The NOTE statement represents comprehensive documentation and comment management capabilities within COBOL programming environments, providing sophisticated code annotation features, advanced documentation integration mechanisms, and intelligent comment processing that enable systematic program documentation, enhanced code readability, and comprehensive maintenance support. This statement embodies modern documentation principles by supporting structured comment insertion, enabling detailed program explanation workflows, and facilitating comprehensive code annotation requirements while maintaining processing efficiency, ensuring documentation clarity, and enabling maintainable documentation architectures across enterprise applications requiring systematic code documentation, program explanation capabilities, and reliable comment management throughout complex business logic scenarios and maintenance workflows.
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768697071727374757677787980818283*> Basic NOTE statement syntax NOTE comment-text. *> NOTE with multiple lines NOTE This is a documentation comment that can span multiple lines to provide detailed explanations. *> Examples of NOTE usage PROCEDURE DIVISION. MAIN-PROCESSING. NOTE =================================================== NOTE MAIN PROCESSING SECTION NOTE This section handles the primary business logic NOTE including data validation, file processing, NOTE and report generation. NOTE =================================================== PERFORM INITIALIZE-PROGRAM NOTE Process customer transactions NOTE Validate each transaction before posting PERFORM PROCESS-TRANSACTIONS NOTE Generate end-of-day reports NOTE Include summary statistics and error reports PERFORM GENERATE-REPORTS NOTE Cleanup and termination procedures PERFORM CLEANUP-PROCEDURES STOP RUN. *> Alternative comment styles (more commonly used) * This is a comment line using asterisk * Multiple comment lines can be used * for detailed documentation *> Inline comments (COBOL-85 and later) MOVE WS-COUNTER TO DISPLAY-COUNTER *> Update display field ADD 1 TO WS-COUNTER *> Increment counter *> Comparison: NOTE vs other comment methods IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. COMMENT-EXAMPLES. * * Program: Customer Processing System * Author: Development Team * Date: 2024-01-15 * Purpose: Process daily customer transactions * DATA DIVISION. WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. *> Working storage fields 01 WS-COUNTERS. 05 WS-RECORD-COUNT PIC 9(6) VALUE 0. *> Record counter 05 WS-ERROR-COUNT PIC 9(4) VALUE 0. *> Error counter PROCEDURE DIVISION. MAIN-ROUTINE. NOTE ============================================= NOTE MAIN ROUTINE - CUSTOMER PROCESSING NOTE ============================================= *> Initialize program variables PERFORM INITIALIZATION NOTE Begin transaction processing loop NOTE Process each transaction record sequentially PERFORM UNTIL END-OF-FILE READ TRANSACTION-FILE AT END MOVE 'Y' TO EOF-FLAG NOT AT END PERFORM PROCESS-TRANSACTION END-READ END-PERFORM NOTE End of processing - generate reports PERFORM FINAL-REPORTING STOP RUN.
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419420421422423424425426427428429430431432433434435436437IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. NOTE-DOCUMENTATION-DEMO. * * ======================================================= * Program Documentation Example using NOTE and Comments * ======================================================= * Purpose: Demonstrate comprehensive documentation * techniques in COBOL programming * Author: COBOL Development Team * Date: 2024-01-15 * Version: 1.0 * ======================================================= * ENVIRONMENT DIVISION. CONFIGURATION