GIVING can be substituted by OUTPUT PROCEDURE IS para-1 THRU para-2.įile-1 is the sort workfile and must be described using SD entry in FILE SECTION.įile-2 is the input file for the SORT and must be described using an FD entry in FILE SECTION and SELECT clause in FILE CONTROL.įile-3 is the outfile from the SORT and must be described using an FD entry in FILE SECTION and SELECT clause in FILE CONTROL.įile-1, file-2 & file-3 should not be opened explicitly. USING can be substituted by INPUT PROCEDURE IS para-1 THRU para-2 SORT file-1 ON ASCENDING/DESCENDING KEY key…. How do you sort in a COBOL program? Give sort file definition, sort statement syntax and meaning. Must use compiler option SSRANGE if you want array bounds checking.

Due to a bug, I find that even if the program access the 11th item in this array, the program does not abend. My program has an array defined to have 10 items. If it matches, fine else repeat the process with the left half or the right half depending on where the item lies.ġ4. Compare the item to be searched with the item at the center. (You must load the table in the specified order). If you want the search to be done on an array sorted in descending order, then while defining the array, you should give DESCENDING KEY clause. It can be either ASCENDING or DESCENDING. What should be the sorting order for SEARCH ALL? SEARCH ALL – is a binary search & the table must be sorted ( ASCENDING/DESCENDING KEY clause to be used & data loaded in this order)ġ2. What is the difference between SEARCH and SEARCH ALL? Need to have index for a table in order to use SEARCH, SEARCH ALL. An index can only be modified using PERFORM, SEARCH & SET. Subscript refers to the array occurrence while index is the displacement (in no of bytes) from the beginning of the array. What is the difference between index and subscript? Can the OCCURS clause be at the 01 level?ġ0. 05 ARRAY2 PIC X(6) OCCURS 20 TIMES INDEXED BY WS-INDEX.ĩ.How do you define a table/array in COBOL? However, if the item being tested is a signed item, then it may contain 0-9, + and –. IS NUMERIC returns TRUE if the item only consists of 0-9. IS NUMERIC can be used on alphanumeric items, signed numeric & packed decimal items and usigned numeric & packed decimal items.

What does the IS NUMERIC clause establish ? Cannot be subdivisions of other items (cannot be qualified), nor can they be subdivided themselves.ħ. Numeric, Numeric edited items set to ZERO.įILLER, OCCURS DEPENDING ON items left untouched.Įlementary level item. What are the different data types available in COBOL?Īlpha-numeric (X), alphabetic (A) and numeric (9).Īlphabetic, Alphanumeric fields & alphanumeric edited items are set to SPACES. IDENTIFICATION DIVISION, ENVIRONMENT DIVISION, DATA DIVISION, PROCEDURE DIVISION.Ģ. IBM MAINFRAME Interview Questions for freshers and experienced :-ġ.

Evaluate statement cobol