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COBOL Tutorial

COBOL DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA

The DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA clause in COBOL allows programs to use European number formatting where comma serves as the decimal separator and period as the thousands separator.

DECIMAL-POINT Clause Syntax

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ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA.
 
*> This affects all numeric literals and PICTURE clauses
*> Period (.) becomes thousands separator
*> Comma (,) becomes decimal separator

Impact on Numeric Literals

Numeric Literal Format Changes

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ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
*> With DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA:
01 WS-AMOUNT-1             PIC 9(6)V99 VALUE 123456,78.
01 WS-AMOUNT-2             PIC 9(4)V99 VALUE 1234,50.
01 WS-RATE                 PIC 9V999 VALUE 0,125.
 
*> Without DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA (standard format):
*> 01 WS-AMOUNT-1          PIC 9(6)V99 VALUE 123456.78.
*> 01 WS-AMOUNT-2          PIC 9(4)V99 VALUE 1234.50.
*> 01 WS-RATE              PIC 9V999 VALUE 0.125.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-PROCESSING.
    DISPLAY "Amount 1: " WS-AMOUNT-1    *> Displays: 12345678
    DISPLAY "Amount 2: " WS-AMOUNT-2    *> Displays: 123450
    DISPLAY "Rate: " WS-RATE            *> Displays: 0125
    
    *> Arithmetic with European format
    COMPUTE WS-AMOUNT-1 = WS-AMOUNT-2 * 1,5
    DISPLAY "Calculated: " WS-AMOUNT-1.

PICTURE Clause Editing

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ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-NUMERIC-VALUES.
   05 WS-AMOUNT             PIC 9(6)V99 VALUE 123456,78.
   05 WS-PRICE              PIC 9(4)V99 VALUE 1234,50.
   05 WS-PERCENTAGE         PIC 9V999 VALUE 0,125.
 
*> European display formats
01 WS-EUROPEAN-DISPLAYS.
   05 WS-EURO-AMOUNT        PIC ZZ9.ZZ9,99.
   05 WS-EURO-PRICE         PIC Z.ZZ9,99.
   05 WS-EURO-PERCENT       PIC 0,999.
 
*> Currency displays
01 WS-CURRENCY-DISPLAYS.
   05 WS-EURO-CURRENCY      PIC €ZZ9.ZZ9,99.
   05 WS-POUND-CURRENCY     PIC £Z.ZZ9,99.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DEMONSTRATE-FORMATTING.
    *> Move values to display fields
    MOVE WS-AMOUNT TO WS-EURO-AMOUNT
    MOVE WS-PRICE TO WS-EURO-PRICE
    MOVE WS-PERCENTAGE TO WS-EURO-PERCENT
    
    MOVE WS-AMOUNT TO WS-EURO-CURRENCY
    MOVE WS-PRICE TO WS-POUND-CURRENCY
    
    DISPLAY "European Formatting:"
    DISPLAY "Amount: " WS-EURO-AMOUNT      *> 123.456,78
    DISPLAY "Price: " WS-EURO-PRICE        *> 1.234,50
    DISPLAY "Percent: " WS-EURO-PERCENT    *> 0,125
    
    DISPLAY "Currency Formatting:"
    DISPLAY "Euro: " WS-EURO-CURRENCY      *> €123.456,78
    DISPLAY "Pound: " WS-POUND-CURRENCY.   *> £1.234,50

Practical Applications

Financial Calculations

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ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-FINANCIAL-DATA.
   05 WS-PRINCIPAL          PIC 9(8)V99 VALUE 100000,00.
   05 WS-INTEREST-RATE      PIC 9V9999 VALUE 0,0525.
   05 WS-YEARS              PIC 9(2) VALUE 10.
   05 WS-MONTHLY-PAYMENT    PIC 9(6)V99.
   05 WS-TOTAL-INTEREST     PIC 9(8)V99.
 
01 WS-CALCULATION-WORK.
   05 WS-MONTHLY-RATE       PIC 9V999999.
   05 WS-NUM-PAYMENTS       PIC 9(3).
   05 WS-POWER-CALC         COMP-2.
 
