AUTHOR is an optional paragraph in the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION that documents who wrote the program. You write AUTHOR. followed by the programmer name or any comment. It has no effect on execution; it is for documentation only. The only required paragraph in that division is PROGRAM-ID.
The paragraph name is AUTHOR followed by a period. The next line (or same line, depending on format) contains the author text. No strict format is required for the text.
12345IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. MYPROG. AUTHOR. JANE DOE. DATE-WRITTEN. 2024-01-15. *> Other optional paragraphs: INSTALLATION, DATE-COMPILED, SECURITY
| Example | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AUTHOR. JOHN SMITH. | Documents the programmer name |
| AUTHOR. MAINTENANCE TEAM. | Documents a team or role |
AUTHOR is one of several optional documentation paragraphs. INSTALLATION can name the site or system; DATE-WRITTEN and DATE-COMPILED record dates; SECURITY can note confidentiality. All are optional. Some standards or shops require AUTHOR or DATE-WRITTEN for audit or maintenance; check your local guidelines.
AUTHOR is the “written by” line at the top of the program. It doesn’t change what the program does; it just says who wrote it so people know who to ask later.
1. In which division does AUTHOR appear?
2. Is AUTHOR required in a COBOL program?