COBOL Tutorial

COBOL LC_ALL Clause - Quick Reference

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Overview

The LC_ALL clause is used in COBOL to set the locale for all locale categories at once. This clause is part of the internationalization (i18n) features in COBOL and affects how the program handles character sets, collation, date/time formats, and other locale-specific behaviors.

Purpose and Usage

Global locale setting - Set locale for all categories at once
Internationalization - Support for multiple languages and regions
Consistent behavior - Ensure uniform locale behavior
Character set handling - Control character encoding and sorting
Format standardization - Standardize date, time, and numeric formats

Locale Categories Affected

LC_ALL overrides:

• LC_COLLATE (Character sorting)

• LC_CTYPE (Character classification)

• LC_MESSAGES (Message localization)

• LC_MONETARY (Monetary formatting)

• LC_NUMERIC (Numeric formatting)

• LC_TIME (Date/time formatting)

All categories use the same locale setting

LC_ALL provides comprehensive locale control across all categories.

Syntax

The LC_ALL clause follows specific syntax patterns for setting comprehensive locale configurations in COBOL programs.

Basic Syntax

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* Basic LC_ALL clause syntax
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_ALL IS locale-name
    [LC_COLLATE IS collate-locale]
    [LC_CTYPE IS ctype-locale]
    [LC_MESSAGES IS messages-locale]
    [LC_MONETARY IS monetary-locale]
    [LC_NUMERIC IS numeric-locale]
    [LC_TIME IS time-locale].
 
* Examples
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_ALL IS 'en_US.UTF-8'.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_ALL IS 'fr_FR.ISO8859-1'.
 
* Complete example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. INTERNATIONAL-APP.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_ALL IS 'en_US.UTF-8'.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  CURRENT-DATE        PIC X(10).
01  CURRENT-TIME        PIC X(8).
01  MONETARY-AMOUNT     PIC 9(8)V99 VALUE 1234.56.
01  DISPLAY-AMOUNT      PIC X(20).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    * Date and time formatting will use en_US locale
    ACCEPT CURRENT-DATE FROM DATE
    ACCEPT CURRENT-TIME FROM TIME
    
    * Monetary formatting will use en_US locale
    MOVE MONETARY-AMOUNT TO DISPLAY-AMOUNT
    
    DISPLAY 'Date: ' CURRENT-DATE
    DISPLAY 'Time: ' CURRENT-TIME
    DISPLAY 'Amount: ' DISPLAY-AMOUNT
    
    STOP RUN.

LC_ALL is defined in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION under SPECIAL-NAMES.

Locale Format Examples

Locale Format	Description	Example
en_US.UTF-8	English, United States, UTF-8	Standard US English
fr_FR.ISO8859-1	French, France, ISO8859-1	French with Latin-1 encoding
de_DE.UTF-8	German, Germany, UTF-8	German with UTF-8 encoding
es_ES.UTF-8	Spanish, Spain, UTF-8	Spanish with UTF-8 encoding
ja_JP.UTF-8	Japanese, Japan, UTF-8	Japanese with UTF-8 encoding

Precedence Rules

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* LC_ALL precedence over individual settings
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_ALL IS 'en_US.UTF-8'
    LC_COLLATE IS 'fr_FR.ISO8859-1'  * This will be overridden
    LC_TIME IS 'de_DE.UTF-8'.        * This will be overridden
 
* Result: All locale categories will use 'en_US.UTF-8'
 
* Individual settings without LC_ALL
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_COLLATE IS 'fr_FR.ISO8859-1'  * French sorting
    LC_TIME IS 'de_DE.UTF-8'         * German date/time
    LC_MONETARY IS 'en_US.UTF-8'.    * US monetary format
 
* Result: Mixed locale settings as specified

LC_ALL takes precedence over all individual locale settings.

Common Use Cases

LC_ALL is commonly used in specific scenarios where comprehensive locale control and internationalization are needed.