01 WS-DISPLAY-AMOUNTS.
   05 WS-PRINCIPAL-DISP     PIC €ZZZ.ZZ9,99.
   05 WS-RATE-DISP          PIC Z9,9999%.
   05 WS-PAYMENT-DISP       PIC €Z.ZZ9,99.
   05 WS-INTEREST-DISP      PIC €ZZZ.ZZ9,99.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
CALCULATE-EUROPEAN-LOAN.
    *> Calculate monthly payment
    COMPUTE WS-MONTHLY-RATE = WS-INTEREST-RATE / 12
    COMPUTE WS-NUM-PAYMENTS = WS-YEARS * 12
    
    *> Standard loan payment formula
    COMPUTE WS-POWER-CALC = (1 + WS-MONTHLY-RATE) ** WS-NUM-PAYMENTS
    COMPUTE WS-MONTHLY-PAYMENT = WS-PRINCIPAL * 
        (WS-MONTHLY-RATE * WS-POWER-CALC) / 
        (WS-POWER-CALC - 1)
    
    COMPUTE WS-TOTAL-INTEREST = 
        (WS-MONTHLY-PAYMENT * WS-NUM-PAYMENTS) - WS-PRINCIPAL
    
    *> Format for European display
    MOVE WS-PRINCIPAL TO WS-PRINCIPAL-DISP
    MOVE WS-INTEREST-RATE TO WS-RATE-DISP
    MOVE WS-MONTHLY-PAYMENT TO WS-PAYMENT-DISP
    MOVE WS-TOTAL-INTEREST TO WS-INTEREST-DISP
    
    DISPLAY "=== EUROPEAN LOAN CALCULATION ==="
    DISPLAY "Principal: " WS-PRINCIPAL-DISP
    DISPLAY "Interest Rate: " WS-RATE-DISP
    DISPLAY "Term: " WS-YEARS " years"
    DISPLAY "Monthly Payment: " WS-PAYMENT-DISP
    DISPLAY "Total Interest: " WS-INTEREST-DISP.
 
*> Sample Output:
*> Principal: €100.000,00
*> Interest Rate: 5,2500%
*> Monthly Payment: €1.076,65
*> Total Interest: €29.198,44

International Report Generation

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ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-SALES-RECORD.
   05 WS-PRODUCT-ID         PIC X(10).
   05 WS-PRODUCT-NAME       PIC X(30).
   05 WS-UNIT-PRICE         PIC 9(4)V99.
   05 WS-QUANTITY           PIC 9(4).
   05 WS-DISCOUNT-RATE      PIC 9V99.
   05 WS-LINE-TOTAL         PIC 9(7)V99.
   05 WS-DISCOUNT-AMOUNT    PIC 9(6)V99.
   05 WS-NET-AMOUNT         PIC 9(7)V99.
 
01 WS-REPORT-TOTALS.
   05 WS-GROSS-TOTAL        PIC 9(9)V99 VALUE ZERO.
   05 WS-TOTAL-DISCOUNT     PIC 9(8)V99 VALUE ZERO.
   05 WS-NET-TOTAL          PIC 9(9)V99 VALUE ZERO.
 
01 WS-REPORT-LINE.
   05 WS-RPT-PRODUCT        PIC X(15).
   05 FILLER                PIC X VALUE SPACE.
   05 WS-RPT-PRICE          PIC ZZ9,99.
   05 FILLER                PIC XX VALUE SPACES.
   05 WS-RPT-QTY            PIC Z.ZZ9.
   05 FILLER                PIC XX VALUE SPACES.
   05 WS-RPT-DISCOUNT       PIC Z9,99%.
   05 FILLER                PIC XX VALUE SPACES.
   05 WS-RPT-NET            PIC ZZ.ZZ9,99.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
GENERATE-EUROPEAN-SALES-REPORT.
    PERFORM PRINT-REPORT-HEADER
    PERFORM PROCESS-SAMPLE-DATA
    PERFORM PRINT-REPORT-TOTALS
    STOP RUN.
 
PRINT-REPORT-HEADER.
    DISPLAY "Product         Price   Qty  Disc%   Net Amount"
    DISPLAY "================================================".
 
