About the Tutorial

COBOL stands for Common Business-Oriented Language. The US Department of Defense, in a

conference, formed CODASYL (Conference on Data Systems Language) to develop a language
for business data processing needs which is now known as COBOL.
COBOL is used for writing application programs and we cannot use it to write system software.
The applications like those in defense domain, insurance domain, etc. which require huge data
processing make extensive use of COBOL.
Audience
This tutorial is designed for software programmers who would like to learn the basics of COBOL.
It provides enough understanding on COBOL programming language from where you can take
yourself to a higher level of expertise.
Prerequisites
Before proceeding with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of computer
programming terminologies and JCL. A basic understanding of any of the programming
languages will help you understand the concepts of COBOL programming and move fast on the
learning track.
Copyright & Disclaimer
We strive to update the contents of our website and tutorials as timely and as precisely as
possible, however, the contents may contain inaccuracies or errors. Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd.
provides no guarantee regarding the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of our website or its
contents including this tutorial. If you discover any errors on our website or in this tutorial, please
notify us at [email protected]
Copyright 2014 by Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd.
All the content and graphics published in this e-book are the property of Tutorials Point (I) Pvt.
Ltd. The user of this e-book is prohibited to reuse, retain, copy, distribute or republish any
contents or a part of contents of this e-book in any manner without written consent of the
publisher.
i

Table of Contents
About the Tutorial
·····································································································································i Audience
···················································································································································· i
Prerequisites
··············································································································································i
Copyright & Disclaimer
······························································································································i Table of
Contents······································································································································ii
1. OVERVIEW ···························································································································· 1
Introduction to
COBOL······························································································································1
Evolution of
COBOL···································································································································1
Importance of COBOL
·······························································································································1 Features of
COBOL ····································································································································2
2. ENVIORNMENT SETUP ·········································································································· 3
Installing COBOL on Windows/Linux
·········································································································3 Compiling COBOL Programs
······················································································································3 Executing COBOL
Programs·······················································································································4 Executing
COBOL-DB2 programs ···············································································································4
Try it Option Online
··································································································································6
3. PROGRAM STRUCTURE ········································································································· 7
Divisions
···················································································································································8
4. BASIC SYNTAX ····················································································································· 12
Character Set
··········································································································································12 Coding
Sheet···········································································································································13
Character
Strings·····································································································································14
Comment
················································································································································14
Literal················································································································································
······ 16
COBOL
Word···········································································································································17
ii

5. DATA TYPES ························································································································ 19

Data
Name··············································································································································1
9 Level
Number··········································································································································2
0 Picture Clause
·········································································································································21 Value
Clause
···········································································································································22
6. BASIC VERBS ······················································································································· 24
Input / Output Verbs
······························································································································24 Initialize
Verb··········································································································································25
Move Verb
··············································································································································26
Legal Moves
············································································································································28 Add
Verb·················································································································································
28 Subtract
Verb··········································································································································30
Multiply
Verb··········································································································································32
Divide Verb
·············································································································································33
Compute
Statement································································································································34
7. DATA LAYOUT ····················································································································· 36
Redefines
Clause·····································································································································36
Renames
Clause······································································································································37
Usage
Clause···········································································································································38
Copybooks
··············································································································································40
8. CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS ······························································································· 41
IF Condition Statement
···························································································································41 Relation
Condition ··································································································································42
Sign
Condition·········································································································································
44 Class Condition
·······································································································································45
Condition-name
Condition······················································································································46
iii

Negated
Condition··································································································································47
Combined Condition
·······························································································································48 Evaluate Verb
·········································································································································49
9. LOOP STATEMENTS·············································································································51
Perform Thru
··········································································································································51
Perform
Until··········································································································································52
Perform Times
········································································································································53 Perform
Varying······································································································································54
GO TO
Statement····································································································································55
10. STRING HANDLING··············································································································57
Inspect
····················································································································································57
String
······················································································································································5
9 Unstring
··················································································································································60
11. TABLE PROCESSING·············································································································63
Table
Declaration····································································································································6
3 Subscript
················································································································································· 65
Index
·······················································································································································
66 Set Statement
·········································································································································67 Search
·····················································································································································
69 Search
All················································································································································69
12. FILE HANDLING ···················································································································72
Field
························································································································································
72 Record
····················································································································································73
File
··························································································································································
73
13. FILE ORGANIZATION············································································································74
Sequential File Organization
···················································································································74
iv

