CHAPTER 2

Cobol Language
Fundamentals

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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BASIC STRUCTURE OF A
COBOL PROGRAM
CODING RULES
• A COBOL statement is subdivided into 72
positions or columns.
• Column 7 of a COBOL program has three
primary purposes:
1. By coding an * (asterisk) in column 7, an
entire line can be designated as a
comment.
2. It can be used to force the printing of
subsequent instructions on the next page
of the source listing.
3. It can be used for the continuation of
nonnumeric literals.
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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DEBUGGING TIP

• Use uppercase letters for

instructions;
– use lowercase letters for comments.

• Page-Eject with a Slash (/) in

Column 7 can also be used to skip to
the next page when the source
listing is being printed.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CODING RULES: Areas A and B
• Positions 8--72 of a standard COBOL program
contain program statements:
– Column 8 is labeled the A area
– Column 12 is labeled the B area

• Entries in Area A, may begin in position 8, 9,

10, or 11.
– Most often, Area A entries begin in position 8.

• If an entry is to be coded in Area B, it may

begin anywhere after position 11.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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TYPES OF COBOL ENTRIES
Divisions, sections, and paragraphs
begin in Area A. Examples include:
• DIVISIONS
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
DATA DIVISION.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
• SECTIONS
FILE SECTION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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TYPES OF COBOL ENTRIES
Divisions, sections, and paragraphs begin in Area
A. Examples include:
• PARAGRAPHS
PROGRAM-ID.
0-MAIN-MODULE.
1-BUILD-DETAIL-LINE.

• Statements and sentences begin in Area B; for

example:
SELECT PAYROLL ASSIGN TO DISK.
ADD AMT-IN TO TOTAL.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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TYPES OF COBOL ENTRIES

• MARGIN RULES
1. Division, section, and paragraph-
names begin in Area A.
2. All other statements, clauses,
and sentences begin in Area B.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CODING REQUIREMENTS OF
THE IDENTIFICATION
DIVISION

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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Paragraphs in the
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. program-name.
[AUTHOR. [comment-entry] . . .]
[INSTALLATION. [comment-entry] . . .]
[DATE-WRITTEN. [comment-entry] . . .]
[DATE-COMPILED. [comment-entry] . . .]
[SECURITY. [comment-entry] . . .]
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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Rules for Interpreting
Instruction Formats
1. Uppercase words are COBOL
reserved words
2. Underlined words are required.
3. Lowercase words represent user-
defined entries.
4. Braces { } denote that one of the
enclosed items is required.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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Rules for Interpreting
Instruction Formats
5. Brackets [ ] mean the clause or
paragraph is optional.
6. If punctuation is specified in the
format, it is required.

7. Dots … or ellipses (…) means

additional entries of the same type
may be optionally added.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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COBOL 2000+ CHANGES

• All paragraphs AUTHOR through

SECURITY have been deleted
from the COBOL 2000+
standard since they can be
easily replaced with comments.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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QUESTIONS?
SELF-TEST

1. If an entry must begin in Area A, it

may begin in position _____ ;
if an entry must begin in Area B, it may
begin in position _____ .

Solution: 8, 9, 10, or 11; 12, 13, 14, and

so on
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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SELF-TEST
2. The four divisions of a COBOL
program must appear in order as
_____ ; _____ ; _____ ; and,
_____ .

Solution: IDENTIFICATION;
ENVIRONMENT;
DATA;
PROCEDURE
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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SELF-TEST

3. What entries must be coded

beginning in Area A?

Solution: Division, section, and

paragraph-names
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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SELF-TEST

4. Most entries such as

PROCEDURE DIVISION
instructions are coded in Area
_____ .

Solution: B

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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SELF-TEST

5. _____ and _____ must each appear

on a separate line. All other entries
may have several statements on the
same line.

Solution: Division names; section names

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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SELF-TEST

6. The first two entries of a COBOL

program must always be _____ and
_____ .

Solution: IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.

