause.
2.Subject can be variable, expression or the keyword TRUE/ FLASE and respectively
objects can be values, TRUE/FALSE or any condition.
3.If none of the WHEN condition is satisfied, then WHEN OTHER path will be
executed.
Sample
EVALUATE SQLCODE ALSO TRUE
WHEN 100 ALSO A=B imperative statement
WHEN -305 ALSO (A/C=4) imperative statement
WHEN OTHER imperative statement
END-EVALUATE

PERFORM STATEMENTS
PERFORM will be useful when you want to execute a set of statements in multiple
places of the program. Write all the statements in one paragraph and invoke it using PERFORM
wherever needed. Once the paragraph is executed, the control comes back to next statement
following the PERFORM.

1.SIMPLE PERFORM.
PERFORM PARA-1.
DISPLAY ‘PARA-1 executed’
STOP RUN.
PARA-1.
Statement1
Statement2.
It executes all the instructions coded in PARA-1 and then transfers the control to the next
instruction in sequence.

2.INLINE PERFORM.
When sets of statements are used only in one place then we can group all of them within
PERFORM END-PERFORM structure. This is called INLINE PERFORM.
This is equal to DO..END structure of other languages.
PERFORM
ADD A TO B
MULTIPLE B BY C
DISPLAY ‘VALUE OF A+B*C ‘ C
END-PERFORM

3. PERFORM PARA-1 THRU PARA-N.
All the paragraphs between PARA-1 and PARA-N are executed once.

4. PERFORM PARA-1 THRU PARA-N UNTIL condition(s).
The identifiers used in the UNTIL condition(s) must be altered within the paragraph(s)
being performed; otherwise the paragraphs will be performed indefinitely. If the condition in the
UNTIL clause is met at first time of execution, then named paragraph(s) will not be executed at
all.

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5. PERFORM PARA-1 THRU PARA-N N TIMES.
N can be literal defined as numeric item in working storage or hard coded constant.

6. PERFORM PARA-1 THRU PARA-N VARYING identifier1
FROM identifier 2 BY identifier3 UNTIL condition(s)
Initialize identifier1 with identifier2 and test the condition(s). If the condition is false
execute the statements in PARA-1 thru PARA-N and increment identifier1 BY identifier3 and
check the condition(s) again. If the condition is again false, repeat this process till the condition is
satisfied.

7.PERFORM PARA-1 WITH TEST BEFORE/AFTER UNTIL condition(s).
With TEST BEFORE, Condition is checked first and if it found false, then PARA-1 is
executed and this is the default. (Functions like DO- WHILE)
With TEST AFTER, PARA-1 is executed once and then the condition is checked.
(Functions like DO-UNTIL)

Refer Table session for eighth type of PERFORM.
EXIT statement.
COBOL reserved word that performs NOTHING. It is used as a single statement in a
paragraph that indicate the end of paragraph(s) execution.
EXIT must be the only statement in a paragraph in COBOL74 whereas it can be used with other
statements in COBOL85.

GO TO Usage:
In a structured top-down programming GO TO is not preferable. It offers permanent
control transfer to another paragraph and the chances of logic errors is much greater with GO TO
than PERFORM. The readability of the program will also be badly affected.
But still GO TO can be used within the paragraphs being performed. i.e. When using the
THRU option of PERFORM statement, branches or GO TO statements, are permitted as long as
they are within the range of named paragraphs.
PERFORM 100-STEP1 THRU STEP-4
..
100-STEP-1.
ADD A TO B GIVING C.
IF D = ZERO DISPLAY ‘MULTIPLICATION NOT DONE’
GO TO 300-STEP3
END-IF.
200-STEP-2.
MULTIPLY C BY D.
300-STEP-3.
DISPLAY ‘VALUE OF C:’ C.
Here GO TO used within the range of PERFORM. This kind of Controlled GO TO is fine with
structured programming also!

TABLES
An OCCURS clause is used to indicate the repeated occurrences of items of the same
format in a structure. OCCURS clause is not valid for 01, 77, 88 levels.

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It can be defined as elementary or group item. Initialization of large table occurrences with
specific values are usually done using perform loops in procedure division. Simple tables can be
initialized in the following way.
01 WEEK-ARRAY VALUE ‘MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN’.
05 WS-WEEK-DAYS OCCURS 7 TIMES PIC X(03).

Dynamic array is the array whose size is decided during runtime just before the access of first
element of the array.

01 WS-MONTH-DAY-CAL.
05 WS-DAYS OCCURS 31 TIMES DEPENDING ON WS-OCCURENCE.

IF MONTH = ‘FEB’ MOVE ‘28’ to WS-OCCURRENCE.

Array Items can be accessed using INDEX or subscript and the difference between them
are listed in the table. Relative subscripts and relative indexes are supported only in COBOL85.
Literals used in relative subscripting/indexing must be an unsigned integer.
ADD WS-SAL(SUB) WS-SAL(SUB + 1) TO WS-SAL(SUB + 2).

Sometimes, you may face a question like how to randomly access the information in the
sequential file of 50 records that contains all the designation and the respective lower and higher
salary information.
Obviously, OS does not allow you to randomly access the sequence file. You have to do
by yourself and the best way is, load the file into a working storage table in the first section of the
program and then access as you wish.

The table look-up can be done in two ways.
-Sequential search.
-Binary search.

Sequential SEARCH
During SERIAL SEARCH, the first entry of the table is searched. If the condition is met,
the table look-up is completed. If the condition is not met, then index or subscript is incremented
by one and the next entry is searched and the process continues until a match is found or the table
has been completely searched.

SET indexname-1 TO 1.
SEARCH identifier-1 AT END display ‘match not found:’
WHEN condition-1 imperative statement-1 /NEXT SENTENCE
WHEN condition-2 imperative statement-2 /NEXT SENTENCE
END-SEARCH
Identifier-1 should be OCCURS item and not 01 item.

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Condition-1, Condition-2 compares an input field or search argument with a table argument.
Though AT END Clause is optional, it is highly recommended to code that. Because if it is not
coded and element looking for is not found, then the control simply comes to the next statement
after SEARCH where an invalid table item can be referred and that may lead to incorrect results /
abnormal ends.

SET statement Syntax:
SET index-name-1 TO/UP BY/DOWN BY integer-1.

Binary SEARCH
When the size of the table is large and it is arranged in some sequence –either ascending
or descending on search field, then BINARY SEARCH would be the efficient method.

SEARCH ALL identifier-1 AT END imperative-statement-1
WHEN dataname-1 = identifier-2/literal-1/arithmetic expression-1
AND dataname-2 = identifier-3/literal-2/arithmetic expression-2
END-SEARCH.