SECTION. SOURCE-COMPUTER. IBM-PC. OBJECT-COMPUTER. IBM-PC. INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION. FILE-CONTROL. NOTE File control section defines input and output files NOTE for the customer processing application SELECT CUSTOMER-FILE ASSIGN TO "CUSTOMER.DAT" ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL ACCESS MODE IS SEQUENTIAL FILE STATUS IS WS-CUSTOMER-STATUS. NOTE Master file contains customer account information SELECT MASTER-FILE ASSIGN TO "MASTER.IDX" ORGANIZATION IS INDEXED ACCESS MODE IS DYNAMIC RECORD KEY IS MASTER-KEY FILE STATUS IS WS-MASTER-STATUS. NOTE Report file for generating customer statements SELECT REPORT-FILE ASSIGN TO "REPORT.TXT" ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL ACCESS MODE IS SEQUENTIAL. DATA DIVISION. FILE SECTION. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE FILE SECTION - Record definitions for all files NOTE ======================================================= FD CUSTOMER-FILE. NOTE Customer transaction file record layout NOTE Contains daily transaction details for processing 01 CUSTOMER-RECORD. 05 CUST-ID PIC X(8). NOTE Customer identifier 05 TRANS-TYPE PIC X(6). NOTE Transaction type 05 TRANS-AMOUNT PIC 9(8)V99. NOTE Transaction amount 05 TRANS-DATE PIC 9(8). NOTE Transaction date YYYYMMDD 05 BRANCH-CODE PIC X(4). NOTE Originating branch FD MASTER-FILE. NOTE Master customer file - account information NOTE Updated with transaction postings 01 MASTER-RECORD. 05 MASTER-KEY PIC X(8). NOTE Primary key - Customer ID 05 CUSTOMER-NAME PIC X(30). NOTE Full customer name 05 ACCOUNT-BALANCE PIC S9(10)V99. NOTE Current account balance 05 CREDIT-LIMIT PIC 9(8)V99. NOTE Credit limit amount 05 LAST-ACTIVITY PIC 9(8). NOTE Last transaction date FD REPORT-FILE. NOTE Customer statement report file 01 REPORT-RECORD PIC X(132). NOTE Print line record WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE WORKING STORAGE - Program variables and constants NOTE ======================================================= *> File status and control fields 01 WS-FILE-STATUS. 05 WS-CUSTOMER-STATUS PIC X(2). *> Customer file status 05 WS-MASTER-STATUS PIC X(2). *> Master file status 05 WS-EOF-FLAG PIC X VALUE 'N'. *> End of file indicator NOTE Processing counters and statistics 01 WS-PROCESSING-STATS. 05 WS-RECORDS-READ PIC 9(8) VALUE 0. NOTE Total number of transaction records processed 05 WS-RECORDS-POSTED PIC 9(8) VALUE 0. NOTE Successfully posted transactions 05 WS-ERRORS-FOUND PIC 9(6) VALUE 0. NOTE Transaction errors encountered 05 WS-BALANCE-TOTAL PIC S9(12)V99 VALUE 0. NOTE Running total of all account balances NOTE Customer processing work fields 01 WS-CUSTOMER-WORK. 05 WS-NEW-BALANCE PIC S9(10)V99. NOTE Calculated new balance after transaction 05 WS-CREDIT-AVAILABLE PIC S9(10)V99. NOTE Available credit calculation 05 WS-OVERLIMIT-FLAG PIC X VALUE 'N'. NOTE Indicates if transaction exceeds credit limit NOTE Report formatting fields 01 WS-REPORT-FIELDS. 05 WS-REPORT-DATE PIC X(10). NOTE Formatted report date MM/DD/YYYY 05 WS-PAGE-NUMBER PIC 9(3) VALUE 1. NOTE Current report page number 05 WS-LINE-COUNT PIC 9(3) VALUE 0. NOTE Lines printed on current page 05 WS-MAX-LINES PIC 9(3) VALUE 55. NOTE Maximum lines per page NOTE Business rules and constants 01 WS-BUSINESS-CONSTANTS. 05 WS-MAX-TRANSACTION PIC 9(8)V99 VALUE 50000.00. NOTE Maximum single transaction amount 05 WS-MIN-BALANCE PIC S9(8)V99 VALUE -1000.00. NOTE Minimum allowed account balance 05 WS-DAILY-LIMIT PIC 9(8)V99 VALUE 10000.00. NOTE Daily transaction limit per customer PROCEDURE DIVISION. