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COBOL Tutorial

COBOL CONDITION - Quick Reference

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Overview

CONDITION in COBOL refers to logical conditions or condition names that are used to make code more readable and meaningful. Condition names are defined using 88-level entries and provide descriptive names for specific values or ranges of values, improving code readability and maintainability.

Purpose and Usage

  • Code readability improvement
  • Self-documenting code
  • Status and flag representation
  • Business logic clarity
  • Maintenance enhancement

Syntax

CONDITION names follow specific syntax patterns in COBOL:

Basic Condition Name Syntax

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* Basic condition name syntax
01  status-code PIC X.
    88  active-status VALUE "A".
    88  inactive-status VALUE "I".
    88  terminated-status VALUE "T".
 
01  customer-type PIC X.
    88  individual-customer VALUE "I".
    88  corporate-customer VALUE "C".
    88  government-customer VALUE "G".
 
01  account-status PIC X.
    88  open-account VALUE "O".
    88  closed-account VALUE "C".
    88  suspended-account VALUE "S".
 
* Multiple values for a condition
01  priority-level PIC 9.
    88  high-priority VALUE 1, 2.
    88  medium-priority VALUE 3, 4, 5.
    88  low-priority VALUE 6, 7, 8, 9.
 
* Range conditions
01  age PIC 9(3).
    88  minor VALUE 0 THRU 17.
    88  adult VALUE 18 THRU 64.
    88  senior VALUE 65 THRU 999.

Condition names are defined using 88-level entries with VALUE clauses.

Using Condition Names

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* Using condition names in conditional statements
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
PROCESS-CUSTOMER.
    * Set status
    MOVE "A" TO status-code.
    
    * Use condition names in IF statements
    IF active-status
        DISPLAY "Customer is active"
        PERFORM process-active-customer
    ELSE IF inactive-status
        DISPLAY "Customer is inactive"
        PERFORM process-inactive-customer
    ELSE IF terminated-status
        DISPLAY "Customer is terminated"
        PERFORM process-terminated-customer
    END-IF.
    
    * Check customer type
    IF individual-customer
        DISPLAY "Processing individual customer"
        PERFORM process-individual
    ELSE IF corporate-customer
        DISPLAY "Processing corporate customer"
        PERFORM process-corporate
    END-IF.
    
    * Check priority level
    IF high-priority
        DISPLAY "High priority processing"
        PERFORM urgent-processing
    ELSE IF medium-priority
        DISPLAY "Medium priority processing"
        PERFORM normal-processing
    ELSE IF low-priority
        DISPLAY "Low priority processing"
        PERFORM background-processing
    END-IF.

Practical Examples

Here are some practical uses of CONDITION names in COBOL:

Employee Status Processing

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* Employee status processing with condition names
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  employee-record.
    05  employee-id PIC X(10).
    05  employee-name PIC X(50).
    05  employee-status PIC X.
        88  full-time VALUE "F".
        88  part-time VALUE "P".
        88  temporary VALUE "T".
        88  contractor VALUE "C".
    05  department-code PIC X(3).
        88  it-department VALUE "IT".
        88  hr-department VALUE "HR".
        88  finance-department VALUE "FIN".
        88  sales-department VALUE "SAL".
    05  salary-grade PIC 9(2).
        88  entry-level VALUE 01 THRU 05.
        88  mid-level VALUE 06 THRU 10.
        88  senior-level VALUE 11 THRU 15.
        88  executive-level VALUE 16 THRU 20.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
PROCESS-EMPLOYEE.
    * Read employee record
    READ employee-file
        AT END
            MOVE "Y" TO end-of-file-flag
        NOT AT END
            PERFORM analyze-employee
    END-READ.
    
    STOP RUN.
 
ANALYZE-EMPLOYEE.
    * Process based on employment status
    IF full-time
        DISPLAY "Processing full-time employee: " employee-name
        PERFORM full-time-processing
    ELSE IF part-time
        DISPLAY "Processing part-time employee: " employee-name
        PERFORM part-time-processing
    ELSE IF temporary
        DISPLAY "Processing temporary employee: " employee-name
        PERFORM temporary-processing
    ELSE IF contractor
        DISPLAY "Processing contractor: " employee-name
        PERFORM contractor-processing
    END-IF.
    
    * Process based on department
    IF it-department
        PERFORM it-department-processing
    ELSE IF hr-department
        PERFORM hr-department-processing
    ELSE IF finance-department
        PERFORM finance-department-processing
    ELSE IF sales-department
        PERFORM sales-department-processing
    END-IF.
    