Identifier-2 and identifier-3 are subscripted items and dataname-1 and dataname-2 are
working storage items that are not subscripted.
Compare the item to be searched with the item at the center. If it matches fine, else repeat
the process with the left or right half depending on where the item lies.

Multi Dimensional Arrays
COBOL74 supports array of maximum of three dimensions whereas COBOL85 supports
up to seven dimensions. The lowest- level OCCURS data-name or an item subordinate to it is
used to access an entry in the array or the table.
If we use SEARCH for accessing multi-dimension table, then INDEXED BY must be
used on all OCCURS levels. Expanded nested perform is available for processing multi level
tables. The syntax of this perform is given below:

PERFORM para-1 thru para-n
VARYING index-1 from 1 BY 1 UNTIL index-1 > size- of- outer-occurs
AFTER VARYING index-2 from 1 by 1 until index-2 > size of inner occurs.

SEARCH example for multi level tables:
01 EMP-TABLE.
05 DEPTNUMBER OCCURS 10 TIMES INDEXED BY I1.
10 EMP-DETAIL OCCURS 50 TIMES INDEXED BY I2.
15 EMP-NUMBER PIC 9(04).

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15 EMP-SALARY PIC 9(05).
77 EMPNUMBER-IN PIC 9(04) VALUE ‘2052’.
PERFORM 100-SEARCH-EMP-SAL VARYING I1 FROM 1 BY 1
UNTIL I1 > 10 OR WS-FOUND
100-SEARCH-EMP-SAL.
SET I2 TO 1.
SEARCH EMP-DETAIL AT END DISPLAY ‘NOT FOUND’ == > Lowest Occurs
WHEN EMPNUMBER-IN = EMP-NUMBER(I1,I2)
DISPLAY ‘SALARY IS:’ EMP-SALARY(I1,I2)
SET WS-FOUND TO TRUE == > Search ends
END-SEARCH.

NESTED PROGRAMS, GLOBAL, EXTERNAL
One program may contain other program(s). The contained program(s) may themselves
contain yet other program(s). All the contained and containing programs should end with END
PROGRAM statement. PGMB is nested a program in the example below:
Example: IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. PGMA
…
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. PGMB
…
END PROGRAM PGMB.
…
END PROGRAM PGMA.

If you want access any working storage variable of PGMA in PGMB, then declare them
with the clause ‘IS GLOBAL’ in PGMA. If you want to access any working storage variable of
PGMB in PGMA, declare them with the clause ‘IS EXTERNAL’ in PGMB. Nested Programs are
supported only in COBOL85.
If there is a program PGMC inside PGMB, it cannot be called from PGMA unless it’s
program id is qualified with keyword COMMON.

SORT and MERGE
The programming SORT is called as internal sort whereas the sort in JCL is called
external sort. If you want to manipulate the data before feeding to sort, prefer internal sort. In all
other cases, external sort is the good choice. Internal sort, in turn invokes the SORT product of
your installation. (DFSORT). In the run JCL, allocate at least three sort work files. (SORT-WKnn
=> nn can be 00-99).
FASTSRT compiler option makes the DFSORT to do all file I-O operation than your
COBOL program. It would significantly improve the performance. The result of the SORT can be
checked in SORT-RETURN register. If the sort is successful, the value will be 0 else 16.

Syntax:
SORT SORTFILE ON ASCENDING /DESCENDING KEY sd-key-1 sd-key2
USING file1 file2 / INPUT PROCEDURE IS section-1
GIVING file3 / OUTPUT PROCEDURE is section-2
END-SORT

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File1, File2 are to-be-sorted input files and File3 is sorted-output file and all
of them are defined in FD.SORTFILE is Disk SORT Work file that is defined at SD. It should not
be explicitly opened or closed.

INPUT PROCEDURE and USING are mutually exclusive. If USING is used, then file1
and files should not be opened or READ explicitly. If INPUT PROCEDURE is used then File1
and file2 need to be OPENed and READ the records one by one until end of the file and pass the
required records to sort-work-file using the command RELEASE.
Syntax: RELEASE sort-work-record from input-file-record.
OUTPUT Procedure and GIVING are mutually exclusive. If GIVING is used, then file3
should not be opened or WRITE explicitly. If OUTPUT procedure is used, then File3 should be
OPENed and the required records from sort work file should be RETURNed to it. Once AT END
is reached for sort-work-file, close the output file.
Syntax: RETURN sort-work-file-name AT END imperative statement.

INPUT PROCEDURE Vs OUTPUT PROCEDURE:
Sometimes it would be more efficient to process data before it is sorted, whereas other
times it is more efficient to process after it is sorted. If we intend to eliminate more records, then
it would be better preprocess them before feeding to SORT. If we want to eliminate all the
records having spaces in the key field then it would be efficient if we eliminate them after sorting.
Because the records with blank key comes first after sorting.

MERGE
It is same as sort. USING is mandatory. There should be minimum two files in USING.
MERGE Sort-work-file ON ASCENDING KEY dataname1 dataname2
USING file1 file2
GIVING file3 / OUTPUT PROCEDURE is section-1
END-MERGE

Program sort registers (and its equivalent DFSORT parameter/meaning)
SORT-FILE-SIZE (FILSZ), SORT-CORE-SIZE (RESINV), SORT-MSG(MSGDDN)
SORT-MODE-SIZE (SMS=nnnnn)
SORT-RETURN(return-code of sort) and
SORT-CONTROL (Names the file of control card – default is IGZSRTCD)
STRING MANIPULATION
A string refers to a sequence of characters. String manipulation operations include
finding a particular character/sub-string in a string, replacing particular character/sub-string in a
string, concatenating strings and segmenting strings.
All these functions are handled by three verbs INSPECT, STRING and UNSTRING in COBOL.
EXAMINE is the obsolete version of INSPECT supported in COBOL74.

INSPECT- FOR COUNTING
It is used to tally the occurrence of a single character or groups of characters in a data field.

INSPECT identifier-1 TALLYING identifier-2 FOR
ALL|LEADING literal-1|identifier-3
[BEFORE|AFTER INITIAL identifier-4|literal-2] - Optional.

INSPECT identifier-1 TALLYING identifier-2 FOR
CHARACTERS

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Main String is identifier-1 and count is stored in identifier-2. Literal-1 or Identifier-3 is a
character or group-of-characters you are looking in the main-string.
INSPECT further qualifies the search with BEFORE and AFTER of the initial occurrence of
identifier-4 or literal-2.