PROGRAM-ID.
program-name.
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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SELF-TEST

7. Each of the preceding entries

must be followed by a _____ ,
which, in turn, must be followed
by a ____ .

Solution: period; space or blank

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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SELF-TEST
9. Code the IDENTIFICATION
DIVISION for a program called
EXPENSES for a corporation, Dynamic
Data Devices, Inc., written January
18, 2007. This program has a security
classification and is available to
authorized personnel only. It produces
a weekly listing by department of all
operating expenses.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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 SELF-TEST
9. Suggested solution:
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. EXPENSES.
*AUTHOR. N. B. STERN.
*INSTALLATION. DYNAMIC DATA DEVICES, INC.
*DATE-WRITTEN. 1/18/2007.
*DATE-COMPILED. 1/18/2007.
*SECURITY. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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THE SECTIONS OF THE
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION
• The ENVIRONMENT DIVISION is the
only machine-dependent division of a
COBOL program.
• Entries in this division will depend upon:
– (1) the computer system and
– (2) the specific devices or hardware used in
the program.*
*Interactive programs that use keyed data as
input and display screen output will not need
this division.
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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THE CONFIGURATION SECTION
– Supplies information about the computer on
which the COBOL program will be compiled
and executed.

SOURCE-COMPUTER:
– The computer that will be used for compiling
the program.
OBJECT-COMPUTER:
- The computer that will be used for executing
or running the program.
* SOURCE- COMPUTER and OBJECT-COMPUTER
are coded primarily as documentation entries.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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The CONFIGURATION
SECTION
• All section names, like division
names, are coded in Area A.
• The CONFIGURATION SECTION, if
coded, will follow the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION entry in Area A.
• SOURCE-COMPUTER and OBJECT-
COMPUTER, as paragraph-names,
would also be coded in Area A.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CONFIGURATION SECTION
EXAMPLE
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SOURCE-COMPUTER. IBM iSeries.
OBJECT-COMPUTER. IBM iSeries.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION
• The INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION optionally
follows the CONFIGURATION SECTION
– It supplies information concerning the input
and output devices used in the program by
means of a FILE-CONTROL paragraph.

• In the FILE-CONTROL paragraph, a file-

name is designated and assigned to a
device for each file used in the program.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION
• The FILE-CONTROL paragraph consists
of SELECT statements
– each is coded in Area B followed by a
period.

• A SELECT statement
– defines a file-name.
– assigns a device name to that file*.
A file is the major collection of data for a
given application.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION

• Batch processing applications have

an input file and an output file.
• Interactive processing allows input
using a keyboard;
– therefore, it is not necessary to
establish an input file.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION

• If the output is printed or saved on disk,

an output file must exist in the
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
• If the output is displayed on a screen,
then no file declaration is necessary in the
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
- When this is the case, the ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION may be entirely omitted.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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ASSIGNING FILES TO
DEVICES IN THE
ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION
OVERALL FORMAT
• The instruction format for the SELECT
statement follows:

SELECT file-name-1
ASSIGN TO implementor-name-1
[ORGANIZATION IS LINE SEQUENTIAL]
– The implementor-name is a machine-
dependent device specification that is typically
provided by the computer center.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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OVERALL FORMAT
REVIEW OF INSTRUCTION FORMAT RULES
1. Uppercase words are reserved words;
lowercase words are user-defined.
2. Underlined words are required in the
statement.
3. Two lines are used for a SELECT
statement
– the second line is indented for “ readability”

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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OVERALL FORMAT

File-Name Rules
1. The file-name assigned to each
device must conform to the rules for
forming user-defined words.
2. A user-defined word is a word
chosen by the programmer to
represent some element in a
program such as a file-name:
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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OVERALL FORMAT
• Rules for Forming User-Defined Words
(Such as File-Names)
1. 1 to 30 characters.
2. Letters, digits, and hyphens (-) only.
3. No embedded blanks
– It is best to use hyphens to separate words
(e.g., EMPLOYEE-NAME)

4. At least one alphabetic character.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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OVERALL FORMAT

