MainframeMaster

COBOL Data Formatting

Data formatting converts raw data into user-friendly display formats using PICTURE editing characters, formatting functions, and output presentation techniques. Learn to create professional reports and user interfaces.

PICTURE Editing Characters

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       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 FORMATTING-EXAMPLES.
           05 AMOUNT PIC 9(6)V99.
           05 EDITED-AMOUNT PIC $,$$9.99.
           05 PHONE-NUMBER PIC 9(10).
           05 EDITED-PHONE PIC 999-999-9999.
           05 DATE-FIELD PIC 9(8).
           05 EDITED-DATE PIC 99/99/9999.
           05 ID-NUMBER PIC 9(6).
           05 EDITED-ID PIC ZZZZZ9.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       MOVE 123456.78 TO AMOUNT
       MOVE AMOUNT TO EDITED-AMOUNT
       DISPLAY 'Formatted amount: ' EDITED-AMOUNT
       
       MOVE 1234567890 TO PHONE-NUMBER
       MOVE PHONE-NUMBER TO EDITED-PHONE
       DISPLAY 'Formatted phone: ' EDITED-PHONE.

Use PICTURE editing characters to format data display: $ for currency, , for thousands separators, - for phone numbers, / for dates, and Z for zero suppression. These characters control how data appears in output.

Numeric Formatting

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       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 NUMERIC-FORMATTING.
           05 RAW-AMOUNT PIC 9(9)V99.
           05 CURRENCY-FORMAT PIC $,$$$,$$9.99.
           05 COMMA-FORMAT PIC Z,ZZZ,ZZ9.99.
           05 ZERO-SUPPRESSED PIC ZZZZZZZ9.99.
           05 SIGNED-FORMAT PIC +,$$$,$$9.99.
           05 NEGATIVE-FORMAT PIC -,$$$,$$9.99.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       MOVE 1234567.89 TO RAW-AMOUNT
       
       *> Currency formatting
       MOVE RAW-AMOUNT TO CURRENCY-FORMAT
       DISPLAY 'Currency: ' CURRENCY-FORMAT
       
       *> Comma formatting
       MOVE RAW-AMOUNT TO COMMA-FORMAT
       DISPLAY 'Commas: ' COMMA-FORMAT
       
       *> Zero suppression
       MOVE RAW-AMOUNT TO ZERO-SUPPRESSED
       DISPLAY 'Zero suppressed: ' ZERO-SUPPRESSED.

Format numeric data with currency symbols, thousands separators, zero suppression, and sign indicators. Use appropriate formatting based on data type and display requirements.

Date and Time Formatting

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       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 DATE-TIME-FORMATTING.
           05 RAW-DATE PIC 9(8) VALUE 20231225.
           05 FORMATTED-DATE PIC X(10).
           05 RAW-TIME PIC 9(6) VALUE 143052.
           05 FORMATTED-TIME PIC X(8).
           05 TIMESTAMP PIC X(19).
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       *> Format date from YYYYMMDD to MM/DD/YYYY
       STRING RAW-DATE(5:2) '/' 
              RAW-DATE(7:2) '/' 
              RAW-DATE(1:4)
           INTO FORMATTED-DATE
       END-STRING
       
       *> Format time from HHMMSS to HH:MM:SS
       STRING RAW-TIME(1:2) ':' 
              RAW-TIME(3:2) ':' 
              RAW-TIME(5:2)
           INTO FORMATTED-TIME
       END-STRING
       
       *> Create timestamp
       STRING FORMATTED-DATE ' ' FORMATTED-TIME
           INTO TIMESTAMP
       END-STRING
       
       DISPLAY 'Formatted date: ' FORMATTED-DATE
       DISPLAY 'Formatted time: ' FORMATTED-TIME
       DISPLAY 'Timestamp: ' TIMESTAMP.

Convert date and time formats from internal storage (YYYYMMDD, HHMMSS) to user-friendly formats (MM/DD/YYYY, HH:MM:SS). Use STRING statements and reference modification for flexible formatting.

String Formatting

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       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 STRING-FORMATTING.
           05 FIRST-NAME PIC X(15) VALUE 'JOHN'.
           05 LAST-NAME PIC X(20) VALUE 'SMITH'.
           05 FULL-NAME PIC X(40).
           05 ADDRESS-LINE PIC X(60).
           05 STREET PIC X(30) VALUE '123 MAIN ST'.
           05 CITY PIC X(20) VALUE 'CHICAGO'.
           05 STATE PIC X(2) VALUE 'IL'.
           05 ZIP PIC X(10) VALUE '60601'.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       *> Format full name
       STRING FIRST-NAME ' ' LAST-NAME
           INTO FULL-NAME
       END-STRING
       
       *> Format address line
       STRING STREET ', ' CITY ', ' STATE ' ' ZIP
           INTO ADDRESS-LINE
       END-STRING
       
       DISPLAY 'Full name: ' FULL-NAME
       DISPLAY 'Address: ' ADDRESS-LINE.