Example:
WS-NAME – ‘MUTHU SARAVANA SURYA CHANDRA DEVI’

INSPECT WS-NAME TALLYING WS-COUNT ALL ‘S’
BEFORE INITIAL ‘SARAVANA’ AFTER INITIAL ‘CHANDRA’
END-INSPECT
Result: WS-COUNT contains – 1

INSPECT- FOR REPLACING
It is used to replace the occurrence of a single character or groups of characters in a data
field.

INSPECT identifier-1 REPLACING
ALL|LEADING literal-1|identifier-2 BY identifier-3|literal-2

INSPECT identifier-1 REPLCING CHARACTERS
BY identifier-2 BEFORE|AFTER INITIAL identifier-3|literal-1

INSPECT-FOR COUNTING AND REPLACING
It is a combination of the above two methods.
INSPECT identifier-1 TALLYING <tallying part > REPLACING <replacing part>

STRING
STRING command is used to concatenate one or more strings.
Syntax:
STRING identifier-1 / literal-1, identifier-2/ literal-2
DELIMITED BY (identifier-3/literal-3/SIZE)
INTO identifier-4
END-STRING.

01 VAR1 PIC X(10) VALUE ‘MUTHU ‘
01 VAR2 PIC X(10) VALUE ‘SARA ‘
01 VAR2 PIC X(20).

To get display ‘MUTHU,SARA’
STRING VAR1 DELIMITED BY ‘ ‘
‘,’ DELIMITED BY SIZE

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VAR2 DELIMITED BY ‘ ‘
INTO VAR3
END-STRING.
The receiving field must be an elementary data item with no editing symbols and JUST
RIGHT clause.
With STRING statement, specific characters of a string can be replaced whereas MOVE
replaces the full string.
01 AGE-OUT PIC X(12) VALUE ’12 YEARS OLD’.
STRING ‘18’ DELIMITED BY SIZE INTO AGE-OUT. => 18 YEARS OLD.

Reference Modification – equivalent of SUBSTR
‘Reference modification’ is used to retrieve or overwrite a sub-string of a string. ‘:’ is
known as reference modification operator.

Syntax: String(Starting-Position:Length)
MOVE ‘18’ TO AGE-OUT(1:2) does the same as what we did with STRING command.
When it is used in array elements, the syntax is
Array-element (occurrence) (Starting-Position:Length)

UNSTRING
UNSTRING command is used to split one string to many strings.
Syntax:
UNSTRING identifier-1
[DELIMITED BY (ALL/) identifier2/literal1 [,OR (ALL/) (identifier-3/literal-2),..]]
INTO identifier-4 [,DELIMITER IN identifier-5, COUNT IN identifier-6]
[,identifier-7 [,DELIMITER IN identifier-8, COUNT IN identifier-9]

01 WS-DATA PIC X(12) VALUE ‘10/200/300/1’.
UNSTRING WS-DATA DELIMITED BY ‘/’
INTO WS-FLD1 DELIMITER IN WS-D1 COUNT IN WS-C1
WS-FLD2 DELIMITER IN WS-D2 COUNT IN WS-C2
WS-FLD3 DELIMITER IN WS-D3 COUNT IN WS-C3
END-UNSTRING.
Result:
WS-FLD1 = 10 WS-FLD2 =200 WS-FLD3=300
WS-C1 = 2 WS-C2=3 WS-C3=3 WS-D1 = ‘/’ WS-D2=’/’ WS-D3 ‘/’
ON OVERFLOW can be coded with STRING and UNSTRING. If there is STRING
truncation then the imperative statements followed ON OVERFLOW will be executed.
COPY Statement
A COPY statement is used to bring a series of prewritten COBOL entries that have been
stored in library, into a program.

1.Common routines like error routine, date validation routine are coded in a library and bring into
the program by COPY.

2. Master files are used in multiple programs. Their layout can be placed in one copybook and be
placed wherever the files are used. It promotes program standardization since all the programs
share the same layout and the same data names.
This reduces coding and debugging time. Change in layout needs change in copybook
only. It is enough if we just recompile the program for making the new copy effective.

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Syntax:
COPY copybook-name [(OF/IN) library name]
[REPLACING string-to-be-replaced BY replacing-string]

Copybooks are stored as members in PDS library and during compilation time, they are included
into the program. By default, the copybook library is SYSLIB and it can be changed using IN or
OF of COPY statement.

Copybooks can be used in the following paragraphs.
SOURCE-COMPUTER, OBJECT-COMPUTER, SPECIAL-NAMES, FILE-CONTROL,
IO-CONTROL, FD SECTION, PARAGRAPHS IN PROCEDURE DIVISION.

If the same copybook is used more than once in the program, then there will be
“duplicate data declaration” error during compilation, as all the fields are declared twice. In this
case, one copybook can be used with REPLACING verb to replace high-level qualifier of the all
the variables with another qualifier.

Example: COPY CUSTOMER REPLACING ‘CUST1-‘ BY ‘CUST2-‘.

Delimiter ‘= =’ should be used for replacing pseudo texts. The replacing option does not
alter the prewritten entries in the library; the changes are made to the user’s source program only.

CALL statement (Sub-Programs)
When a specific functionality need to be performed in more than one program, it is best
to write them separately and call them into each program. Sub Programs can be written in any
programming language. They are typically written in a language best suited to the specific task
required and thus provide greater flexibility.

Main Program Changes:
CALL statement is used for executing the sub-program from the main program. A sample
of CALL statement is given below:
CALL ‘PGM2’ USING BY REFERENCE WS-VAR1, BY CONTENT WS-VAR2.
PGM2 is called here. WS-VAR1 and WS-VAR2 are working storage items.
WS-VAR1 is passed by reference. WS-VAR2 is passed by Content. BY REFERENCE is default
in COBOL and need not be coded. BY CONTENT LENGTH phrase permits the length of data
item to be passed to a called program.

Sub-Program Changes:
WS-VAR1 and WS-VAR2 are working storage items of main program.
As we have already mentioned, the linkage section is used for accessing external elements. As
these working storage items are owned by main program, to access them in the sub-program, we
need to define them in the linkage section.

LINKAGE SECTION.
01 LINKAGE SECTION.
05 LK-VAR1 PIC 9(04).
05 LK-VAR2 PIC 9(04).

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In addition to define them in linkage section, the procedure division should be coded with these
data items for address-ability.

PROCEDURE DIVISION USING LK-VAR1,LK-VAR2

There is a one-one correspondence between passed elements and received elements (Call
using, linkage and procedure division using) BY POSITION. This implies that the name of the
identifiers in the called and calling program need not be the same (WS-VAR1 & LK-VAR1) but
the number of elements and picture clause should be same.

