Directories in COBOL

Here’s the translation of the Go code to COBOL, with explanations in Markdown format suitable for Hugo:

Our program demonstrates working with directories in COBOL. Here’s the full source code:

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. DIRECTORIES.

ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
FILE-CONTROL.
    SELECT WORKFILE ASSIGN TO "subdir/file1"
        ORGANIZATION IS LINE SEQUENTIAL.
    SELECT PARENTFILE ASSIGN TO "subdir/parent/file2"
        ORGANIZATION IS LINE SEQUENTIAL.
    SELECT CHILDFILE ASSIGN TO "subdir/parent/child/file4"
        ORGANIZATION IS LINE SEQUENTIAL.

DATA DIVISION.
FILE SECTION.
FD WORKFILE.
FD PARENTFILE.
FD CHILDFILE.

WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-DIRECTORY-NAME PIC X(50).
01 WS-FILE-NAME PIC X(50).
01 WS-RETURN-CODE PIC 9(4).

PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-PROCEDURE.
    DISPLAY "Creating directories and files..."

    *> Create a new sub-directory
    MOVE "subdir" TO WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    CALL "CBL_CREATE_DIR" USING WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
                          RETURNING WS-RETURN-CODE
    IF WS-RETURN-CODE NOT = 0
        DISPLAY "Error creating directory: " WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    END-IF

    *> Create an empty file in the sub-directory
    OPEN OUTPUT WORKFILE
    CLOSE WORKFILE

    *> Create a hierarchy of directories
    MOVE "subdir/parent/child" TO WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    CALL "CBL_CREATE_DIR" USING WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
                          RETURNING WS-RETURN-CODE
    IF WS-RETURN-CODE NOT = 0
        DISPLAY "Error creating directory: " WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    END-IF

    *> Create empty files in the hierarchy
    OPEN OUTPUT PARENTFILE
    CLOSE PARENTFILE

    OPEN OUTPUT CHILDFILE
    CLOSE CHILDFILE

    *> List directory contents
    DISPLAY "Listing subdir/parent"
    MOVE "subdir/parent" TO WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    CALL "C$LIST-DIRECTORY" USING WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
                                  WS-FILE-NAME
    PERFORM UNTIL WS-FILE-NAME = SPACES
        DISPLAY " " WS-FILE-NAME
        CALL "C$LIST-DIRECTORY" USING WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
                                      WS-FILE-NAME
    END-PERFORM

    *> Change current working directory
    MOVE "subdir/parent/child" TO WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    CALL "CBL_CHANGE_DIR" USING WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
                          RETURNING WS-RETURN-CODE
    IF WS-RETURN-CODE NOT = 0
        DISPLAY "Error changing directory: " WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    END-IF

    *> List contents of current directory
    DISPLAY "Listing current directory (subdir/parent/child)"
    MOVE SPACES TO WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    CALL "C$LIST-DIRECTORY" USING WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
                                  WS-FILE-NAME
    PERFORM UNTIL WS-FILE-NAME = SPACES
        DISPLAY " " WS-FILE-NAME
        CALL "C$LIST-DIRECTORY" USING WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
                                      WS-FILE-NAME
    END-PERFORM

    *> Change back to original directory
    MOVE "../../.." TO WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    CALL "CBL_CHANGE_DIR" USING WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
                          RETURNING WS-RETURN-CODE
    IF WS-RETURN-CODE NOT = 0
        DISPLAY "Error changing directory: " WS-DIRECTORY-NAME
    END-IF

    STOP RUN.

This COBOL program demonstrates various operations with directories:

We start by creating a new sub-directory using the CBL_CREATE_DIR system routine.
We create empty files in the directories using standard COBOL file handling.
We use CBL_CREATE_DIR again to create a hierarchy of directories.
To list directory contents, we use the C$LIST-DIRECTORY routine, which is similar to ReadDir in the Go example.
We change the current working directory using CBL_CHANGE_DIR, which is equivalent to Chdir in Go.
We demonstrate listing the contents of the current directory after changing to it.
Finally, we change back to the original directory.

Note that COBOL doesn’t have a direct equivalent to Go’s filepath.WalkDir for recursively visiting directories. To achieve similar functionality, you would need to implement a recursive routine using the directory listing capabilities shown here.

To run the program, compile it with your COBOL compiler and execute the resulting program. The exact commands will depend on your COBOL environment.

$ cobc -x directories.cob
$ ./directories

This will create the directory structure, create empty files, and display the directory contents as specified in the program.

Remember that COBOL file and directory operations can be highly dependent on the specific COBOL implementation and operating system. The routines used here (like CBL_CREATE_DIR and C$LIST-DIRECTORY) are common extensions but may not be available in all COBOL environments.

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Directories in COBOL