PROCESS-SAMPLE-DATA.
    *> Sample data with European decimal format
    MOVE "WIDGET-A" TO WS-PRODUCT-ID
    MOVE "Premium Widget A" TO WS-PRODUCT-NAME
    MOVE 125,50 TO WS-UNIT-PRICE
    MOVE 100 TO WS-QUANTITY
    MOVE 0,10 TO WS-DISCOUNT-RATE
    PERFORM CALCULATE-LINE-AMOUNTS
    PERFORM PRINT-DETAIL-LINE
    
    MOVE "GADGET-B" TO WS-PRODUCT-ID
    MOVE "Standard Gadget B" TO WS-PRODUCT-NAME
    MOVE 75,25 TO WS-UNIT-PRICE
    MOVE 250 TO WS-QUANTITY
    MOVE 0,05 TO WS-DISCOUNT-RATE
    PERFORM CALCULATE-LINE-AMOUNTS
    PERFORM PRINT-DETAIL-LINE.
 
CALCULATE-LINE-AMOUNTS.
    COMPUTE WS-LINE-TOTAL = WS-UNIT-PRICE * WS-QUANTITY
    COMPUTE WS-DISCOUNT-AMOUNT = WS-LINE-TOTAL * WS-DISCOUNT-RATE
    COMPUTE WS-NET-AMOUNT = WS-LINE-TOTAL - WS-DISCOUNT-AMOUNT
    
    ADD WS-LINE-TOTAL TO WS-GROSS-TOTAL
    ADD WS-DISCOUNT-AMOUNT TO WS-TOTAL-DISCOUNT
    ADD WS-NET-AMOUNT TO WS-NET-TOTAL.
 
PRINT-DETAIL-LINE.
    MOVE WS-PRODUCT-NAME(1:15) TO WS-RPT-PRODUCT
    MOVE WS-UNIT-PRICE TO WS-RPT-PRICE
    MOVE WS-QUANTITY TO WS-RPT-QTY
    MOVE WS-DISCOUNT-RATE TO WS-RPT-DISCOUNT
    MOVE WS-NET-AMOUNT TO WS-RPT-NET
    
    DISPLAY WS-REPORT-LINE.
 
PRINT-REPORT-TOTALS.
    01 WS-TOTAL-LINE.
       05 WS-TOT-GROSS       PIC €ZZZ.ZZ9,99.
       05 WS-TOT-DISCOUNT    PIC €ZZ.ZZ9,99.
       05 WS-TOT-NET         PIC €ZZZ.ZZ9,99.
    
    MOVE WS-GROSS-TOTAL TO WS-TOT-GROSS
    MOVE WS-TOTAL-DISCOUNT TO WS-TOT-DISCOUNT
    MOVE WS-NET-TOTAL TO WS-TOT-NET
    
    DISPLAY "================================================"
    DISPLAY "Gross Total: " WS-TOT-GROSS
    DISPLAY "Total Discount: " WS-TOT-DISCOUNT
    DISPLAY "Net Total: " WS-TOT-NET.

Compatibility and Considerations

Data Exchange Considerations

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ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-INTERNAL-AMOUNTS.
   05 WS-EURO-AMOUNT        PIC 9(6)V99 VALUE 12345,67.
   05 WS-US-AMOUNT          PIC 9(6)V99.
 
01 WS-EXCHANGE-FORMATS.
   05 WS-DISPLAY-EURO       PIC ZZ9.ZZ9,99.
   05 WS-DISPLAY-US         PIC ZZ9,ZZ9.99.
 
01 WS-STRING-WORK.
   05 WS-EURO-STRING        PIC X(10).
   05 WS-US-STRING          PIC X(10).
   05 WS-CONVERTED-STRING   PIC X(10).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
HANDLE-DATA-EXCHANGE.
    *> Display in European format
    MOVE WS-EURO-AMOUNT TO WS-DISPLAY-EURO
    DISPLAY "European format: " WS-DISPLAY-EURO
    
    *> Convert for US system exchange
    PERFORM CONVERT-TO-US-FORMAT
    
    *> Display in US format (simulated)
    MOVE WS-US-AMOUNT TO WS-DISPLAY-US
    DISPLAY "US format: " WS-DISPLAY-US.
 