The last statement of your sub-program should be EXIT PROGRAM. This returns the
control back to main program. GOBACK can also be coded instead of EXIT PROGRAM but not
STOP RUN. EXIT PROGRAM should be the only statement in a paragraph in COBOL74
whereas it can be coded along with other statements in a paragraph in COBOL85.

PROGRAM-ID. <Program-name> IS INITIAL PROGRAM.
If IS INITIAL PROGRAM is coded along with program-id of sub program, then the
program will be in initial stage every time it is called (COBOL85 feature).
Alternatively CANCEL issued after CALL, will set the sub-program to initial state.

If the sub program is modified then it needs to be recompiled. The need for main program
recompilation is decided by the compiler option used for the main program. If the DYNAM
compiler is used, then there is no need to recompile the main program. The modified subroutine
will be in effect during the run. NODYNAM is default that expects the main program
recompilation.

Difference between Pass-by-reference and Pass-by-content

Difference between Static Call and Dynamic Call

INTRINSIC FUNCTIONS:

LENGTH Returns the length of the PIC clause. Used for finding length of group

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item that spanned across multiple levels.
MAX Returns the content of the argument that contains the maximum value
MIN Returns the content of the argument that contains the minimum value
NUMVAL Returns the numeric value represented by an alphanumeric character
string specified in the argument.
NUMVAL-C Same as NUMVAL but currency and decimal points are ignored during
conversion.
CURRENT Returns 21 Chars alphanumeric value – YYYYMMDDHHMMSSnnnnnn
DATE
INTEGER OF DATE Returns INTEGER equivalent of Gregorian date passed.
INTEGER OF DAY Returns INTEGER equivalent of Julian date passed.
DATE OF INTEGER Returns Gregorian date for the integer passed.
DAY OF INTEGER Returns Julian date for the integer passed.

Note: FUNCTION INTEGER OF DATE (01-01-1601) returns 1.

FILE HANDLING
A data file is collection of relevant records and a record is collection of relevant fields.
The file handling in COBOL program involves five steps.

Steps in file-handing

1.Allocation: The files used in the program should be declared in FILE-CONTROL
paragraph of environment division. The mapping with JCL DDNAME is done here. The file is
allocated to your program by this statement.

2.Definition. The layout of the file and its attributes are defined in the FILE SECTION of
DATA DIVISION.

3.Open: Dataset is connected/readied to your program using OPEN statement. The mode
of OPEN decides the operation allowed and the initial pointer in the dataset. For example,
EXTEND mode allows only write access and the pointer is kept on the end of file to append.

4.Process: Process the file as per requirement, using the I-O statements
provided by COBOL. (READ, WRITE, REWRITE and DELETE)

5. Close: After the processing, close the file to disconnect it from the program.

Allocation of file - SELECT Statement
(ENVIRONMENT-> INPUT-OUTPUT-> FILE-CONTROL)

SELECT [OPTIONAL] FILENAME ASSIGN to DDNAME =>ALL Files
ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL/INDEXED/RELATIVE =>ALL Files
ACCESS IS SEQUNETIAL/RANDOM/DYNAMIC =>ALL Files
RECORD KEY IS FILE-KEY1 =>KSDS
RELATIVE KEY IS WS-RRN =>RRDS

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ALTERNARE RECORD KEY IS FILE-KEY2 WITH DUPLICATES =>KSDS with
ALTERNARE RECORD KEY IS FILE-KEY3 WITHOUT DUPLICATES =>AIX
FILE STATUS IS WS-FILE-STAT1 =>ALL Files
[,WS-FILE-STAT2] =>VSAM Files

SELECT Statement- OPTIONAL Clause
This can be coded only for input files. If OPTIONAL is not coded, then the input file is
expected to present in JCL. If not, an execution error will occur.
If OPTIONAL is coded, then if the file is not mapped in JCL, it is considered as empty
file and the first read results end of file.
The file can also be dynamically allocated instead of static allocation in JCL.

SELECT Statement- ASSIGN TO
FILENAME is the logical name used inside the program and DDNAME is the logical
name in the JCL, mapped with physical dataset. DDNAME can be prefixed with ‘S-‘ to indicate
QSAM file, ‘-AS’ to indicate ESDS file and with no prefix to indicate KSDS/RRDS file.

JCL Step executing the program should have a dataset with DDNAME as label
//DDNAME DD DSN=BPMAIN.EMPLOYEE.DATA,DISP=SHR

SELECT Statement-ORGANIZATION
It can be SEQUENTIAL (PS or VSAM ESDS), INDEXED (VSAM KSDS), RELATIVE
(VSAM RRDS). Default is Sequential.

SELECT Statement-ACCESS MODE
SEQUENTIAL.
It is default access mode and it is used to access the records ONLY in sequential order.
To read 100th record, first 99 records need to be read and skipped.

RANDOM.
Records can be randomly accessed in the program using the primary/alternate key of
indexed file organization or relative record number of relative organization.100th record can
directly be read after getting the address of the record from the INDEX part for INDEXED
files.100th record can directly be read for RELATIVE files even without any index.

DYNAMIC.
It is mixed access mode where the file can be accessed in random as well as sequential
mode in the program.
Example: Reading the details of all the employees between 1000-2000. First randomly access
1000th employee record, then read sequentially till 2000th employee record. START and READ
NEXT commands are used for this purpose in the procedure division.

SELECT Statement-RECORD KEY IS
It is primary key of VSAM KSDS file. It should be unique and part of indexed record
structure.

SELECT Statement-ALTERNATE RECORD KEY IS
This phrase is used for KSDS files defined with AIX. Add the clause WITH
DUPLICATES if the AIX is defined with duplicates.

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Referring to VSAM basics, every alternate index record has an associated PATH and
the path should be allocated in the JCL that invokes this program.
The DDNAME of the path should be DDNAME of the base cluster suffixed with 1 for
the first alternate record clause, suffixed with n for nth ALTERNATE RECORD KEY clause in
SELECT clause.

SELECT Statement-FILE STATUS IS WS-FILE-STAT1,WS-FILE-STAT2
WS-FILE-STAT1 should be defined as PIC X(02) in working storage section. After every
file operation, the file status should be checked for allowable values.
WS-FILE-STAT2 can be coded for VSAM files to get the VSAM return code (2 bytes),
VSAM function-code (1 byte) and VSAM feedback code (3 bytes).
This is a 6- byte field in working storage.

RESERVE Clause.
RESERVE clause [RESERVE integer AREA ] can be coded in the SELECT statement.
The number of buffers to be allocated for the file is coded here.
By default two buffers will be allocated if the clause is not coded. Since similar option is
available in JCL, this is not coded in program.