Indexed Sequential File

Organization······································································································75 Relative File
Organization ·······················································································································75
14. FILE ACCESS MODE··············································································································77
Sequential Access
···································································································································77 Random
Access ·······································································································································78
Dynamic Access
······································································································································79
15. FILE HANDLING VERBS ········································································································81
Open
Verb···············································································································································81
Read Verb
···············································································································································82
Write Verb
··············································································································································85
Rewrite
Verb···········································································································································87
Delete
Verb·············································································································································89
Start Verb
···············································································································································90
Close
Verb···············································································································································91
16. SUBROUTINES ····················································································································· 92
Call Verb
·················································································································································92
Call By Reference
····································································································································92 Call By
Content ·······································································································································94
Types of
Call············································································································································95
17. INTERNAL SORT···················································································································96
Sort
Verb·················································································································································
96 Merge
Verb·············································································································································98
18. DATABASE INTERFACE·······································································································101
Embedded
SQL······································································································································101
DB2 Application
Programming··············································································································101
Host
Variables·······································································································································10
1
v

SQLCA
···················································································································································102
SQL Queries
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Cursors·············································································································································
····· 109
19. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ····································································································112
What is Next?
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vi

1. OVERVIEW
Introduction to COBOL
COBOL is a high-level language. One must understand the way COBOL works. Computers only
understand machine code, a binary stream of 0s and 1s. COBOL code must be converted into
machine code using a compiler. Run the program source through a compiler. The compiler first
checks for any syntax errors and then converts it into machine language. The compiler creates
an output file which is known as load module. This output file contains executable code in the
form of 0s and 1s.
Evolution of COBOL
During 1950s, when the businesses were growing in the western part of the world, there was a
need to automate various processes for ease of operation and this gave birth to a high-level
programming language meant for business data processing.
In 1959, COBOL was developed by CODASYL (Conference on Data Systems Language).
The next version, COBOL-61, was released in 1961 with some revisions.
In 1968, COBOL was approved by ANSI as a standard language for commercial
use (COBOL-68).
It was again revised in 1974 and 1985 to develop subsequent versions named COBOL-74 and
COBOL-85 respectively.
In 2002, Object-Oriented COBOL was released, which could use encapsulated objects as a
normal part of COBOL programming.
Importance of COBOL
COBOL was the first widely used high-level programming language. It is an English-like
language which is user friendly. All the instructions can be coded in simple English words.
COBOL is also used as a self-documenting language.
COBOL can handle huge data processing.
7

COBOL is compatible with its previous versions.

COBOL has effective error messages and so, resolution of bugs is easier.
Features of COBOL Standard Language
COBOL is a standard language that can be compiled and executed on machines such as IBM AS/
400, personal computers, etc.
Business Oriented
COBOL was designed for business-oriented applications related to financial domain, defense
domain, etc. It can handle huge volumes of data because of its advanced file handling
capabilities.
Robust Language
COBOL is a robust language as its numerous debugging and testing tools are available for almost
all computer platforms.
Structured Language
Logical control structures are available in COBOL which makes it easier to read and modify.
COBOL has different divisions, so it is easy to debug.
8

