Professional Training

Prerequisites

Basic computer knowledge as well as the ability to use an editor or word processor.

Audience

The course is intended for participants who have little or no programming experience, and who require formal training in the basic language and programming techniques.

Course Objectives

On completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Make effective use of all main COBOL verbs and keywords.
Define and use internal and external data, correctly.
Use COBOL statements to process sequential files and non-sequential files.
Perform Arithmetic operations.
Understand, create and process subscripted tables.
Use external subprograms.
Sort files.
Write programs in a maintainable and efficient manner using structured code.
Test programs and, where necessary, debug them.

Introduction to COBOL

Development of COBOL.
Program translation: compilation, linkage editor.
Common compilation errors, compiler options.
Divisions of COBOL, COBOL syntax and format, COBOL character set, program source structure.

COBOL statement structure

COBOL words, format of statements.

Identification Division

Entries.

Environment Division

Entries.

Data Division

Entries.

File Section

File description (FD)
Record descriptions
Hierarchy and level numbers
Description-string entry

Working-Storage Section

Literals
Figurative constants
Redefines clause
Data representation
The Usage clause
Synchronisation
Sign clause

The Procedure Division

File status codes
File statements: Open, Read, Write, Close, Stop, Goback; Accept and Display
Move statement
Justified clause
Qualification of data names
Reference Modification.

Perform statement

Out-of-line, With test.....Until,.... Times, in-line statement
Go to statement.

Program design

Describes program design techniques, design considerations, procedure names, program structure.

Printing

Printed output
Write statement with the advancing option
Editing characters
Initialise statement.

Environment Division clauses

Other entries.

Condition testing

Conditional statements: IF statement, class condition, sign condition, relation condition, condition-name conditionals (level 88), Set statement for condition-names
Nested If statements
Compound conditions
Logical operator - OR with AND
Evaluate statement
Continue statement

Arithmetic

Arithmetic statements:
Rounded option
On Size Error option
Add statement
Subtract statement
Multiply statement
Divide statement
Compute statement

Non-sequential files

File access modes
Select for Indexed files
Select for Relative files

Accessing Indexed and Relative files

Open statement
Close statement
Creating a file - Sequential access
Write statement
Reading a file - Sequential access
Read statement
Invalid key clause
Reading a file - Random and Dynamic access
Writing to a file - Random access
Updating a file - Random access
Rewrite statement
Delete statement
Start statement
Reading a file - Dynamic access

Declarative routines

Clauses

Using Subroutines

Call statement
Using clause - calling program
Using clause - called program
Linkage Section
Returning control from a called program

Table handling

Subscripted tables: Single dimensional tables
Perform and single dimensional tables
Variable length tables
Indexed tables: Set statement, storing an index, using an index
Perform example using a two-dimensional table
Search statement

Internal Sort

Sort statement
Input keyword
Output keyword
Release statement
Return statement