RESERVE 1 AREA allocates one buffer, for the file in the SELECT statement.

Defining the file in FILE SECTION - FD

FD FILENAME
RECORDING MODE IS V/VB/F/FB
RECORD CONTAINS M CHARACTERS (TO N CHARACTERS)
BLOCK CONTAINS X CHARACTERS/RECORDS (TO Y CHARACTERS/RECORDS)
LABEL RECORDS ARE OMITTED/STANDARD
DATA RECORD IS FILE-RECORD.
01 FILE-RECORD PIC X(nnn).

FD-RECORD CONTAINS
It specifies the length of the record in terms of bytes. (It will be RECORD contains m to
n CHARACTERS for variable format files)

FD-BLOCK CONTAINS
It specifies the physical record size. It can be mentioned as number of logical records OR
number of characters, that is multiple of logical record length. It is suggested to code BLOCK
CONTAINS 0 RECORDS so that system will decide the optimum size for the file based on the
device used for storing the file. BLOCK CONTAINS clause is treated as comments for VSAM
files.

Advantage of Blocking:
1.I-O time is reduced as n numbers of records are read into main memory buffer during an I-O.
2.Inter record gap is removed and the gap exist only between blocks. So memory wastage due to
IRG is avoided.

FD-RECORDING MODE IS

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It can be F (FIXED) V(VARIABLE) FB(FIXED BLOCK) VB(VARIABLE BLOCKED)
Variable record file identification:
If there is no recording mode/record contains clause, it is still possible to identify variable
length records. If there is an OCCURS depending on clause or there are multiple 01 levels and
every 01 level is of different size, then the file would be of variable length. Multiple 01 level in
File section is an example for implicit redefinition.

FD-LABEL RECORDS Clause
As a general rule, LABEL RECORDS are STANDARD is coded for Disk and Tape files,
LABEL RECORDS ARE OMITTED is coded for printer files. In COBOL74, this clause is a
mandatory clause whereas COBOL85 made this as optional.

FD-DATA RECORD IS Clause
It is used to name the data record(s) of the file. More than one record can be coded here.

OPEN STATEMENT
Syntax: OPEN OPENMODE FILENAME
OPENMODE can be INPUT OUTPUT I-O EXTEND
INPUT - File can be used ONLY-FOR-READ purpose.
OUTPUT - File can be used ONLY-FOR-WRITE purpose.
I-O - File can be used FOR READ, WRITE and REWRITE purpose.
EXTEND - File can be used FOR appending records using WRITE.

CLOSE statement.
The used files are closed using CLOSE statement. If you don’t close the files, the
completion of the program closes all the files used in the program.
Syntax: CLOSE FILENAME

OPEN and CLOSE for TAPE files - Advanced
If more than one file is stored in a reel of tape, it is called as multi-file volume. When one
file is stored in more than one reel of tape, it is called as
multi-volume label. One reel is known as one volume. When the end of one volume is reached,
automatically the next volume opens. So there is no special control is needed for multi volume
files.

OPEN INPUT file-1 [WITH NO REWIND | REVERSED]
OPEN OUTPUT file-2 [WITH NO REWIND]
CLOSE file-3 [{REEL|UNIT} [WITH NO REWIND| FOR REMOVAL]
CLOSE file-3 [WITH NO REWIND|LOCK]

UNIT and REEL are synonyms.
After opening a TAPE file, the file is positioned at its beginning. When opening the file if
the clause REVERSED is coded, then the file can be read in the REVERESE direction. (Provided
hardware supports this feature)

When you close the file, the tape is normally rewound. The NO REWIND clause
specifies that the TAPE should be left in its current position.

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CLOSE statement with REEL option closes the current reel alone. So the next READ
will get the first record of next REEL. This will be useful when you want skip all the records in
the first reel after n number of records processing.

Since TAPE is sequential device, if you create multiple files in the same TAPE, then
before opening the second file, first file should be closed. At any point of time, you can have only
one file is active in the program. In addition to this, you have to code MULTIPLE FILE clause in
the I-O control paragraph of environment division.
MULTIPLE FILE TAPE CONTAINS OUT-FILE1 POSITION 1
OUT-FILE3 POSITION 3.
The files OUT-FILE1 and OUT-FILE3 used in the program are part of a same TAPE and
they exist in first and third position in the tape. Alternatively, this information can be passed from
JCL using LABEL parameter.

READ statement
READ statement is used to read the record from the file.
Syntax: READ FILENAME [INTO ws-record] [KEY IS FILE-KEY1]
[AT END/INVALID KEY imperative statement1]
[NOT AT END/NOT INVALID KEY imperative statement2]
END-READ
If INTO clause is coded, then the file is directly read into working storage section record.
It is preferred as it avoids another move of file-section-record to working-storage-record followed
by simple READ. READ-INTO is not preferred for variable size records where the length of the
record being read is not known.
KEY IS clause is used while accessing a record randomly using primary/alternate record
key.
AT END and NOT AT END are used during sequential READ of the file.
INVALID KEY and NOT INVALID KEY are used during random read of the file.
Before accessing the file randomly, the key field should have a value before READ.

WRITE Statement
Write statement is used to write a new record in the file. If the file is opened in EXTEND
mode, the record will be appended. If the file is opened in OUTPUT mode, the record will be
added at the current position.

Syntax: WRITE FILE-RECORD [FROM ws-record]
[INVALID KEY imperative statement1]
END-WRITE

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FROM clause avoids the explicit move of working storage record to file section record before
WRITE.

REWRITE Statement
REWRITE is used to update an already read record. To update a record in a file, the file
should be opened in I-O mode.
Syntax: REWRITE FILE-RECORD [FROM ws-record]
END-REWRITE

START Statement
START is used with dynamic access mode of indexed files. It establishes the current
location in the cluster for READ NEXT statement. START itself does not retrieve any record.
Syntax: START FILENAME
KEY is EQUAL TO/NOT LESS THAN/GREATER THAN key-name
END-START.

DELETE Statement
DELETE is used to delete the most recently read record in the file. To delete a record, the
file should be opened in I-O mode.
Syntax: DELETE FILENAME RECORD
END-DELETE

File Error – Handling
There are chances for failure of any file I-O processing. The failure of an I-O operation
can be accepted or cannot be tolerated. The severity of failure has to be defined in the program
design stage.
Let us assume that we don’t have any error handling in our program. In this case, for
example, if you don’t have a specific record in the file, the random read of that record would
immediately terminate the program with error ‘record not found’.