2. ENVIORNMENT SETUP
Installing COBOL on Windows/Linux
There are many Free Mainframe Emulators available for Windows which can be used to write and
learn simple COBOL programs.
One such emulator is Hercules, which can be easily installed on Windows by following a few
simple steps as given below:
Download and install the Hercules emulator, which is available from the Hercules' home site :
www.hercules-390.eu
Once you have installed the package on Windows machine, it will create a folder like C:/
hercules/mvs/cobol.
Run the Command Prompt (CMD) and reach the directory C:/hercules/mvs/cobol on CMD.
The complete guide on various commands to write and execute a JCL and COBOL programs
can be found at:
www.jaymoseley.com/hercules/installmvs/instmvs2.htm
Hercules is an open-source software implementation of the mainframe System/370 and ESA/390
architectures, in addition to the latest 64-bit z/Architecture. Hercules runs under Linux,
Windows, Solaris, FreeBSD, and Mac OS X.
A user can connect to a mainframe server in a number of ways such as thin client, dummy
terminal, Virtual Client System (VCS), or Virtual Desktop System (VDS). Every valid user is given
a login id to enter into the Z/OS interface (TSO/E or ISPF).
Compiling COBOL Programs
In order to execute a COBOL program in batch mode using JCL, the program needs to be
compiled, and a load module is created with all the sub-programs. The JCL uses the load module
and not the actual program at the time of execution. The load libraries are concatenated and
given to the JCL at the time of execution using JCLLIB or STEPLIB.
9

There are many mainframe compiler utilities available to compile a COBOL program. Some
corporate companies use Change Management tools like Endevor, which compiles and stores
every version of the program. This is useful in tracking the changes made to the program.
//COMPILE
//*
//STEP1
//SYSIN
//SYSLIB
//SYSLMOD
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//*
IGYCRCTL is an IBM COBOL compiler utility. The compiler options are passed using the PARM
parameter. In the above example, RMODE instructs the compiler to use relative addressing mode
in the program. The COBOL program is passed using the SYSIN parameter. Copybook is the
library used by the program in SYSLIB.
Executing COBOL Programs
Given below is a JCL example where the program MYPROG is executed using the input file
MYDATA.URMI.INPUT and produces two output files written to the spool.
JOB,CLASS=6,MSGCLASS=X,NOTIFY=&SYSUID
EXEC IGYCRCTL,PARM=RMODE,DYNAM,SSRANGE
DD DSN=MYDATA.URMI.SOURCES(MYCOBB),DISP=SHR DD
DSN=MYDATA.URMI.COPYBOOK(MYCOPY),DISP=SHR DD
DSN=MYDATA.URMI.LOAD(MYCOBB),DISP=SHR
//COBBSTEP
//
//STEP10
//STEPLIB
//INPUT1
//OUT1
//OUT2
//SYSIN
//CUST1 1000
//CUST2 1001
/*
JOB CLASS=6,NOTIFY=&SYSUID
EXEC PGM=MYPROG,PARM=ACCT5000
DD DSN=MYDATA.URMI.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR DD DSN=MYDATA.URMI.INPUT,DISP=SHR DD
SYSOUT=*
DD SYSOUT=*
DD*
10

The load module of MYPROG is located in MYDATA.URMI.LOADLIB. This is important to note that
the above JCL can be used for a non-DB2 COBOL module only.
Executing COBOL-DB2 programs
For running a COBOL-DB2 program, a specialized IBM utility is used in the JCL and the program;
DB2 region and required parameters are passed as input to the utility.
The steps followed in running a COBOL-DB2 program are as follows:
When a COBOL-DB2 program is compiled, a DBRM (Database Request Module) is created
along with the load module. The DBRM contains the SQL statements of the COBOL programs
with its syntax checked to be correct.
The DBRM is bound to the DB2 region (environment) in which the COBOL will run. This can be
done using the IKJEFT01 utility in a JCL.
After the bind step, the COBOL-DB2 program is run using IKJEFT01 (again) with the load
library and the DBRM library as the input to the JCL.
//STEP001 EXEC PGM=IKJEFT01
//*
//STEPLIB DD DSN=MYDATA.URMI.DBRMLIB,DISP=SHR //*
//input files
//output files
//SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSABOUT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSDBOUT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSUDUMP DD SYSOUT=*
//DISPLAY DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSOUT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSTSPRT DD SYSOUT=*
//SYSTSIN DD *
DSN SYSTEM(SSID)
RUN PROGRAM(MYCOBB) PLAN(PLANNAME) PARM(parameters to cobol program) -
LIB('MYDATA.URMI.LOADLIB')
11