CONVERT-TO-US-FORMAT.
    *> For data exchange, use computational fields
    *> The internal representation is the same
    MOVE WS-EURO-AMOUNT TO WS-US-AMOUNT
    
    *> For string conversion (if needed)
    MOVE WS-DISPLAY-EURO TO WS-EURO-STRING
    PERFORM SWAP-DECIMAL-SEPARATORS
    MOVE WS-CONVERTED-STRING TO WS-US-STRING.
 
SWAP-DECIMAL-SEPARATORS.
    *> Convert European format to US format
    MOVE SPACES TO WS-CONVERTED-STRING
    
    INSPECT WS-EURO-STRING TALLYING WS-CHAR-COUNT FOR CHARACTERS
    PERFORM VARYING WS-INDEX FROM 1 BY 1 
            UNTIL WS-INDEX > WS-CHAR-COUNT
        
        EVALUATE WS-EURO-STRING(WS-INDEX:1)
            WHEN ','
                MOVE '.' TO WS-CONVERTED-STRING(WS-INDEX:1)
            WHEN '.'
                MOVE ',' TO WS-CONVERTED-STRING(WS-INDEX:1)
            WHEN OTHER
                MOVE WS-EURO-STRING(WS-INDEX:1) 
                     TO WS-CONVERTED-STRING(WS-INDEX:1)
        END-EVALUATE
    END-PERFORM.

Compiler and Environment Support

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ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-ENVIRONMENT-INFO.
   05 WS-COMPILER-SUPPORT   PIC X VALUE 'Y'.
      88 DECIMAL-COMMA-SUPPORTED VALUE 'Y'.
   05 WS-LOCALE-SETTING     PIC X(10).
   05 WS-NUMBER-FORMAT      PIC X(10).
 
01 WS-TEST-VALUES.
   05 WS-TEST-AMOUNT        PIC 9(4)V99 VALUE 1234,56.
   05 WS-FORMATTED-AMT      PIC Z.ZZ9,99.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
VERIFY-DECIMAL-POINT-SUPPORT.
    *> Test if DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA is working
    MOVE WS-TEST-AMOUNT TO WS-FORMATTED-AMT
    
    IF WS-FORMATTED-AMT = "1.234,56"
        SET DECIMAL-COMMA-SUPPORTED TO TRUE
        MOVE "EUROPEAN" TO WS-NUMBER-FORMAT
        DISPLAY "DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA is active"
        DISPLAY "Formatted amount: " WS-FORMATTED-AMT
    ELSE
        MOVE 'N' TO WS-COMPILER-SUPPORT
        MOVE "US" TO WS-NUMBER-FORMAT
        DISPLAY "Standard decimal point formatting"
        DISPLAY "Formatted amount: " WS-FORMATTED-AMT
    END-IF
    
    PERFORM DISPLAY-ENVIRONMENT-INFO.
 
DISPLAY-ENVIRONMENT-INFO.
    DISPLAY "Environment Information:"
    DISPLAY "Decimal comma support: " WS-COMPILER-SUPPORT
    DISPLAY "Number format: " WS-NUMBER-FORMAT
    
    *> Additional environment checks
    ACCEPT WS-LOCALE-SETTING FROM ENVIRONMENT "LOCALE"
    IF WS-LOCALE-SETTING NOT = SPACES
        DISPLAY "System locale: " WS-LOCALE-SETTING
    END-IF.

Related Topics

  • SPECIAL-NAMES Paragraph
  • CONFIGURATION SECTION
  • DE Editing Character
  • PICTURE Clause
  • Numeric Literals
  • International Programming

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I specify DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA?

Specify it in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the CONFIGURATION SECTION in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION. This affects the entire program's numeric literal interpretation and display formatting.

Does DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA affect internal storage?

No, it only affects how numeric literals are interpreted in the source code and how edited numeric fields are displayed. Internal storage and arithmetic operations remain the same.

Can I mix US and European formats in the same program?

The DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA setting applies to the entire program. To handle both formats, use string manipulation or separate programs with different DECIMAL-POINT settings.

Is DECIMAL-POINT IS COMMA supported by all COBOL compilers?

Support varies by compiler and version. It's part of the COBOL standard but may not be implemented in all compilers. Check your compiler documentation for specific support and any limitations.