Error Handling Clauses Provided by COBOL.
The sudden termination can be avoided by handling this error, with INVALID KEY
clause of READ. Based on the importance of the record and business rule, we can continue our
program with next record or terminate the program properly.
AT END is another error handling clause provided by COBOL. But there is no way to handle all
such errors in this way.

Assign file-status and take the responsibility.
The second method is, assigning file-status to the file in the SELECT clause and checks
the file status after each and every I-O and ensures that the value of status code is one of the
allowable values. If it is not an allowable return code, then abnormally end the program with
error statements that would be easier to debug.
But we have to do this checking after each and every I-O operation.
This is MOST PREFERRED ERROR HANDLING METHOD in structured programming.

Declaratives – USE statement

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COBOL provides an option to group all the possible errors of specific operation(s) in a
place and that will be automatically invoked during the respective operation(s) of any file. This
avoids redundant code.
This is done in DECLARATIVE section of the procedure division. DECLARATIVE
should be the first section in the procedure division if coded.

PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DECLARATIVES.
USE-PROCEDURE SECTION.
USE AFTER EXCEPTION PROCEDURE ON INPUT
ERROR-PROCEDURE.
Check the file-status code for validity.
END-DECLARATIVES.
Whenever there is an error in the processing of ANY FILE opened in INPUT mode, then
the control comes to ERROR-PROCEDURE. The validity of error should be checked in this
paragraph and allow or restrict the process down, based on severity of error code.

The complete syntax of USE statements is:
USE AFTER STANDARD ERROR|EXCEPTION PROCEDURE ON
INPUT|OUTPUT|I-O|EXTEND| file-1
If INPUT is coded, the following procedure will be executed for every operation involved
in any file that is opened in INPUT mode. OUTPUT, I-O and EXTEND have the same meaning
but the mode is different.
If file name (file-1) is coded in the USE statement, then all the input-output operation of
that specific file will be checked.
ERROR and EXCEPTION are synonyms.
The Procedure written in a DECLARATIVE section should not refer to any non-
declarative procedure written after the end procedure and vice-versa.
I-O-CONTROL - SAME AREA AND SAME RECORD AREA
RESERVE clause of SELECT statement specifies the number of buffers to be allocated
for a file. SAME AREA allows more than one file to use the same buffer area. This will be very
useful when the program must work with a limited memory space. But the problem is only one
file should be open at a time if SAME AREA is coded.
Syntax: SAME AREA FOR file-1 file-2 file-3.

If SAME RECORD AREA is coded, then the buffer is not shared but only the record area
is shared. So more than one file can be in open state. We should be careful while filling in the
record area of the output file. This may destroy the record read most recently.
Syntax: SAME RECORD AREA FOR file-1 file-2 file-3.

SAME SORT AREA allows more than one sort/merge work files to use the same area.
The sort work files are automatically allocated when file is opened and de-allocated when file is
closed. As the sort file is automatically opened and closed during a SORT and two sort files
cannot be opened at a time, this clause may not be useful.
Syntax: SAME SORT|SORT-MERGE AREA for file-1 file-2.
File-1 or file-2 should be a SD file.

I-O CONTROL- RERUN Clause
RERUN ON rescue FOR EVERY integer RECORDS on file-1
This will cause checkpoint to be taken for every interger-1 records processing of

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file-1. If the program ABENDED before the complete processing of the file-1, then the program
will restart from integer+1ST record instead of first record. The rescue file details should be
mentioned outside the program and it varies from installation to installation.

ENTRY statement
ENTRY statement establishes an alternate ENTRY point in a COBOL called
sub-program. When a CALL statement naming the alternate entry point is executed in a calling
program, control is transferred to the next executable statement following the entry statement.
Except when a CALL statement refers to an entry name, the ENTRY statements are ignored at
run-time.

Matching Logic
If you have been given two files of similar type, say master and transaction file and you
are requested to update the master file with transaction file information for existing records and
prepare a report of new transactions and deleted transactions, then you should go for what is
called Matching logic. This is also known as co-sequential processing.

Sort both the files on key and compare the keys. If the keys are matching then update the
file. If you find any record that is found in transaction but not in master file, then that is new
addition and the reverse is deletion. If the master key is greater than transaction key, then that
corresponds to the first case and reverse is the second case.

This can be easily done in JCL using ICETOOL. Refer JCL section.

FILE STATUS CODES

It is a two-byte working storage item. The first byte denotes the general category whereas
second byte denotes the particular type of error message under that category.

2


COBOL COMPILATION

SYSPRINT
PARM (Compiler listing)
(Compiler
Options)

IGYCRCTL
SYSIN SYSLIN(Object Module)
(COBOL COMPILER)
(Source)

SYSLIB PARM
(Copybook Library) (Link
edit Options)
IEWL
(Link Editor)
SYSLMOD
(Load Module)

SYSPRINT SYSLIB
(Link edit messages) (Subroutine Library)

COMPILATION JCL:

3


//SMSXL86B JOB ,'COMPILATION JCL', MSGCLASS=Q,MSGLEVEL=(1,1),CLASS=C
//COMPILE1 EXEC PGM=IGYCRCTL,
PARM=’XREF,APO,ADV,MAP,LIST),REGION=0M
//STEPLIB DD DSN=SYS1.COB2LIB,DISP=SHR
//SYSIN DD DSN=SMSXL86.TEST.COBOL(SAMPGM01),DISP=SHR
//SYSLIB DD DSN=SMSXL86.COPYLIB,DISP=SHR
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSLIN DD DSN=&&LOADSET, DCB=(RECFM=FB,LRECL=80,BLKSIZE=3200),
// DISP=(NEW,PASS),UNIT=SYSDA,SPACE=(CYL,(5,10),RLSE),
//SYSUT1 DD UNIT=&SYSDA,SPACE=(CYL,(1,10)) => Code SYSUT2 to UT7
//LINKEDT1 EXEC PGM=IEWL,COND=(4,LT)
//SYSLIN DD DSN=&&LOADSET, DISP=(OLD,DELETE)
//SYSLMOD DD DSN=&&GOSET(SAMPGM01),DISP=(NEW,PASS),UNIT=SYSDA
// SPACE=(CYL,1,1,1))
//SYSLIB DD DSN=SMSXL86.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR
//SYSUT1 DD UNIT=SYSDA,SPACE=(CYL,(1,10))

//*** EXECUTE THE PROGRAM ***
//EXECUTE1 EXEC PGM=*.LINKEDT1.SYSLMOD,COND=(4,LT),REGION=0M
//STEPLIB DD DSN=SMSXL86.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR
// DD DSN=SYS1.SCEERUN,DISP=SHR
//SYSOUT DD SYSOUT=*

Compiler Options
The default options that were set up when your compiler was installed are in effect for
your program unless you override them with other options. To check the default compiler options
of your installation, do a compile and check in the compilation listing.