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE MAIN PROCEDURE DIVISION NOTE ======================================================= NOTE This section contains the main program logic for NOTE processing customer transactions and updating NOTE account balances with comprehensive error handling NOTE ======================================================= MAIN-PROCESSING-ROUTINE. NOTE Initialize program execution NOTE Set up files, variables, and processing environment DISPLAY "Customer Transaction Processing - Starting..." PERFORM PROGRAM-INITIALIZATION NOTE Main processing loop NOTE Process each transaction record sequentially PERFORM TRANSACTION-PROCESSING-LOOP NOTE Generate final reports and statistics PERFORM FINAL-REPORTING NOTE Clean up and terminate program PERFORM PROGRAM-TERMINATION DISPLAY "Customer Transaction Processing - Complete." STOP RUN. PROGRAM-INITIALIZATION. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE PROGRAM INITIALIZATION SECTION NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Open all required files and initialize program NOTE variables for transaction processing NOTE ======================================================= DISPLAY "Initializing program..." NOTE Open input transaction file OPEN INPUT CUSTOMER-FILE IF WS-CUSTOMER-STATUS NOT = "00" DISPLAY "ERROR: Cannot open customer file - " WS-CUSTOMER-STATUS PERFORM PROGRAM-TERMINATION STOP RUN END-IF NOTE Open master file for read/write access OPEN I-O MASTER-FILE IF WS-MASTER-STATUS NOT = "00" DISPLAY "ERROR: Cannot open master file - " WS-MASTER-STATUS PERFORM PROGRAM-TERMINATION STOP RUN END-IF NOTE Open report file for output OPEN OUTPUT REPORT-FILE NOTE Initialize processing statistics MOVE 0 TO WS-RECORDS-READ MOVE 0 TO WS-RECORDS-POSTED MOVE 0 TO WS-ERRORS-FOUND MOVE 0 TO WS-BALANCE-TOTAL NOTE Set up report headers PERFORM SETUP-REPORT-HEADERS DISPLAY "Program initialization complete.". TRANSACTION-PROCESSING-LOOP. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE TRANSACTION PROCESSING LOOP NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Main processing loop that reads each transaction NOTE record, validates it, and posts it to the master file NOTE ======================================================= DISPLAY "Beginning transaction processing..." NOTE Read first transaction record READ CUSTOMER-FILE AT END MOVE 'Y' TO WS-EOF-FLAG DISPLAY "No transaction records found" NOT AT END ADD 1 TO WS-RECORDS-READ END-READ NOTE Process all transaction records PERFORM UNTIL WS-EOF-FLAG = 'Y' NOTE Validate current transaction PERFORM VALIDATE-TRANSACTION NOTE Process valid transactions IF WS-OVERLIMIT-FLAG = 'N' PERFORM POST-TRANSACTION ADD 1 TO WS-RECORDS-POSTED ELSE ADD 1 TO WS-ERRORS-FOUND PERFORM LOG-TRANSACTION-ERROR END-IF NOTE Read next transaction record READ CUSTOMER-FILE AT END MOVE 'Y' TO WS-EOF-FLAG NOT AT END ADD 1 TO WS-RECORDS-READ END-READ END-PERFORM DISPLAY "Transaction processing complete." DISPLAY "Records read: " WS-RECORDS-READ DISPLAY "Records posted: " WS-RECORDS-POSTED DISPLAY "Errors found: " WS-ERRORS-FOUND. VALIDATE-TRANSACTION. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE TRANSACTION VALIDATION SECTION NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Validates transaction data and business rules NOTE Sets error flags for invalid transactions NOTE ======================================================= MOVE 'N' TO WS-OVERLIMIT-FLAG NOTE Validate transaction amount IF TRANS-AMOUNT <= 0 MOVE 'Y' TO WS-OVERLIMIT-FLAG DISPLAY "Invalid amount: " TRANS-AMOUNT " for customer " CUST-ID EXIT PARAGRAPH END-IF NOTE Check maximum transaction limit IF TRANS-AMOUNT > WS-MAX-TRANSACTION MOVE 'Y' TO WS-OVERLIMIT-FLAG DISPLAY "Amount exceeds limit: " TRANS-AMOUNT " for customer " CUST-ID EXIT PARAGRAPH END-IF NOTE Validate transaction type EVALUATE TRANS-TYPE WHEN "CREDIT" WHEN "DEBIT" WHEN "ADJUST" CONTINUE WHEN OTHER MOVE 'Y' TO WS-OVERLIMIT-FLAG DISPLAY "Invalid transaction type: " TRANS-TYPE END-EVALUATE. POST-TRANSACTION. