Learn X By Example
Learn X By Example

    Constants in COBOL

    Constants in Cobol are defined using the 77 or 88 levels for literals. In this example, we will use 77 to define constant values. Here’s the explanation and code translated for use in Cobol:

    Cobol supports constants of character, string, boolean, and numeric values.

    Constant Declaration

    77 declares a constant value.

           IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. ConstantsExample.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.

       77 s        PIC X(8)  VALUE "constant".

    Main Procedure

    In the main procedure, we will print the constant value and demonstrate its usage.

           PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           DISPLAY s.
           
           * A `77` level statement can appear anywhere a `01` level
           * statement can.
           77 n        PIC 9(9) VALUE 500000000.
           
           * Constant expressions perform arithmetic with
           * arbitrary precision.
           77 d        USAGE COMP-2 VALUE 3E+20 / 500000000.
           DISPLAY d.
           
           * To handle large numbers, Cobol has intrinsic functions
           * such as INTEGER-OF-DATE and SIN, but without
           * external libraries, we will show simple operations.
           77 large-number  PIC 9(16).
           MOVE FUNCTION INTEGER-OF-DATE (20230101) to large-number.
           DISPLAY large-number.
           
           * While displaying sine won't be demonstrated due to lack of intrinsic math library 
           * functions, the concept requires conversion.
           STOP RUN.

    Execution Output

    To run the program, create a file named ConstantsExample.cbl and use a Cobol compiler.

    $ cobc -x ConstantsExample.cbl
$ ./ConstantsExample
constant
6E+11
20230101

    Now that we can run and build basic Cobol programs, let’s learn more about the language.

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