Ways of overriding the default options

1.Compiler options can be passed to COBOL Compiler Program (IGYCRCTL) through the
PARM in JCL.
2.PROCESS or CBL statement with compiler options, can be placed before the identification
division.
3.If the organization uses any third party product or its own utility then these options can be
coded in the pre-defined line of the utility panel.

Precedence of Compiler Options
1. (Highest precedence). Installation defaults, fixed by the installation.
2. Options coded on PROCESS /CBL statement
3. Options coded on JCL PARM parameters
4. (Lowest Precedence). Installation defaults, but not fixed.

The complete list of compiler option is in the table:

3


ADV: It is meaningful if your program has any printer files with WRITE..ADVANCING
keyword. The compiler adds one byte prefix to the original LRECL of printer files for printing
control purpose. If you are manually populating printing control character in the program, then
you can compile your program with NOADV.

DYNAM: Use DYNAM to cause separately compiled programs invoked through the CALL
literal statement to be loaded dynamically at run time. DYNAM causes dynamic loads (for
CALL) and deletes (for CANCEL) of separately compiled programs at object time. Any CALL
identifier statements that cannot be resolved in your program are also treated as dynamic calls.
When you specify DYNAM, RESIDENT is also put into effect.

LIST/OFFSET: LIST and OFFSET are mutually exclusive. If you use both, LIST will be
ignored. LIST is used to produce listing a listing of the assembler language expansion of your
code. OFFSET is used to produce a condensed Procedure Division listing.
With OFFSET, the procedure portion of the listing will contain line numbers, statement
references, and the location of the first instruction generated for each statement. These options
are useful for solving system ABENDS. Refer JCL session for more details.

MAP: Use MAP to produce a listing of the items you defined in the Data Division.

SSRANGE: If the program is compiled with SSRANGE option, then any attempt to refer an
area outside the region of the table will abnormally terminate with protection exception, usually
S0C4.It also avoids any meaningless operation on reference modification like negative number in
the starting position of reference modification expression. If the program is compiled with
NOSSRANGE, then the program may proceed further with junk or irrelevant data. So usually the
programs are compiled with SSRANGE during development and testing.

RENT: A program compiled as RENT is generated as a reentrant object module. CICS programs
should be compiled with RENT option to share the same copy of the program by multiple
transactions (Multithreading)

RESIDENT: Use the RESIDENT option to request the COBOL Library Management Feature.
(The COBOL Library Management Feature causes most COBOL library routines to be located
dynamically at run time, instead of being link-edited with the COBOL program.).CICS Programs
should be compiled with RESIENT option.

XREF: Use XREF to get a sorted cross-reference listing. EBCDIC data-names and procedure-
names will be listed in alphanumeric order. It also includes listing, where all the data-names that
are referenced within your program and the line number where they are defined. This is useful for

3


identifying the fields that are defined but not used anywhere after the development of new
program.

TSO Commands from COBOL program

CBL APOST,NODECK,OBJECT,BUF(10000),DYNAM => Compiler option override
******************************************************************
* FUNCTION = This sample program demonstrates how to invoke *
* TSO commands from a COBOL program using *
* standard TSO services as documented in the *
* TSO/E Programming Services manual. *
******************************************************************
Identification Division.
Program-ID. SMSTSOEV.

Data Division.
Working-Storage Section.
01 Filler.
05 ws-dummy Pic s9(8) Comp.
05 ws-return-code Pic s9(8) Comp.
05 ws-reason-code Pic s9(8) Comp.
05 ws-info-code Pic s9(8) Comp.
05 ws-cppl-address Pic s9(8) Comp.
05 ws-flags Pic X(4) Value X'00010001'.
05 ws-buffer Pic X(256).
05 ws-length Pic s9(8) Comp Value 256.

Procedure Division.
*----------------------------------------------------------------*
* Call IKJTSOEV to create the TSO/E environment *
*----------------------------------------------------------------*

3


CALL 'IKJTSOEV' Using ws-dummy,ws-return-code,ws-reason-code,
ws-info-code,ws-cppl-address.
IF ws-return-code > zero
DISPLAY 'IKJTSOEV Failed, Return-code=' ws-return-code
' Reason-code=' ws-reason-code
'Info-code=' ws-info-code
MOVE ws-return-code to Return-code
STOP RUN.
*----------------------------------------------------------------*
* Build the TSO/E command in ws-buffer *
*----------------------------------------------------------------*

MOVE 'ALLOCATE DD(SYSPUNCH) SYSOUT HOLD' to ws-buffer.

*----------------------------------------------------------------*
* Call the TSO/E Service Routine to execute the TSO/E command *
*----------------------------------------------------------------*
CALL 'IKJEFTSR' Using ws-flags,ws-buffer,ws-length
ws-return-code,ws-reason-code,ws-dummy.
IF ws-return-code > zero
DISPLAY 'IKJEFTSR Failed, Return-code=' ws-return-code
' Reason-code=' ws-reason-code
MOVE ws-return-code to Return-code
STOP RUN.

*----------------------------------------------------------------*
* Check that the ALLOCATE command worked *
*----------------------------------------------------------------*
DISPLAY 'ALLOCATE Worked ! ' Upon Syspunch.

STOP RUN.

Interview Questions(IQ):

* Says importance and possibility of the question in an interview.

1.Difference between Next Sentence and Continue ***
2.Comp, Comp-1, Comp-2 and Comp-3 difference and how many bytes occupied by each.
Should know how to read COMP-3 data. *****
3.Identifying and making Static and Dynamic call *****
4.Binary and Sequential search and when you prefer what? *****
5.What are the various ways of passing data from JCL to Program and how to receive them in
Program? *****
6.Difference between COBOL74 (OS/VS COBOL) and COBOL85 (VS COBOL2) ****
7.Subscript and Index difference and when you prefer what? ****
8.Reference modification. ****
9.Compiler and Link edit option – SSRANGE MAP LIST OFFSET RENT RESIDENT DYNAM
and AMODE/RMODE ***