5. May not begin or end with a

hyphen.
6. No COBOL reserved words such
as DATA, DIVISION, etc.
• A full list of reserved words appears in
Appendix A and in the COBOL Syntax
Reference Guide.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

ition
THE NET

If you do not have a COBOL Syntax

Reference Guide, it can be downloaded
from:
http://www.wiley.com/cobol/

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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OVERALL FORMAT
• A SELECT statement must be specified for
each file in the program,.
• If a program requires a disk file as input
and produces a printed report as an
output file, two SELECT statements will be
specified.
– one file-name will be assigned to the disk file
– the other to the print file.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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DEBUGGING TIP

• File names assigned by the

programmer should be
meaningful.
Examples: SALES-IN
SALES-REPORT-OUT

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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OVERALL FORMAT
Implementor-Names or
Device Specifications
• Most systems enable the
programmer to access frequently
used devices by special device
names.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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OVERALL FORMAT
Implementor-Names or
Device Specifications
The following are common shorthand device
specifications that you will use on our
iSeries system:
Printer PRINTER followed by a
printer file object name

Disk DISK followed by a

file or database object name
Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed
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SELECT Statements for PCs

1. Device Specification on PCs

(a) The drive on which the disk file
appears followed by a colon (e.g., C:,
D:, etc.).
• If your file is in a subdirectory, you must
specify that as well (e.g., C:\COBOL).

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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SELECT Statements for PCs
(b) The file-name for that disk file, where the
rules for forming file- names are dependent on
the operating system.
– The device name for these PC versions of
COBOL is usually enclosed in quotes:
SELECT EMPLOYEE-FILE
ASSIGN TO 'C:EMPFILE'.
SELECT INVENTORY-FILE
ASSIGN TO 'C:\INVENTORY\INVFILE.DAT'.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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SELECT Statements for iSeries

1. Device Specification on the iSeries

(a) Refer to the file object name.
i.e., assume there is physical file
named ROSTER that you want the
program to access …
You will code
SELECT ROSTER-FILE-IN
ASSIGN TO DISK-ROSTER.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CHAPTER SLIDES END HERE

CHAPTER SUMMARY
COMES NEXT

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CHAPTER SUMMARY
I. The IDENTIFICATION DIVISION
A. The IDENTIFICATION DIVISION and its
paragraphs are used for documentation and
do not affect the execution of the program.
B. The first two items to be coded in a
program are:
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. program-name.
C. A program name that is up to eight
characters, letters and digits only, is
acceptable on all computers.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CHAPTER SUMMARY
E. Comments can be included in the
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION, as well as all
other divisions, by coding an * in position
7.
– This makes the entire line a comment.
– We encourage you to use comments
throughout your programs for documentation.

F. A slash (/) in column 7 will cause the

subsequent lines to be printed on the next
page of the source listing.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CHAPTER SUMMARY
II. The ENVIRONMENT DIVISION
A. The format for the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION is:
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SOURCE-COMPUTER. computer-name
OBJECT-COMPUTER. computer-name
INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
FILE-CONTROL.
SELECT file-name-1
ASSIGN TO implementor-name-1

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CHAPTER SUMMARY
II. The ENVIRONMENT DIVISION
• Fully interactive programs that use
keyed data as input and screen
displays as output are not required
to have an ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CHAPTER SUMMARY
B. The CONFIGURATION SECTION is usually
optional and we recommend you omit it.
It supplies documentary information on the
computer(s) being used.

C. The INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION is also

optional but must be included if files are
assigned to devices in a program.
We will always include the INPUT-OUTPUT
SECTION for batch processing.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

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CHAPTER SUMMARY

D. The ENVIRONMENT DIVISION is

the only division of a COBOL
program that may vary depending
on the computer used.
– Obtain the exact device specifications
or disk file-name rules from your
computer center or your instructor.

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

ition
THE NET

If you do not have a COBOL Syntax

Reference Guide, it can be downloaded
from:
http://www.wiley.com/cobol/

Structured COBOL Programming, Stern & Stern, 9th Ed

ition