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COBOL Tutorial

COBOL END-STRING Statement

The END-STRING statement represents a fundamental component of string manipulation and text processing operations in COBOL, serving as an explicit scope terminator that clearly defines the boundaries of STRING statement blocks. This statement embodies modern text processing principles by providing unambiguous termination points for string concatenation operations, enabling sophisticated string building and formatting capabilities, and supporting the development of robust text processing applications that require precise control over string assembly and overflow handling.

Basic END-STRING Usage

cobol
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IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. END-STRING-DEMO.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  STRING-WORK-AREAS.
    05  SOURCE-FIELDS.
        10  FIRST-NAME          PIC X(15) VALUE 'JOHN'.
        10  LAST-NAME           PIC X(20) VALUE 'SMITH'.
        10  MIDDLE-INITIAL      PIC X(1) VALUE 'A'.
        10  TITLE               PIC X(10) VALUE 'MR.'.
        10  DEPARTMENT          PIC X(15) VALUE 'ENGINEERING'.
    05  TARGET-FIELDS.
        10  FULL-NAME           PIC X(50).
        10  FORMATTED-OUTPUT    PIC X(100).
        10  REPORT-LINE         PIC X(80).
 
01  STRING-CONTROLS.
    05  STRING-POINTER          PIC 9(3) VALUE 1.
    05  OPERATIONS-COUNT        PIC 9(5) VALUE 0.
    05  SUCCESSFUL-STRINGS      PIC 9(5) VALUE 0.
    05  OVERFLOW-ERRORS         PIC 9(3) VALUE 0.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-PROCESSING.
    PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-BASIC-STRING-OPERATIONS
    PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-CONDITIONAL-STRING-OPERATIONS
    PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-COMPLEX-STRING-BUILDING
    PERFORM DISPLAY-STRING-STATISTICS
    STOP RUN.
 
DEMONSTRATE-BASIC-STRING-OPERATIONS.
    DISPLAY 'Demonstrating basic string operations...'
    
    *> Simple string concatenation
    STRING FIRST-NAME DELIMITED BY SPACE
           ' ' DELIMITED BY SIZE
           LAST-NAME DELIMITED BY SPACE
           INTO FULL-NAME
        ON OVERFLOW
            DISPLAY 'String overflow occurred'
            ADD 1 TO OVERFLOW-ERRORS
        NOT ON OVERFLOW
            DISPLAY 'Full name created: ' FULL-NAME
            ADD 1 TO SUCCESSFUL-STRINGS
    END-STRING
    
    ADD 1 TO OPERATIONS-COUNT.
 
DEMONSTRATE-CONDITIONAL-STRING-OPERATIONS.
    DISPLAY 'Demonstrating conditional string operations...'
    
    *> String with pointer control
    MOVE 1 TO STRING-POINTER
    STRING TITLE DELIMITED BY SPACE
           ' ' DELIMITED BY SIZE
           FIRST-NAME DELIMITED BY SPACE
           ' ' DELIMITED BY SIZE
           MIDDLE-INITIAL DELIMITED BY SIZE
           '. ' DELIMITED BY SIZE
           LAST-NAME DELIMITED BY SPACE
           INTO FORMATTED-OUTPUT
           WITH POINTER STRING-POINTER
        ON OVERFLOW
            DISPLAY 'Formatted output overflow'
            ADD 1 TO OVERFLOW-ERRORS
        NOT ON OVERFLOW
            DISPLAY 'Formatted output: ' FORMATTED-OUTPUT
            DISPLAY 'Final pointer position: ' STRING-POINTER
            ADD 1 TO SUCCESSFUL-STRINGS
    END-STRING
    
    ADD 1 TO OPERATIONS-COUNT.
 
DEMONSTRATE-COMPLEX-STRING-BUILDING.
    DISPLAY 'Demonstrating complex string building...'
    
    *> Multi-step string building
    MOVE 1 TO STRING-POINTER
    STRING 'Employee: ' DELIMITED BY SIZE
           FULL-NAME DELIMITED BY SPACE
           ' - Department: ' DELIMITED BY SIZE
           DEPARTMENT DELIMITED BY SPACE
           INTO REPORT-LINE
           WITH POINTER STRING-POINTER
        ON OVERFLOW
            DISPLAY 'Report line overflow'
            ADD 1 TO OVERFLOW-ERRORS
        NOT ON OVERFLOW
            DISPLAY 'Report line: ' REPORT-LINE
            ADD 1 TO SUCCESSFUL-STRINGS
    END-STRING
    
    ADD 1 TO OPERATIONS-COUNT.
 
DISPLAY-STRING-STATISTICS.
    DISPLAY 'String Processing Statistics:'
    DISPLAY 'Total operations: ' OPERATIONS-COUNT
    DISPLAY 'Successful strings: ' SUCCESSFUL-STRINGS
    DISPLAY 'Overflow errors: ' OVERFLOW-ERRORS.

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