3


10.How to make a call by content in COBOL? ***
11.How do you set return code from the program? ***
12.Case structure, Sub-string, Do while, Do Until, BLL equivalent in COBOL ***
13.Difference between section and paragraph *****
14.Can occurs be coded in 01 level? *****
15.Are multiple 01 levels supported in file section? **
16.Various ways of overriding default compiler options **
17.Sort algorithms **
18.How to get the actual length of alphanumeric item? **
19.What is UT-S means with respect to SELECT statement? *
20.Can I rewrite a sequential file in TAPE? *
21.COMP-3 items are always better than COMP in terms of memory. Yes/No **
22.Which VSAM type is fastest? Relative key is part of file section? **
23.How to create a report in COBOL program? ***
24.How to submit a JCL from COBOL program? ****
25.What is SYNC Clause? **
26.What is in line PERFORM and when will you use it? ****
27.What is INSPECT statement? ***
28.To use SEARCH ALL, the table should be in sorted order. I am loading the table from one of
the PDS members. The PDS member data is not in sorted order. How will I load the table in
SORTED order? You should not sort in JCL. **
29.What is the purpose of USE statement? *
30.What are SAME AREA and SAME RECORD AREA? *
31. Is dynamic allocation possible in COBOL? If yes, How? *
32. What is the difference between ON SIZE ERROR and ON OVERFLOW? *
33.How to swap two variables without third variable? *
34.What is limit of linkage section? *

Answers for selected questions:

What is the limit of working storage and linkage section limit? (IQ 34)
Working storage and Linkage section limit of COBOL85 is 128MB (COBOL74-1MB)
77,01-49 level item limit in COBOL85 is 16MB (COBOL74-1MB)

How to swap the values of two variables without an intermediate variable?(IQ 33)
Let the variables be A and B
Way 1: COMPUTE A = A+B Way 2: COMPUTE A=A*B
COMPUTE B = A-B COMPUTE B=A/B
COMPUTE A = A-B COMPUTE A=A/B

3


I have retrieved a value from DB2 VARCHAR column. (Ex: WS-VAR = ‘muthu$sara$‘ $ is 1-n
spaces.) How to get the length of the WS-VAR in COBOL program? I should not count right
hand spaces. (IQ 20)
LENGTH function counts space also as a character. So we cannot use that function for
our purpose. INSPECT is also not useful as the string may contain 1- n spaces in between and
that needs to be counted. So the logic would be ” Read from right until you read first noon-space
character”.
PERFORM VARYING WS-SUB-NAME FROM
LENGTH OF WS-VAR BY -1
UNTIL END-FOUND OR WS-SUB-NAME = 0
IF WS-NAME-CHK(WS-SUB-NAME:1) NOT EQUAL TO SPACE
MOVE 'Y' TO WS-END-OF-FIELD
DISPLAY 'LENGTH ' WS-SUB-NAME
END-IF
END-PERFORM

How to pass user return code and user ABEND from the COBOL program to the JCL?
RETURN-CODE is a special register and its content is moved to register15 when the control is
given back to OS. So move the return code to this register in the program.
Ex: MOVE 1000 to RETURN-CODE.
This sets return code as 1000 for the step that executes this program.
For ABEND, you should call your installation specific assembler routine or ILBOABN0 with the
ABEND code you want.
CALL ‘ILBOABN0’ USING WS-AB-CODE.
WS-ABEND-CODE is the variable that has ABEND-CODE. It is a half word binary.

What should be the LRECL of printer files?
Use 133 character records in your program and set the print control character yourself. In
this case your JCL would have RECFM=FB, LRECL=133
Use 132 character records in the program and have WRITE ....ADVANCING put in the
print control. You need the compiler option ADV for this and the JCL would have
RECFM=FBA,LRECL=133.........

What are the sort algorithms? (IQ 17 and 28)

Bubble Sort: Consecutive elements are compared and keys of two elements are not in proper
order, they are swapped. In the first pass, the key with largest value will be moved to the last
position and n-1 passes needed to sort the whole table.
In between, if any pass results no interchange it implies that the table is in sorted order.

Array: 1 20 9 50 8
First Pass: (Maximum 4 comparisons for 5 elements)
1, 20->no change, 20 & 9 -> 20 is great so swap (1 9 20 50),
20 & 50 -> no change, 50 & 8 -> 50 is great, so swap. (1 9 20 8 50)
Second Pass: (1 9 20 8 50) - (Maximum 3 comparison for 5 elements)

3


1 & 9-> no change, 9 & 20 -> no change, 20 & 8 -> 20 is great so swap
(1 9 8 20 50)
Third Pass: (1 9 8 20 50) – (Maximum 2 comparisons for 5 elements)
1 & 9 -> no change, 9 & 8-> change (1 8 9 20 50)
Fourth Pass: (1 8 9 20 50) – (Maximum 1 comparison for 5 elements)
1 & 9 -> no change
Note: You can come out of sort when you find ‘no change’ in all the comparisons of a
pass.

Shuttle Sort: In the first pass only first two elements are compared and sorted and in the second
pass, third element is compared with two and one and it is placed in the right position. In the ith
pass, it assumes that I elements are in already sorted order, proceeds to sort the first (I+1)
elements by comparing I+1 th element with I, and I with I-1 and so on until top of the table is
reached or no-exchange in a comparison.

Array: 1 20 9 50 8
First Pass: Two elements (1 20) - Maximum 1 comparison
1, 20->no change
Second Pass: Three elements (1 20 9) – Maximum 2 comparisons
9 & 20 -> change (1 9 20) 9 & 1 -> no change
Third Pass: Four elements (1 9 20 50) – Maximum 3 comparisons
50 & 20 -> no change and stop (no need for any other comparison)
Fourth Pass: Five elements (1 9 20 50 8) – Maximum 4 comparisons
8 & 50 -> change ( 1 9 20 8 50) , 8 & 20-> Change ( 1 9 8 20 50)
8 & 9 -> Change (1 8 9 20 50) , 8 & 1 -> no change and stop.
Note: You can come out of pass if you find one ‘no change’

Shuttle sort is better than bubble sort for sorting arrays with more than 10 elements.

COMP-3 items are always better than COMP with respect to memory usage (IQ 21)?
No. COMP items occupy less space than COMP-3 items at boundaries.
PIC S9(04) COMP occupies 2 bytes whereas PIC S9(04) COMP-3 occupies 3 bytes.

I have a KSDS Students file with 4 bytes key. First two-bytes contain class number and next two-
bytes contain student number. I want to read all the students in class ‘02’. How will you do that?
Allocate the file with dynamic access mode. Move ‘02’ to first two-bytes of the key and
low-values to next two-bytes of the key. You can do these moves by reference modification
operator or de-grouping the four-byte field into two two-byte fields in the file section.
Issue the START command with KEY IS GREATER THAN clause. Start reading the file
in loop until first two-bytes is not equal to 2.

NOTES

3

COBOL FOR FRESHER

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