MainframeMaster

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL EVALUATE Statement

The EVALUATE statement represents a fundamental component of multi-way selection and case logic in COBOL, serving as a sophisticated alternative to nested IF statements for complex conditional processing. This statement embodies structured programming principles by providing clear, readable case-based logic, enabling efficient multi-condition evaluation, and supporting the development of maintainable decision-making structures that can handle complex business logic with precision and clarity.

Basic EVALUATE Usage

cobol
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. EVALUATE-DEMO.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  SELECTION-VARIABLES.
    05  GRADE-LETTER            PIC X.
    05  NUMERIC-SCORE           PIC 9(3).
    05  STUDENT-STATUS          PIC X(10).
    05  DEPARTMENT-CODE         PIC X(3).
    05  EMPLOYEE-LEVEL          PIC 9(2).
 
01  PROCESSING-RESULTS.
    05  GRADE-DESCRIPTION       PIC X(20).
    05  SALARY-RANGE            PIC X(15).
    05  PROCESSING-MESSAGE      PIC X(50).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-PROCESSING.
    PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-SIMPLE-EVALUATE
    PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-RANGE-EVALUATE
    PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-MULTIPLE-SUBJECT-EVALUATE
    PERFORM DEMONSTRATE-COMPLEX-EVALUATE
    STOP RUN.
 
DEMONSTRATE-SIMPLE-EVALUATE.
    DISPLAY 'Demonstrating simple EVALUATE...'
    
    MOVE 'A' TO GRADE-LETTER
    
    EVALUATE GRADE-LETTER
        WHEN 'A'
            MOVE 'Excellent' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Grade A: Excellent performance'
        WHEN 'B'
            MOVE 'Good' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Grade B: Good performance'
        WHEN 'C'
            MOVE 'Average' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Grade C: Average performance'
        WHEN 'D'
            MOVE 'Below Average' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Grade D: Below average performance'
        WHEN 'F'
            MOVE 'Failing' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Grade F: Failing performance'
        WHEN OTHER
            MOVE 'Invalid Grade' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Invalid grade entered'
    END-EVALUATE.
 
DEMONSTRATE-RANGE-EVALUATE.
    DISPLAY 'Demonstrating range EVALUATE...'
    
    MOVE 95 TO NUMERIC-SCORE
    
    EVALUATE NUMERIC-SCORE
        WHEN 90 THRU 100
            MOVE 'A' TO GRADE-LETTER
            MOVE 'Outstanding' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Score ' NUMERIC-SCORE ': Grade A'
        WHEN 80 THRU 89
            MOVE 'B' TO GRADE-LETTER
            MOVE 'Good' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Score ' NUMERIC-SCORE ': Grade B'
        WHEN 70 THRU 79
            MOVE 'C' TO GRADE-LETTER
            MOVE 'Satisfactory' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Score ' NUMERIC-SCORE ': Grade C'
        WHEN 60 THRU 69
            MOVE 'D' TO GRADE-LETTER
            MOVE 'Needs Improvement' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Score ' NUMERIC-SCORE ': Grade D'
        WHEN 0 THRU 59
            MOVE 'F' TO GRADE-LETTER
            MOVE 'Failing' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Score ' NUMERIC-SCORE ': Grade F'
        WHEN OTHER
            MOVE 'Invalid Score' TO GRADE-DESCRIPTION
            DISPLAY 'Invalid score: ' NUMERIC-SCORE
    END-EVALUATE.
 
DEMONSTRATE-MULTIPLE-SUBJECT-EVALUATE.
    DISPLAY 'Demonstrating multiple subject EVALUATE...'
    
    MOVE 'IT' TO DEPARTMENT-CODE
    MOVE 5 TO EMPLOYEE-LEVEL
    
    EVALUATE DEPARTMENT-CODE ALSO EMPLOYEE-LEVEL
        WHEN 'IT' ALSO 1 THRU 3
            MOVE 'Junior IT' TO SALARY-RANGE
            DISPLAY 'Junior IT Staff: Entry level salary'
        WHEN 'IT' ALSO 4 THRU 6
            MOVE 'Senior IT' TO SALARY-RANGE
            DISPLAY 'Senior IT Staff: Mid-level salary'
        WHEN 'IT' ALSO 7 THRU 10
            MOVE 'IT Manager' TO SALARY-RANGE
            DISPLAY 'IT Management: Senior level salary'
        WHEN 'HR' ALSO 1 THRU 3
            MOVE 'Junior HR' TO SALARY-RANGE
            DISPLAY 'Junior HR Staff: Entry level salary'
        WHEN 'HR' ALSO 4 THRU 6
            MOVE 'Senior HR' TO SALARY-RANGE
            DISPLAY 'Senior HR Staff: Mid-level salary'
        WHEN 'FIN' ALSO 1 THRU 3
            MOVE 'Junior Finance' TO SALARY-RANGE
            DISPLAY 'Junior Finance Staff: Entry level salary'
        WHEN OTHER
            MOVE 'Unclassified' TO SALARY-RANGE
            DISPLAY 'Unclassified position'
    END-EVALUATE.
 
DEMONSTRATE-COMPLEX-EVALUATE.
    DISPLAY 'Demonstrating complex EVALUATE...'
    
    MOVE 'ACTIVE' TO STUDENT-STATUS
    MOVE 85 TO NUMERIC-SCORE
    
    EVALUATE TRUE
        WHEN STUDENT-STATUS = 'ACTIVE' AND NUMERIC-SCORE >= 90
            MOVE 'Dean''s List Candidate' TO PROCESSING-MESSAGE
            DISPLAY 'Eligible for Dean''s List'
        WHEN STUDENT-STATUS = 'ACTIVE' AND NUMERIC-SCORE >= 80
            MOVE 'Honor Roll Candidate' TO PROCESSING-MESSAGE
            DISPLAY 'Eligible for Honor Roll'
        WHEN STUDENT-STATUS = 'ACTIVE' AND NUMERIC-SCORE >= 70
            MOVE 'Good Standing' TO PROCESSING-MESSAGE
            DISPLAY 'Student in good standing'
        WHEN STUDENT-STATUS = 'ACTIVE' AND NUMERIC-SCORE >= 60
            MOVE 'Academic Warning' TO PROCESSING-MESSAGE
            DISPLAY 'Student on academic warning'
        WHEN STUDENT-STATUS = 'ACTIVE' AND NUMERIC-SCORE < 60
            MOVE 'Academic Probation' TO PROCESSING-MESSAGE
            DISPLAY 'Student on academic probation'
        WHEN STUDENT-STATUS = 'INACTIVE'
            MOVE 'Not Enrolled' TO PROCESSING-MESSAGE
            DISPLAY 'Student not currently enrolled'
        WHEN OTHER
            MOVE 'Status Unknown' TO PROCESSING-MESSAGE
            DISPLAY 'Unable to determine student status'
    END-EVALUATE.

Best Practices and FAQ