END /*
In the above example, MYCOBB is the COBOL-DB2 program run using IKJEFT01. Please note that
the program name, DB2 Sub-System Id (SSID), and DB2 Plan name are passed within the
SYSTSIN DD statement. The DBRM library is specified in the STEPLIB.
Try it Option Online
You really do not need to set up your own environment to start learning COBOL programming
language. Reason is very simple, we have already set up COBOL Programming environment
online, so that you can compile and execute all the available examples online at the same time,
when you are doing your theory work. This gives you confidence in what you are reading and to
check the result with different options. Feel free to modify any example and execute it online.
Try the following example using our Try it option available alongside the code in our website.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. HELLO. PROCEDURE DIVISION. DISPLAY 'Hello World'.
STOP RUN.
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:
Hello World
For some of the examples given in this tutorial, you will find a Try it option in our website code
sections at the top right corner that will take you to the online compiler. So just make use of it
and enjoy your learning. Try it option would work only with the code compatible with
OpenCOBOL. The programs that require JCL (Input file, Output file or Parameters) for execution
would not run on Try it option.
12

3. PROGRAM STRUCTURE
A COBOL program structure consists of divisions as shown in the following image:
A brief introduction of these divisions is given below:
Sections are the logical subdivision of program logic. A section is a collection of paragraphs.
Paragraphs are the subdivision of a section or division. It is either a user- defined or a
predefined name followed by a period, and consists of zero or more sentences/entries.
Sentences are the combination of one or more statements. Sentences appear only in the
Procedure division. A sentence must end with a period.
Statementsare meaningful COBOL statements that perform some processing.
Characters are the lowest in the hierarchy and cannot be divisible.
You can co-relate the above-mentioned terms with the COBOL program in the
following example:
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
A0000-FIRST-PARA SECTION.
FIRST-PARAGRAPH.
13

ACCEPT WS-ID
MOVE '10' TO WS-ID
DISPLAY WS-ID
.
Divisions
- Statement-1 -----|
- Statement-2 |-- Sentence - 1
- Statement-3 -----|
A COBOL program consists of four divisions.
Identification Division
It is the first and only mandatory division of every COBOL program. The programmer and the
compiler use this division to identify the program. In this division, PROGRAM- ID is the only
mandatory paragraph. PROGRAM-ID specifies the program name that can consist 1 to 30
characters.
Try the following example using the Try it option online.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. HELLO.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DISPLAY 'Welcome to Tutorialspoint'.
STOP RUN.
Given below is the JCL to execute the above COBOL program. //SAMPLE
JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=C
//STEP1 EXEC PGM=HELLO
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:
Welcome to Tutorialspoint
Environment Division
Environment division is used to specify input and output files to the program. It consists of two
sections:
Configuration section provides information about the system on which the program is written
and executed. It consists of two paragraphs:
14

o Source computer : System used to compile the program.

o Object computer : System used to execute the program.
Input-Output section provides information about the files to be used in the
program. It consists of two paragraphs:
o File control : Provides information of external data sets used in the program.
o I-O control : Provides information of files used in the program.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SOURCE-COMPUTER. XXX-ZOS.
OBJECT-COMPUTER. XXX-ZOS.
INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
FILE-CONTROL.
SELECT FILEN ASSIGN TO DDNAME ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL.
Data Division
Data division is used to define the variables used in the program. It consists of four sections:
File section is used to define the record structure of the file.
Working-Storage section is used to declare temporary variables and file
structures which are used in the program.
Local-Storage sectionis similar to Working-Storage section. The only difference is that the
variables will be allocated and initialized every time a program starts execution.
Linkage section is used to describe the data names that are received from an external
program.
COBOL Program
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. HELLO.
15

ENVIRONMENT DIVISION. INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION. FILE-CONTROL.