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE POST TRANSACTION TO MASTER FILE NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Updates customer master record with transaction NOTE amount and recalculates account balance NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Read master record for customer MOVE CUST-ID TO MASTER-KEY READ MASTER-FILE INVALID KEY DISPLAY "Customer not found: " CUST-ID ADD 1 TO WS-ERRORS-FOUND EXIT PARAGRAPH END-READ NOTE Calculate new balance based on transaction type EVALUATE TRANS-TYPE WHEN "CREDIT" ADD TRANS-AMOUNT TO ACCOUNT-BALANCE WHEN "DEBIT" SUBTRACT TRANS-AMOUNT FROM ACCOUNT-BALANCE WHEN "ADJUST" MOVE TRANS-AMOUNT TO ACCOUNT-BALANCE END-EVALUATE NOTE Check credit limit for debit transactions IF TRANS-TYPE = "DEBIT" COMPUTE WS-CREDIT-AVAILABLE = CREDIT-LIMIT + ACCOUNT-BALANCE IF WS-CREDIT-AVAILABLE < 0 DISPLAY "Credit limit exceeded for customer " CUST-ID NOTE Reverse the transaction ADD TRANS-AMOUNT TO ACCOUNT-BALANCE ADD 1 TO WS-ERRORS-FOUND EXIT PARAGRAPH END-IF END-IF NOTE Update last activity date MOVE TRANS-DATE TO LAST-ACTIVITY NOTE Rewrite master record REWRITE MASTER-RECORD INVALID KEY DISPLAY "Error updating customer " CUST-ID ADD 1 TO WS-ERRORS-FOUND END-REWRITE NOTE Add to balance total for reporting ADD ACCOUNT-BALANCE TO WS-BALANCE-TOTAL. LOG-TRANSACTION-ERROR. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE LOG TRANSACTION ERROR NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Records transaction errors for audit and review NOTE ======================================================= DISPLAY "ERROR - Transaction rejected:" DISPLAY " Customer ID: " CUST-ID DISPLAY " Transaction Type: " TRANS-TYPE DISPLAY " Amount: " TRANS-AMOUNT DISPLAY " Date: " TRANS-DATE DISPLAY " Reason: Validation failed" DISPLAY " ". SETUP-REPORT-HEADERS. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE SETUP REPORT HEADERS NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Initializes report formatting and writes headers NOTE ======================================================= MOVE FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE(1:8) TO WS-REPORT-DATE MOVE 1 TO WS-PAGE-NUMBER MOVE 0 TO WS-LINE-COUNT NOTE Write main report header MOVE "CUSTOMER TRANSACTION PROCESSING REPORT" TO REPORT-RECORD WRITE REPORT-RECORD ADD 1 TO WS-LINE-COUNT MOVE SPACES TO REPORT-RECORD WRITE REPORT-RECORD ADD 1 TO WS-LINE-COUNT. FINAL-REPORTING. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE FINAL REPORTING SECTION NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Generates summary reports and processing statistics NOTE ======================================================= DISPLAY "Generating final reports..." NOTE Write processing summary to report MOVE "PROCESSING SUMMARY" TO REPORT-RECORD WRITE REPORT-RECORD MOVE "=================" TO REPORT-RECORD WRITE REPORT-RECORD STRING "Records Read: " WS-RECORDS-READ INTO REPORT-RECORD WRITE REPORT-RECORD STRING "Records Posted: " WS-RECORDS-POSTED INTO REPORT-RECORD WRITE REPORT-RECORD STRING "Errors Found: " WS-ERRORS-FOUND INTO REPORT-RECORD WRITE REPORT-RECORD STRING "Total Balance: $" WS-BALANCE-TOTAL INTO REPORT-RECORD WRITE REPORT-RECORD DISPLAY "Final reporting complete.". PROGRAM-TERMINATION. NOTE ======================================================= NOTE PROGRAM TERMINATION SECTION NOTE ======================================================= NOTE Closes all files and performs cleanup procedures NOTE ======================================================= DISPLAY "Terminating program..." NOTE Close all files CLOSE CUSTOMER-FILE CLOSE MASTER-FILE