Skip to content

Commit

Permalink
[cobol] proofread
Browse files Browse the repository at this point in the history
  • Loading branch information
@verhovsky
verhovsky committed Feb 13, 2025
1 parent 9a7151d commit 390b17f
Show file tree
Hide file tree
Showing 2 changed files with 130 additions and 125 deletions.
249 changes: 127 additions & 122 deletions cobol.md
View file
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -2,15 +2,15 @@
name: COBOL
contributors:
- ["Hyphz", "http://github.com/hyphz/"]
filename: learn.COB
filename: learn.cob
---
COBOL is a business-oriented language revised multiple times since its original design in 1960. It is claimed to still be used in over 80% of
organizations.

COBOL is a business-oriented language revised multiple times since its original design in 1960.

```cobol
*COBOL. Coding like it's 1985.
*COBOL. Coding like it's 1985.
*Compiles with GnuCOBOL in OpenCobolIDE 4.7.6.
*COBOL has significant differences between legacy (COBOL-85)
*and modern (COBOL-2002 and COBOL-2014) versions.
*Legacy versions require columns 1-6 to be blank (they are used
Expand All @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ organizations.
*it is still common to use all caps when writing COBOL code.
*This is what most professional COBOL developers do.
*COBOL statements end with a period.
*COBOL code is broken up into 4 divisions.
*Those divisions, in order, are:
*IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
Expand All @@ -35,158 +35,163 @@ organizations.
*PROCEDURE DIVISION.
*First, we must give our program an ID.
*Identification division can include other values too,
*but they are comments only. Program-id is the only one that is mandatory.
*The IDENTIFICATION DIVISION can include other values too,
*but they are comments only. PROGRAM-ID is the only one that
*is mandatory.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. LEARN.
AUTHOR. JOHN DOE.
DATE-WRITTEN. 05/02/2020.
*Let's declare some variables.
*We do this in the WORKING-STORAGE section within the DATA DIVISION.
*Each data item (aka variable) starts with a level number,
*then the name of the item, followed by a picture clause
*Each data item (aka variable) starts with a level number,
*then the name of the item, followed by a PICTURE clause
*describing the type of data that the variable will contain.
*Almost every COBOL programmer will abbreviate PICTURE as PIC.
*A is for alphabetic, X is for alphanumeric, and 9 is for numeric.
*example:
01 MYNAME PIC xxxxxxxxxx. *> A 10 character string.
*But counting all those x's can lead to errors,
*so the above code can, and should
*be re-written as:
01 MYNAME PIC X(10).
01 MYNAME PIC XXXXXXXXXX. *> A 10 character string.
*But counting all those Xs can lead to errors,
*so the above code can be re-written as
01 MYNAME PIC X(10).
*Here are some more examples:
01 AGE PIC 9(3). *> A number up to 3 digits.
01 LAST_NAME PIC X(10). *> A string up to 10 characters.
*In COBOL, multiple spaces are the same as a single space, so it is common
*to use multiple spaces to line up your code so that it is easier for other
*coders to read.
01 inyear picture s9(7). *> S makes number signed.
*> Brackets indicate 7 repeats of 9,
*> ie a 6 digit number (not an array).
01 AGE PICTURE 9(3). *> A number up to 3 digits.
01 BIRTH_YEAR PIC S9(7). *> A signed number up to 7 digits.
01 LAST_NAME PIC X(10). *> A string up to 10 characters.
*In COBOL, multiple spaces are the same as a single space, so it
*is common to use multiple spaces to line up your code so that it
*is easier for other coders to read.
*Now let's write some code. Here is a simple, Hello World program.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. HELLO.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 THE-MESSAGE PIC X(20).
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DISPLAY "STARTING PROGRAM".
MOVE "HELLO WORLD" TO THE-MESSAGE.
DISPLAY THE-MESSAGE.
STOP RUN.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. HELLO.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 THE-MESSAGE PIC X(20).
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DISPLAY "STARTING PROGRAM".
MOVE "HELLO WORLD" TO THE-MESSAGE.
DISPLAY THE-MESSAGE.
STOP RUN.
*The above code will output:
*STARTING PROGRAM
*HELLO WORLD
********COBOL can perform math***************
ADD 1 TO AGE GIVING NEW-AGE.
SUBTRACT 1 FROM COUNT.
DIVIDE VAR-1 INTO VAR-2 GIVING VAR-3.
COMPUTE TOTAL-COUNT = COUNT1 PLUS COUNT2.
ADD 1 TO AGE GIVING NEW-AGE.
SUBTRACT 1 FROM COUNT.
DIVIDE VAR-1 INTO VAR-2 GIVING VAR-3.
COMPUTE TOTAL-COUNT = COUNT1 PLUS COUNT2.
*********PERFORM********************
*The PERFORM keyword allows you to jump to another specified section of the code,
*and then to return to the next executable
*statement once the specified section of code is completed.
*The PERFORM keyword allows you to jump to another specified
*section of the code, and then to return to the next executable
*statement once the specified section of code is completed.
*You must write the full word, PERFORM, you cannot abbreviate it.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. HELLOCOBOL.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
FIRST-PARA.
DISPLAY 'THIS IS IN FIRST-PARA'.
PERFORM THIRD-PARA THRU FOURTH-PARA. *>skip second-para and perform 3rd & 4th
*> then after performing third and fourth,
*> return here and continue the program until STOP RUN.
SECOND-PARA.
DISPLAY 'THIS IS IN SECOND-PARA'.
STOP RUN.
THIRD-PARA.
