COBOL Data Structures
COBOL is a language that has strong support for data processing, and it provides several data structures that programmers can use to manage and organize data in their programs. Some of the most common data structures used in COBOL are arrays, tables, and records.
Arrays in COBOL: An array is a data structure that allows a programmer to store a collection of values of the same type. COBOL supports both one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays. The following is an example of a one-dimensional array in COBOL:
01 MONTHLY-SALES.
05 SALES-PER-MONTH OCCURS 12 TIMES PIC 9(7).
In this example, we define an array named MONTHLY-SALES that contains 12 elements, each of which is a 7-digit numeric value. We can access the individual elements of the array using a subscript. For example, to set the value of the third element of the array to 1000000, we can write:
MOVE 1000000 TO SALES-PER-MONTH(3)
Tables in COBOL: A table is a data structure that allows a programmer to store a collection of values of different types. COBOL supports tables that can contain data of any type, including numeric, alphanumeric, and binary data. The following is an example of a table in COBOL:
01 EMPLOYEE-TABLE.
05 EMPLOYEE-RECORD OCCURS 10 TIMES.
10 EMPLOYEE-NAME PIC X(20).
10 EMPLOYEE-ID PIC 9(5).
10 EMPLOYEE-SALARY PIC 9(7)V99.
In this example, we define a table named EMPLOYEE-TABLE that contains 10 elements, each of which is a record that contains three fields: EMPLOYEE-NAME, EMPLOYEE-ID, and EMPLOYEE-SALARY. We can access the individual fields of each record using the record name and field name. For example, to set the salary of the fourth employee to 50000.00, we can write:
MOVE 50000.00 TO EMPLOYEE-SALARY(4)
Records in COBOL: A record is a data structure that allows a programmer to store a collection of fields of different types. COBOL supports records that can contain data of any type, including numeric, alphanumeric, and binary data. The following is an example of a record in COBOL:
01 EMPLOYEE-RECORD.
05 EMPLOYEE-NAME PIC X(20).
05 EMPLOYEE-ID PIC 9(5).
05 EMPLOYEE-SALARY PIC 9(7)V99.
In this example, we define a record named EMPLOYEE-RECORD that contains three fields: EMPLOYEE-NAME, EMPLOYEE-ID, and EMPLOYEE-SALARY. We can access the individual fields of the record using the field name. For example, to set the salary of an employee record to 50000.00, we can write:
MOVE 50000.00 TO EMPLOYEE-SALARY
These are just a few examples of the data structures available in COBOL. Other data structures, such as queues and stacks, can be implemented using these basic structures. The choice of which data structure to use depends on the specific needs of the program and the data being managed.
Leave a Comment