CLOSE REPORT-FILE NOTE Display final statistics DISPLAY " " DISPLAY "FINAL PROCESSING STATISTICS:" DISPLAY "=============================" DISPLAY "Total Records Read: " WS-RECORDS-READ DISPLAY "Successfully Posted: " WS-RECORDS-POSTED DISPLAY "Errors Encountered: " WS-ERRORS-FOUND IF WS-ERRORS-FOUND > 0 DISPLAY "** ERRORS DETECTED - REVIEW LOG **" ELSE DISPLAY "** ALL TRANSACTIONS PROCESSED SUCCESSFULLY **" END-IF DISPLAY "Program terminated successfully.". NOTE ======================================================= NOTE END OF PROGRAM - NOTE STATEMENT DEMONSTRATION NOTE ======================================================= NOTE This program demonstrates comprehensive use of the NOTE statement for program documentation, including: NOTE NOTE 1. Section headers and dividers NOTE 2. Detailed procedure explanations NOTE 3. Variable and field documentation NOTE 4. Business rule explanations NOTE 5. Processing step documentation NOTE 6. Error handling documentation NOTE NOTE The NOTE statement provides structured documentation NOTE that enhances program readability and maintenance. NOTE =======================================================
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. PAYROLL-PROCESSING. * * ===================================================== * PAYROLL PROCESSING SYSTEM * ===================================================== * Purpose: Calculate employee payroll and deductions * Author: HR Systems Team * Date: 2024-01-15 * Version: 2.1 * * Modifications: * 2024-01-10 - Added overtime calculation * 2024-01-05 - Implemented tax table updates * ===================================================== * DATA DIVISION. WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. NOTE =================================================== NOTE EMPLOYEE RECORD STRUCTURE NOTE Contains all employee information needed for NOTE payroll calculation including personal data, NOTE pay rates, and deduction information NOTE =================================================== 01 EMPLOYEE-RECORD. 05 EMP-ID PIC X(8). NOTE Unique employee identifier 05 EMP-NAME PIC X(30). NOTE Full employee name (Last, First) 05 PAY-RATE PIC 9(4)V99. NOTE Hourly pay rate in dollars 05 HOURS-WORKED PIC 9(3)V9. NOTE Regular hours worked this period 05 OVERTIME-HOURS PIC 9(3)V9. NOTE Overtime hours (over 40) this period NOTE Tax and deduction calculations 01 PAYROLL-CALCULATIONS. 05 GROSS-PAY PIC 9(6)V99. NOTE Total pay before deductions 05 FEDERAL-TAX PIC 9(5)V99. NOTE Federal income tax withholding 05 STATE-TAX PIC 9(5)V99. NOTE State income tax withholding 05 NET-PAY PIC 9(6)V99. NOTE Take-home pay after all deductions PROCEDURE DIVISION. MAIN-PAYROLL-PROCESSING. NOTE =========================================== NOTE MAIN PAYROLL PROCESSING ROUTINE NOTE =========================================== NOTE This is the main control routine that NOTE orchestrates the entire payroll process NOTE from data input through final reporting NOTE =========================================== PERFORM INITIALIZE-PAYROLL-SYSTEM PERFORM PROCESS-ALL-EMPLOYEES PERFORM GENERATE-PAYROLL-REPORTS PERFORM CLEANUP-AND-EXIT STOP RUN. CALCULATE-EMPLOYEE-PAY. NOTE Calculate gross pay including overtime NOTE Regular hours: first 40 hours at regular rate NOTE Overtime: hours over 40 at 1.5x rate IF HOURS-WORKED <= 40 COMPUTE GROSS-PAY = HOURS-WORKED * PAY-RATE MOVE 0 TO OVERTIME-HOURS ELSE COMPUTE OVERTIME-HOURS = HOURS-WORKED - 40 COMPUTE GROSS-PAY = (40 * PAY-RATE) + (OVERTIME-HOURS * PAY-RATE * 1.5) END-IF NOTE Calculate tax deductions NOTE Federal tax: 22% of gross pay NOTE State tax: 5% of gross pay COMPUTE FEDERAL-TAX = GROSS-PAY * 0.22 COMPUTE STATE-TAX = GROSS-PAY * 0.05 COMPUTE NET-PAY = GROSS-PAY - FEDERAL-TAX - STATE-TAX.