SELECT FILEN ASSIGN TO INPUT.
ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL.
ACCESS IS SEQUENTIAL.
DATA DIVISION.
FILE SECTION.
FD FILEN
01 NAME PIC A(25).
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-STUDENT PIC A(30).
01 WS-ID PIC 9(5).
LOCAL-STORAGE SECTION.
01 LS-CLASS PIC 9(3).
LINKAGE SECTION.
01 LS-ID PIC 9(5).
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DISPLAY 'Executing COBOL program using JCL'. STOP RUN.
The JCL to execute the above COBOL program is as follows:
//SAMPLE JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=C //STEP1 EXEC PGM=HELLO
//INPUT DD DSN=ABC.EFG.XYZ,DISP=SHR
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:
Executing COBOL program using JCL
Procedure Division
16

Procedure division is used to include the logic of the program. It consists of executable
statements using variables defined in the data division. In this division, paragraph and section
names are user-defined.
There must be at least one statement in the procedure division. The last statement to end the
execution in this division is either STOP RUN which is used in the calling programs or EXIT
PROGRAM which is used in the called programs.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. HELLO.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-NAME PIC A(30).
01 WS-ID PIC 9(5) VALUE '12345'. PROCEDURE DIVISION. A000-FIRST-PARA.
DISPLAY 'Hello World'.
MOVE 'TutorialsPoint' TO WS-NAME. DISPLAY "My name is : "WS-NAME. DISPLAY "My ID is :
"WS-ID.
STOP RUN.
JCL to execute the above COBOL program: //SAMPLE
JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=C
//STEP1 EXEC PGM=HELLO
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:
Hello World
My name is : TutorialsPoint
My ID is : 12345
17

4. BASIC SYNTAX
Character Set
'Characters' are lowest in the hierarchy and they cannot be divided further. The COBOL
Character Set includes 78 characters which are shown below:
Character
Description
A-Z Alphabets(Upper Case) a-z Alphabets (Lower Case) 0-9 Numeric
Space
+ Plus Sign
- Minus Sign or Hyphen * Asterisk
/ Forward Slash
$ Currency Sign
, Comma
; Semicolon
18

. Decimal Point or Period " Quotation Marks

( Left Parenthesis
) Right Parenthesis
> Greater than < Less than
: Colon
' Apostrophe = Equal Sign
Coding Sheet
The source program of COBOL must be written in a format acceptable to the compilers. COBOL
programs are written on COBOL coding sheets. There are 80 character positions on each line of
a coding sheet.
Character positions are grouped into the following five fields:
1-6 Column Numbers Reserved for line numbers.
7 Indicator It can have Asterisk (*) indicating comments, Hyphen (-) indicating continuation and
Slash (
Positions
Field
Description
/ ) indicating form feed.
19

8-11 Area A
12-72 Area B
73-80 Identification Area
Example
The following example shows a COBOL coding sheet:
000100 IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000100
000200 PROGRAM-ID. HELLO.
000101
000250* THIS IS A COMMENT LINE
000102
000300 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
000103
000350 A000-FIRST-PARA.
000104
000400 DISPLAY “Coding Sheet”.
000500 STOP RUN.
000106
JCL to execute the above COBOL program: //SAMPLE
JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=C
//STEP1 EXEC PGM=HELLO
All COBOL divisions, sections, paragraphs and some special entries must begin in Area A.
All COBOL statements must begin in area B. It can be used as needed by the programmer.
000105
 When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:
Coding Sheet
20

Character Strings
Character strings are formed by combining individual characters. A character string can be a
Comment,
Literal, or
COBOL word.
All character strings must be ended with separators. A separator is used to separate character
strings.
Frequently used separators : Space, Comma, Period, Apostrophe, Left/Right Parenthesis, and
Quotation mark.
Comment
A comment is a character string that does not affect the execution of a program. It can be any
combination of characters.
There are two types of comments:
Comment Line
A comment line can be written in any column. The compiler does not check a comment line for
syntax and treats it for documentation.
Comment Entry
Comment entries are those that are included in the optional paragraphs of an Identification
Division. They are written in Area B and programmers use it for reference.
The text highlighted in Bold are the commented entries in the following example: 000100
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
000100
000150 PROGRAM-ID. HELLO.
000101
000200 AUTHOR. TUTORIALSPOINT. 000102
000250* THIS IS A COMMENT LINE
000103
21

000300 PROCEDURE DIVISION.

000104
000350 A000-FIRST-PARA.
000105
000360/ First Para Begins - Documentation Purpose 000106
000400 DISPLAY “Comment line”.
000500 STOP RUN.
000108
JCL to execute above COBOL program:
//SAMPLE JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=C
//STEP1 EXEC PGM=HELLO
000107
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:
Comment Line
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