Use STRING statements to combine multiple fields into formatted strings. Create readable output by combining related fields with appropriate separators and spacing.

Report Formatting

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       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 REPORT-FORMATTING.
           05 REPORT-LINE PIC X(132).
           05 HEADER-LINE PIC X(132).
           05 DETAIL-LINE PIC X(132).
           05 TOTAL-LINE PIC X(132).
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       *> Format report header
       STRING 'CUSTOMER REPORT' SPACES(20) 
              'DATE: ' FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE(1:8)
           INTO HEADER-LINE
       END-STRING
       
       *> Format detail line
       STRING CUSTOMER-ID SPACES(5) 
              CUSTOMER-NAME SPACES(10) 
              '$' CUSTOMER-BALANCE
           INTO DETAIL-LINE
       END-STRING
       
       *> Format total line
       STRING 'TOTAL AMOUNT: ' SPACES(20) 
              '$' TOTAL-AMOUNT
           INTO TOTAL-LINE
       END-STRING
       
       WRITE REPORT-LINE FROM HEADER-LINE
       WRITE REPORT-LINE FROM DETAIL-LINE
       WRITE REPORT-LINE FROM TOTAL-LINE.

Format report output with headers, detail lines, and totals. Use consistent spacing, alignment, and formatting throughout the report. Include report titles, dates, and summary information.

Conditional Formatting

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       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 CONDITIONAL-FORMATTING.
           05 BALANCE PIC 9(9)V99.
           05 FORMATTED-BALANCE PIC X(15).
           05 BALANCE-STATUS PIC X(10).
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       *> Conditional formatting based on balance
       IF BALANCE > 10000
           MOVE BALANCE TO FORMATTED-BALANCE
           STRING '$' BALANCE ' (HIGH)' INTO FORMATTED-BALANCE
           MOVE 'HIGH' TO BALANCE-STATUS
       ELSE IF BALANCE > 1000
           MOVE BALANCE TO FORMATTED-BALANCE
           STRING '$' BALANCE ' (MEDIUM)' INTO FORMATTED-BALANCE
           MOVE 'MEDIUM' TO BALANCE-STATUS
       ELSE
           MOVE BALANCE TO FORMATTED-BALANCE
           STRING '$' BALANCE ' (LOW)' INTO FORMATTED-BALANCE
           MOVE 'LOW' TO BALANCE-STATUS
       END-IF.
       
       DISPLAY 'Balance: ' FORMATTED-BALANCE
       DISPLAY 'Status: ' BALANCE-STATUS.

Apply conditional formatting based on data values or business rules. Use different formatting styles, colors, or indicators to highlight important information or categorize data.

Output Formatting Best Practices

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       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 FORMATTING-BEST-PRACTICES.
           05 CONSISTENT-SPACING PIC X(20) VALUE 'CONSISTENT SPACING'.
           05 ALIGNED-DATA PIC X(30) VALUE 'ALIGNED DATA'.
           05 MEANINGFUL-LABELS PIC X(25) VALUE 'MEANINGFUL LABELS'.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       *> Use consistent formatting patterns
       DISPLAY 'Customer ID: ' CUSTOMER-ID SPACES(5) 
               'Name: ' CUSTOMER-NAME SPACES(10) 
               'Balance: $' CUSTOMER-BALANCE
       
       *> Align numeric data
       DISPLAY 'Amount: ' AMOUNT SPACES(15) 
               'Total: ' TOTAL-AMOUNT
       
       *> Use meaningful labels
       DISPLAY 'Account Number: ' ACCOUNT-NUMBER
       DISPLAY 'Transaction Date: ' TRANSACTION-DATE
       DISPLAY 'Current Balance: $' CURRENT-BALANCE.

Follow formatting best practices: use consistent spacing and alignment, provide meaningful labels, group related information, and maintain professional appearance throughout output.

Performance Considerations

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       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 PERFORMANCE-FORMATTING.
           05 FORMATTED-OUTPUT PIC X(200).
           05 FORMATTING-BUFFER PIC X(100).
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       *> Pre-format data for better performance
       PERFORM FORMAT-ALL-DATA
       
       *> Use formatted output buffer
       MOVE FORMATTED-OUTPUT TO OUTPUT-BUFFER
       DISPLAY OUTPUT-BUFFER
       
       *> Batch formatting operations
       PERFORM FORMAT-BATCH-DATA
           VARYING I FROM 1 BY 1 UNTIL I > RECORD-COUNT
           MOVE FORMATTED-DATA(I) TO OUTPUT-LINE
           WRITE OUTPUT-LINE
       END-PERFORM.

Optimize formatting performance by pre-formatting data, using output buffers, and batching formatting operations. Consider performance impact when choosing formatting techniques.

Data Exchange

Data transfer and communication

Output Formatting

Output formatting techniques