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990NOTE ===================================================== NOTE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - REORDER PROCESSING NOTE ===================================================== NOTE This section implements the automated reorder logic NOTE for inventory items based on current stock levels, NOTE sales velocity, and supplier lead times NOTE ===================================================== 01 INVENTORY-ITEM. 05 ITEM-CODE PIC X(12). NOTE SKU or product code identifier 05 CURRENT-STOCK PIC 9(6). NOTE Current quantity on hand 05 REORDER-POINT PIC 9(6). NOTE Minimum stock level before reorder 05 REORDER-QUANTITY PIC 9(6). NOTE Standard reorder quantity 05 LEAD-TIME-DAYS PIC 9(3). NOTE Supplier lead time in days 01 REORDER-CALCULATIONS. 05 DAILY-USAGE PIC 9(4)V99. NOTE Average daily usage rate 05 SAFETY-STOCK PIC 9(6). NOTE Safety stock buffer amount 05 REORDER-FLAG PIC X. NOTE 'Y' if item needs reordering PROCEDURE DIVISION. CHECK-REORDER-STATUS. NOTE =========================================== NOTE REORDER STATUS CHECKING ALGORITHM NOTE =========================================== NOTE Determines if an item needs reordering NOTE based on current stock, usage patterns, NOTE and safety stock requirements NOTE =========================================== NOTE Calculate safety stock requirement NOTE Safety stock = Lead time × Daily usage × Safety factor COMPUTE SAFETY-STOCK = LEAD-TIME-DAYS * DAILY-USAGE * 1.2 NOTE Check if current stock has reached reorder point IF CURRENT-STOCK <= REORDER-POINT MOVE 'Y' TO REORDER-FLAG DISPLAY "REORDER NEEDED: " ITEM-CODE DISPLAY " Current stock: " CURRENT-STOCK DISPLAY " Reorder point: " REORDER-POINT DISPLAY " Suggested quantity: " REORDER-QUANTITY ELSE MOVE 'N' TO REORDER-FLAG NOTE Stock level is adequate END-IF NOTE Additional check for emergency reordering NOTE If stock drops below safety stock level IF CURRENT-STOCK < SAFETY-STOCK DISPLAY "URGENT REORDER: " ITEM-CODE DISPLAY " Below safety stock level!" DISPLAY " Expedited delivery recommended" END-IF. CALCULATE-DYNAMIC-REORDER-POINT. NOTE =========================================== NOTE DYNAMIC REORDER POINT CALCULATION NOTE =========================================== NOTE Adjusts reorder point based on seasonal NOTE factors, supplier performance, and market NOTE conditions to optimize inventory levels NOTE =========================================== NOTE Base calculation: Lead time × Daily usage COMPUTE REORDER-POINT = LEAD-TIME-DAYS * DAILY-USAGE NOTE Apply seasonal adjustment factor NOTE (This would typically come from a table lookup) IF FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE(5:2) >= "11" OR FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE(5:2) <= "01" NOTE Holiday season - increase by 25% COMPUTE REORDER-POINT = REORDER-POINT * 1.25 DISPLAY "Holiday adjustment applied to " ITEM-CODE END-IF NOTE Add safety stock buffer ADD SAFETY-STOCK TO REORDER-POINT NOTE Update item record with new reorder point NOTE (In real system, this would update the database) DISPLAY "Updated reorder point for " ITEM-CODE " to " REORDER-POINT.
What is the primary purpose of the NOTE statement in COBOL?
Answer: The NOTE statement provides structured documentation within COBOL programs, allowing programmers to insert explanatory text and comments that improve code readability and maintenance without affecting program execution.
What are the modern alternatives to NOTE for program documentation?
Answer: Modern alternatives include asterisk (*) comments in column 7, inline comments using > (COBOL-85+), and block comments for headers. These methods are more widely supported and commonly used in contemporary COBOL development.
What should be included in comprehensive COBOL program documentation?
Answer: Comprehensive documentation should include program purpose and author information, business rule explanations, complex algorithm descriptions, modification history, data structure explanations, and clear section headers that help future maintainers understand the code.