    * Process based on salary grade
    IF entry-level
        PERFORM entry-level-processing
    ELSE IF mid-level
        PERFORM mid-level-processing
    ELSE IF senior-level
        PERFORM senior-level-processing
    ELSE IF executive-level
        PERFORM executive-level-processing
    END-IF.
 
FULL-TIME-PROCESSING.
    * Process full-time employee benefits
    DISPLAY "Full-time benefits processing".
    * Additional processing logic here.
 
IT-DEPARTMENT-PROCESSING.
    * Process IT department specific logic
    DISPLAY "IT department processing".
    * Additional processing logic here.

Employee status processing using condition names for better readability.

Order Processing System

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* Order processing with condition names
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  order-record.
    05  order-id PIC X(10).
    05  order-status PIC X.
        88  pending-order VALUE "P".
        88  confirmed-order VALUE "C".
        88  shipped-order VALUE "S".
        88  delivered-order VALUE "D".
        88  cancelled-order VALUE "X".
    05  payment-status PIC X.
        88  payment-pending VALUE "P".
        88  payment-received VALUE "R".
        88  payment-failed VALUE "F".
    05  order-amount PIC 9(8)V99.
        88  small-order VALUE 0.01 THRU 99.99.
        88  medium-order VALUE 100.00 THRU 999.99.
        88  large-order VALUE 1000.00 THRU 9999.99.
        88  premium-order VALUE 10000.00 THRU 999999.99.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
PROCESS-ORDER.
    * Read order record
    READ order-file
        AT END
            MOVE "Y" TO end-of-file-flag
        NOT AT END
            PERFORM analyze-order
    END-READ.
    
    STOP RUN.
 
ANALYZE-ORDER.
    * Process based on order status
    IF pending-order
        DISPLAY "Processing pending order: " order-id
        PERFORM pending-order-processing
    ELSE IF confirmed-order
        DISPLAY "Processing confirmed order: " order-id
        PERFORM confirmed-order-processing
    ELSE IF shipped-order
        DISPLAY "Processing shipped order: " order-id
        PERFORM shipped-order-processing
    ELSE IF delivered-order
        DISPLAY "Processing delivered order: " order-id
        PERFORM delivered-order-processing
    ELSE IF cancelled-order
        DISPLAY "Processing cancelled order: " order-id
        PERFORM cancelled-order-processing
    END-IF.
    
    * Process based on payment status
    IF payment-pending
        PERFORM payment-pending-processing
    ELSE IF payment-received
        PERFORM payment-received-processing
    ELSE IF payment-failed
        PERFORM payment-failed-processing
    END-IF.
    
    * Process based on order amount
    IF small-order
        PERFORM small-order-processing
    ELSE IF medium-order
        PERFORM medium-order-processing
    ELSE IF large-order
        PERFORM large-order-processing
    ELSE IF premium-order
        PERFORM premium-order-processing
    END-IF.
 
PENDING-ORDER-PROCESSING.
    * Process pending order
    DISPLAY "Pending order processing".
    * Additional processing logic here.
 
PAYMENT-RECEIVED-PROCESSING.
    * Process payment received
    DISPLAY "Payment received processing".
    * Additional processing logic here.

Order processing system using condition names for status and amount categories.

Best Practices

  • Use descriptive condition names that clearly indicate their purpose.
  • Group related condition names together under the same data item.
  • Use condition names instead of hardcoded values in conditional statements.
  • Document the meaning and usage of condition names.
  • Use consistent naming conventions for condition names.
  • Consider using condition names for all status codes and flags.

Common Pitfalls

  • Using unclear or ambiguous condition names.
  • Not using condition names consistently throughout the program.
  • Creating too many condition names that are rarely used.
  • Not documenting the business meaning of condition names.
  • Using hardcoded values instead of condition names.

Test Your Knowledge

1. What is CONDITION in COBOL?

  • A data type
  • A logical condition or condition name
  • A file operation
  • A program structure

2. What are condition names used for?

  • Data storage
  • Making code more readable and meaningful
  • File operations
  • Arithmetic calculations

3. Where are condition names typically defined?

  • In the PROCEDURE DIVISION
  • In the DATA DIVISION using 88-level entries
  • In the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION
  • In the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION

4. What is the primary benefit of using condition names?

  • Faster execution
  • Better code readability and maintenance
  • Reduced memory usage
  • Improved performance

5. How are condition names used in conditional statements?

  • As arithmetic operators
  • As logical conditions in IF statements
  • As file operations
  • As data declarations

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Concepts

Conditional Execution

Conditional execution in COBOL.

Data Description

Data description entries and 88-level conditions.

Program Logic

Program logic and decision making.

Code Readability

Writing readable and maintainable COBOL code.

Business Logic

Implementing business logic in COBOL.

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