DISPLAY 'THIS IS IN THIRD-PARA'.
FOURTH-PARA.
DISPLAY 'THIS IS IN FOURTH-PARA'.
*When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:
THIS IS IN FIRST-PARA
THIS IS IN THIRD-PARA
THIS IS IN FOURTH-PARA
THIS IS IN SECOND-PARA
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. HELLOCOBOL.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
FIRST-PARA.
DISPLAY 'THIS IS IN FIRST-PARA'.
*skip SECOND-PARA and perform 3rd & 4th
*then after performing THIRD-PARA and FOURTH-PARA,
*return here and continue the program until STOP RUN.
PERFORM THIRD-PARA THRU FOURTH-PARA.
SECOND-PARA.
DISPLAY 'THIS IS IN SECOND-PARA'.
STOP RUN.
THIRD-PARA.
DISPLAY 'THIS IS IN THIRD-PARA'.
FOURTH-PARA.
DISPLAY 'THIS IS IN FOURTH-PARA'.
*When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the
*following result (note the order):
*THIS IS IN FIRST-PARA
*THIS IS IN THIRD-PARA
*THIS IS IN FOURTH-PARA
*THIS IS IN SECOND-PARA
**********Combining variables together using STRING ***********
*Now it is time to learn about two related COBOL verbs: string and unstring.
*The string verb is used to concatenate, or put together, two or more strings.
*Unstring is used, not surprisingly, to separate a
*string into two or more smaller strings.
*It is important that you remember to use ‘delimited by’ when you
*are using string or unstring in your program.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. LEARNING.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 FULL-NAME PIC X(20).
01 FIRST-NAME PIC X(13) VALUE "BOB GIBBERISH".
01 LAST-NAME PIC X(5) VALUE "COBB".
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
STRING FIRST-NAME DELIMITED BY SPACE
" "
LAST-NAME DELIMITED BY SIZE
INTO FULL-NAME
END-STRING.
DISPLAY "THE FULL NAME IS: "FULL-NAME.
STOP RUN.
*Now it is time to learn about two related COBOL verbs: STRING and
*UNSTRING.
*The above code will output:
THE FULL NAME IS: BOB COBB
*The STRING verb is used to concatenate, or put together, two or
*more strings.
*UNSTRING is used, not surprisingly, to separate a
*string into two or more smaller strings.
*It is important that you remember to use DELIMITED BY when you
*are using STRING or UNSTRING in your program.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. LEARNING.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 FULL-NAME PIC X(20).
01 FIRST-NAME PIC X(13) VALUE "BOB GIBBERISH".
01 LAST-NAME PIC X(5) VALUE "COBB".
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
STRING FIRST-NAME DELIMITED BY SPACE
" "
LAST-NAME DELIMITED BY SIZE
INTO FULL-NAME
END-STRING.
DISPLAY "THE FULL NAME IS: "FULL-NAME.
STOP RUN.
*Let’s examine it to see why.
*First, we declared all of our variables, including the one that we are creating
*by the string command, in the DATA DIVISION.
*The above code will output:
*THE FULL NAME IS: BOB COBB
*The action takes place down in the PROCEDURE DIVISION.
*We start with the STRING keyword and end with END-STRING. In between we
*list what we want to combine together into the larger, master variable.
*Here, we are combining FIRST-NAME, a space, and LAST-NAME.
*The DELIMITED BY phrase that follows FIRST-NAME and
*LAST-NAME tells the program how much of each variable we want to capture.
*DELIMITED BY SPACE tells the program to start at the beginning,
*and capture the variable until it runs into a space.
*DELIMITED BY SIZE tells the program to capture the full size of the variable.
*Since we have DELIMITED BY SPACE after FIRST-NAME, the GIBBERISH part is ignored.
*Let's examine it to see why.
*To make this clearer, change line 10 in the above code to:
*First, we declared all of our variables, including the one that
*we are creating by the string command, in the DATA DIVISION.
STRING FIRST-NAME DELIMITED BY SIZE
*The action takes place down in the PROCEDURE DIVISION.
*We start with the STRING keyword and end with END-STRING. In
*between we list what we want to combine together into the larger,
*master variable. Here, we are combining FIRST-NAME, a space, and
*LAST-NAME.
*and then re-run the program. This time the output is:
*The DELIMITED BY phrase that follows FIRST-NAME and
*LAST-NAME tells the program how much of each variable we want to
*capture.
*DELIMITED BY SPACE tells the program to start at the beginning,
*and capture the variable until it runs into a space.
*DELIMITED BY SIZE tells the program to capture the full size of
*the variable.
*Since we have DELIMITED BY SPACE after FIRST-NAME, the GIBBERISH
*part is ignored.
THE FULL NAME IS: BOB GIBBERISH COBB
*To make this clearer, change line 10 in the above code to
STRING FIRST-NAME DELIMITED BY SIZE
*and then re-run the program. This time the output is:
*THE FULL NAME IS: BOB GIBBERISH COBB
```

## Further reading

* [GnuCOBOL](https://sourceforge.net/projects/open-cobol/)
* [GnuCOBOL](https://gnucobol.sourceforge.io/)

6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions zh-cn/cobol.md
View file
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ contributors:
translators:
- ["GOLGO11", "https://github.com/GOLGO11/"]
---
COBOL是一门面向商业的语言，它从1960年最初设计以来被修订过数次。它被宣称仍然有超过80%的机构在使用它。

COBOL是一门面向商业的语言，它从1960年最初设计以来被修订过数次。

```cobol
*COBOL. 最好是按照它1985年的标准来编程。
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -179,5 +180,4 @@ COBOL是一门面向商业的语言，它从1960年最初设计以来被修订

## 想了解更多吗?

* [GnuCOBOL](https://sourceforge.net/projects/open-cobol/)

* [GnuCOBOL](https://gnucobol.sourceforge.io/)

0 comments on commit 390b17f

Please sign in to comment.