COBOL Tutorial

COBOL BINARY-LONG

The BINARY-LONG data type in COBOL represents a specialized 32-bit integer format designed for seamless interoperability with C programming language applications, specifically matching the characteristics of C's long data type on 32-bit platforms. This data type provides a consistent 32-bit integer representation regardless of the platform, making it ideal for applications requiring fixed-size integer values for database integration, file processing, network communication, and cross-platform data exchange where predictable size and range are essential for maintaining data integrity across different systems.

Understanding BINARY-LONG

BINARY-LONG provides a fixed 32-bit integer representation (4 bytes) that matches the traditional C long data type on 32-bit systems. Unlike BINARY-C-LONG which varies by platform, BINARY-LONG maintains consistent size across all platforms, making it ideal for portable data structures.

Key Characteristics:

Fixed 32-bit (4 bytes) storage on all platforms
Range: -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 (signed)
Range: 0 to 4,294,967,295 (unsigned)
Platform-independent size
Optimal for database keys and counters

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DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  DATABASE-KEYS.
    05  CUSTOMER-ID        USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  ORDER-NUMBER       USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  PRODUCT-CODE       USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  TRANSACTION-ID     USAGE BINARY-LONG.
 
01  COUNTERS-AND-LIMITS.
    05  RECORD-COUNT       USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  MAX-RECORDS        USAGE BINARY-LONG VALUE 1000000.
    05  BUFFER-SIZE        USAGE BINARY-LONG VALUE 8192.
 
01  SIGNED-VALUES.
    05  BALANCE-OFFSET     PIC S9(10) USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  DELTA-AMOUNT       PIC S9(10) USAGE BINARY-LONG.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    MOVE 123456789 TO CUSTOMER-ID.
    MOVE 987654321 TO ORDER-NUMBER.
    MOVE 0 TO RECORD-COUNT.

Database Integration

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*> Database operations with BINARY-LONG keys
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  DB-RECORD-STRUCTURE.
    05  PK-ID              USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  FK-CUSTOMER-ID     USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  FK-PRODUCT-ID      USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  QUANTITY           USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  UNIT-PRICE         PIC S9(7)V99 COMP-3.
    05  TOTAL-AMOUNT       PIC S9(9)V99 COMP-3.
 
01  QUERY-PARAMETERS.
    05  START-ID           USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  END-ID             USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  BATCH-SIZE         USAGE BINARY-LONG VALUE 1000.
 
01  SEQUENCE-GENERATORS.
    05  NEXT-ORDER-ID      USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  NEXT-CUSTOMER-ID   USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  LAST-SEQUENCE      USAGE BINARY-LONG.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
GENERATE-NEW-ORDER-ID.
    *> Get next sequence value
    CALL "get_next_sequence" USING
        BY REFERENCE "ORDER_SEQ"
        BY REFERENCE NEXT-ORDER-ID
    END-CALL.
    
    MOVE NEXT-ORDER-ID TO PK-ID.
    DISPLAY "Generated Order ID: " PK-ID.
 
BATCH-PROCESS-RECORDS.
    MOVE 1 TO START-ID.
    MOVE 1000 TO END-ID.
    
    PERFORM UNTIL START-ID > 1000000
        CALL "process_batch" USING
            BY VALUE START-ID
            BY VALUE END-ID
            BY VALUE BATCH-SIZE
        END-CALL
        
        ADD BATCH-SIZE TO START-ID
        ADD BATCH-SIZE TO END-ID
    END-PERFORM.
 
SEARCH-BY-RANGE.
    MOVE 100000 TO START-ID.
    MOVE 200000 TO END-ID.
    
    EXEC SQL
        SELECT customer_id, order_number, total_amount
        FROM orders
        WHERE order_id BETWEEN :START-ID AND :END-ID
        ORDER BY order_id
    END-EXEC.

File Processing and I/O

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*> File processing with BINARY-LONG
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  FILE-HEADER.
    05  MAGIC-NUMBER       USAGE BINARY-LONG VALUE X"12345678".
    05  VERSION-NUMBER     USAGE BINARY-LONG VALUE 1.
    05  RECORD-COUNT       USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  FILE-SIZE          USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  CHECKSUM           USAGE BINARY-LONG.
 
01  INDEX-ENTRY.
    05  RECORD-ID          USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  OFFSET-POSITION    USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  RECORD-LENGTH      USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  STATUS-FLAGS       USAGE BINARY-LONG.
 
01  PROCESSING-STATS.
    05  RECORDS-PROCESSED  USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  ERRORS-FOUND       USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  WARNINGS-COUNT     USAGE BINARY-LONG.
    05  ELAPSED-TIME       USAGE BINARY-LONG.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
WRITE-FILE-HEADER.
    MOVE 0 TO RECORD-COUNT.
    MOVE 0 TO FILE-SIZE.
    
    WRITE FILE-HEADER-RECORD FROM FILE-HEADER.
    
    DISPLAY "File header written:".
    DISPLAY "  Magic: " MAGIC-NUMBER.
    DISPLAY "  Version: " VERSION-NUMBER.
 
CREATE-INDEX-ENTRY.
    ADD 1 TO RECORD-COUNT.
    MOVE RECORD-COUNT TO RECORD-ID.
    MOVE WS-CURRENT-POSITION TO OFFSET-POSITION.
    MOVE WS-RECORD-LENGTH TO RECORD-LENGTH.
    MOVE 0 TO STATUS-FLAGS.
    
    WRITE INDEX-RECORD FROM INDEX-ENTRY.
 
CALCULATE-STATISTICS.
    DIVIDE ELAPSED-TIME BY 1000 GIVING WS-SECONDS.
    DIVIDE RECORDS-PROCESSED BY WS-SECONDS GIVING WS-RATE.
    
    DISPLAY "Processing Statistics:".
    DISPLAY "  Records: " RECORDS-PROCESSED.
    DISPLAY "  Errors: " ERRORS-FOUND.
    DISPLAY "  Rate: " WS-RATE " records/second".

Best Practices

Use for database keys and foreign key relationships
Ideal for counters, sequence numbers, and array indices
Perfect for file headers and metadata structures
Validate values against the 32-bit integer range
Consider unsigned vs signed based on data requirements

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's the difference between BINARY-LONG and BINARY-C-LONG?

BINARY-LONG is always 32 bits (4 bytes) regardless of platform, while BINARY-C-LONG matches the C long type which varies by platform (32-bit on 32-bit systems, 64-bit on 64-bit systems). Use BINARY-LONG for consistent portable data structures.

Q: Can BINARY-LONG handle values larger than 2 billion?

For signed BINARY-LONG, the maximum value is 2,147,483,647. For unsigned, it's 4,294,967,295. If you need larger values, consider using BINARY-C-LONG on 64-bit platforms or multiple fields for extended precision.