International Applications

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* International application with LC_ALL
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. INTERNATIONAL-APP.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_ALL IS 'en_US.UTF-8'.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  USER-LOCALE         PIC X(20).
01  CURRENT-DATE        PIC X(10).
01  CURRENT-TIME        PIC X(8).
01  MONETARY-AMOUNT     PIC 9(8)V99 VALUE 1234.56.
01  DISPLAY-AMOUNT      PIC X(20).
01  SORTED-NAMES        PIC X(100).
01  NAME-LIST           PIC X(100) VALUE 'Zürich,Paris,London,Berlin'.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    * All locale-dependent operations use en_US.UTF-8
    ACCEPT CURRENT-DATE FROM DATE
    ACCEPT CURRENT-TIME FROM TIME
    
    * Character sorting (LC_COLLATE)
    MOVE NAME-LIST TO SORTED-NAMES
    PERFORM SORT-NAMES
    
    * Date/time formatting (LC_TIME)
    DISPLAY 'Date: ' CURRENT-DATE
    DISPLAY 'Time: ' CURRENT-TIME
    
    * Monetary formatting (LC_MONETARY)
    MOVE MONETARY-AMOUNT TO DISPLAY-AMOUNT
    DISPLAY 'Amount: $' DISPLAY-AMOUNT
    
    * Numeric formatting (LC_NUMERIC)
    DISPLAY 'Formatted: ' FUNCTION FORMATTED-DATE(CURRENT-DATE)
    
    STOP RUN.
 
SORT-NAMES.
    * Sorting will use en_US collation rules
    PERFORM UNTIL SORTING-COMPLETE
        PERFORM BUBBLE-SORT
    END-PERFORM.

International applications use LC_ALL for consistent locale behavior.

Multi-Language Support

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* Multi-language application with locale switching
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. MULTI-LANG-APP.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_ALL IS 'en_US.UTF-8'.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  SELECTED-LOCALE     PIC X(20).
01  USER-CHOICE         PIC X.
01  MESSAGE-TEXT        PIC X(100).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    DISPLAY 'Select language:'
    DISPLAY '1. English (US)'
    DISPLAY '2. French (France)'
    DISPLAY '3. German (Germany)'
    DISPLAY '4. Spanish (Spain)'
    ACCEPT USER-CHOICE
    
    EVALUATE USER-CHOICE
        WHEN '1'
            MOVE 'en_US.UTF-8' TO SELECTED-LOCALE
        WHEN '2'
            MOVE 'fr_FR.UTF-8' TO SELECTED-LOCALE
        WHEN '3'
            MOVE 'de_DE.UTF-8' TO SELECTED-LOCALE
        WHEN '4'
            MOVE 'es_ES.UTF-8' TO SELECTED-LOCALE
        WHEN OTHER
            MOVE 'en_US.UTF-8' TO SELECTED-LOCALE
    END-EVALUATE
    
    * Set locale for the application
    PERFORM SET-APPLICATION-LOCALE
    
    * Display localized messages
    PERFORM DISPLAY-LOCALIZED-MESSAGES
    
    STOP RUN.
 
SET-APPLICATION-LOCALE.
    * This would typically involve system calls or
    * environment variable manipulation
    DISPLAY 'Setting locale to: ' SELECTED-LOCALE.
 
DISPLAY-LOCALIZED-MESSAGES.
    * Messages would be localized based on the selected locale
    MOVE 'Welcome to the application' TO MESSAGE-TEXT
    DISPLAY MESSAGE-TEXT.

Multi-language applications use LC_ALL for language-specific formatting.

Data Processing Applications

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* Data processing with consistent locale
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. DATA-PROCESSOR.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SPECIAL-NAMES.
    LC_ALL IS 'en_US.UTF-8'.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  INPUT-RECORD.
    05  CUSTOMER-NAME    PIC X(50).
    05  TRANSACTION-DATE PIC X(10).
    05  AMOUNT           PIC 9(8)V99.
    05  CURRENCY         PIC X(3).
 
01  OUTPUT-RECORD.
    05  FORMATTED-NAME   PIC X(50).
    05  FORMATTED-DATE   PIC X(12).
    05  FORMATTED-AMOUNT PIC X(20).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
    * Process records with consistent locale
    PERFORM UNTIL END-OF-FILE
        READ INPUT-FILE INTO INPUT-RECORD
        PERFORM PROCESS-RECORD
        WRITE OUTPUT-RECORD TO OUTPUT-FILE
    END-PERFORM
    
    STOP RUN.
 
PROCESS-RECORD.
    * All formatting uses en_US locale
    MOVE CUSTOMER-NAME TO FORMATTED-NAME
    PERFORM FORMAT-DATE
    PERFORM FORMAT-AMOUNT.
 
FORMAT-DATE.
    * Date formatting uses LC_TIME (en_US)
    MOVE FUNCTION FORMATTED-DATE(TRANSACTION-DATE)
        TO FORMATTED-DATE.
 
FORMAT-AMOUNT.
    * Monetary formatting uses LC_MONETARY (en_US)
    MOVE FUNCTION FORMATTED-CURRENCY(AMOUNT, CURRENCY)
        TO FORMATTED-AMOUNT.

Data processing applications use LC_ALL for consistent data formatting.

Best Practices and Tips

Following these best practices ensures effective use of the LC_ALL clause for internationalization and locale management.

LC_ALL Design Principles

Consistent locale - Use LC_ALL for uniform behavior
UTF-8 encoding - Prefer UTF-8 for international support
Locale validation - Validate locale strings before use
Fallback handling - Provide fallback locales
Documentation - Document locale requirements
Testing - Test with multiple locales

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Pitfall	Problem	Solution
Invalid locale strings	Runtime errors or unexpected behavior	Validate locale strings
Mixed locale settings	Inconsistent behavior	Use LC_ALL for consistency
Encoding mismatches	Character display issues	Use UTF-8 consistently
No fallback handling	Program failures	Provide fallback locales
Insufficient testing	Locale-specific bugs	Test with multiple locales

Performance Considerations

Locale initialization - Locale setting has initialization overhead
Character processing - UTF-8 processing may be slower
Sorting operations - Locale-specific sorting has overhead
Formatting operations - Date/time formatting has processing cost
Memory usage - Locale data structures use memory
Cache considerations - Locale changes may invalidate caches

When to Use LC_ALL

Use Case	LC_ALL Suitability	Reasoning
International applications	Excellent	Perfect for multi-language support
Data processing	Good	Ensures consistent data formatting
User interfaces	Good	Provides localized user experience
Simple applications	Poor	Unnecessary complexity
Performance-critical code	Poor	Locale overhead may be too high

LC_ALL Clause Quick Reference

Usage	Syntax	Example
Basic LC_ALL	LC_ALL IS locale-name	LC_ALL IS 'en_US.UTF-8'
With individual settings	LC_ALL IS locale-name [other settings]	LC_ALL IS 'en_US.UTF-8' LC_COLLATE IS 'fr_FR'
Location in program	ENVIRONMENT DIVISION CONFIGURATION SECTION SPECIAL-NAMES	Under SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph
Locale format	language_COUNTRY.encoding	en_US.UTF-8, fr_FR.ISO8859-1
Precedence	LC_ALL overrides all other locale settings	Individual settings ignored when LC_ALL is set

Test Your Knowledge

1. What is the primary purpose of the LC_ALL clause in COBOL?

To define data types
To set the locale for all locale categories at once
To control file operations
To perform calculations

2. Which locale categories does LC_ALL override?

Only LC_COLLATE and LC_CTYPE
Only LC_MESSAGES and LC_MONETARY
All locale categories (LC_COLLATE, LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES, LC_MONETARY, LC_NUMERIC, LC_TIME)
Only LC_NUMERIC and LC_TIME

3. What happens when LC_ALL is set in a COBOL program?

Only character sorting is affected
Only date/time formatting is affected
All locale-dependent operations are affected
Only numeric formatting is affected

4. Where is the LC_ALL clause typically defined in a COBOL program?

In the DATA DIVISION
In the PROCEDURE DIVISION
In the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION under SPECIAL-NAMES
In the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION

5. What is the relationship between LC_ALL and individual locale settings?

LC_ALL and individual settings work independently
LC_ALL takes precedence over individual locale settings
Individual settings take precedence over LC_ALL
They cannot be used together

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL LC_ALL Clause - Quick Reference

Overview

Purpose and Usage

Locale Categories Affected

Syntax

Basic Syntax

Locale Format Examples

Precedence Rules

Common Use Cases

International Applications

Multi-Language Support

Data Processing Applications

Best Practices and Tips

LC_ALL Design Principles

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Performance Considerations

When to Use LC_ALL

LC_ALL Clause Quick Reference

Test Your Knowledge

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Concepts

LC_COLLATE Clause

LC_CTYPE Clause

LC_TIME Clause

LC_MONETARY Clause

Internationalization

Related Pages

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL LC_ALL Clause - Quick Reference

Overview

Purpose and Usage

Locale Categories Affected

Syntax

Basic Syntax

Locale Format Examples

Precedence Rules

Common Use Cases

International Applications

Multi-Language Support

Data Processing Applications

Best Practices and Tips

LC_ALL Design Principles

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Performance Considerations

When to Use LC_ALL

LC_ALL Clause Quick Reference

Test Your Knowledge

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between LC_ALL and individual locale settings?

When should you use LC_ALL versus individual locale settings?

What locale formats are supported by LC_ALL?

How does LC_ALL affect internationalization features?

Is LC_ALL supported in all COBOL dialects?

Related Concepts

LC_COLLATE Clause

LC_CTYPE Clause

LC_TIME Clause

LC_MONETARY Clause

Internationalization

Related Pages