COBOL Tutorial

COBOL RIGHT Clause - Quick Reference

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Overview

The RIGHT clause is used to right-align data within a field during MOVE and STRING operations. It positions data at the right end of the target field, with spaces (or padding characters) filling the left side.

Purpose and Usage

Data alignment - Right-align data within fields
Formatting - Create professional-looking output
Report generation - Align columns in reports
Currency formatting - Format monetary amounts
Numeric display - Align numeric data properly

Alignment Concept

Field: [1234567890] (10 characters)

Data: "ABC"

LEFT: [ABC ]

RIGHT: [ ABC]

RIGHT positions data at the end

RIGHT aligns data to the right side with left padding.

Syntax

The RIGHT clause follows specific syntax patterns in MOVE and STRING operations.

Basic Syntax

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* Basic RIGHT clause syntax
MOVE source-data TO target-field RIGHT
 
* With STRING operation
STRING source1 DELIMITED BY SIZE
       source2 DELIMITED BY SIZE
       INTO target-field RIGHT
 
* Complete example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. RIGHT-ALIGNMENT-EXAMPLE.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  SOURCE-DATA      PIC X(5) VALUE "ABC".
01  TARGET-FIELD     PIC X(10).
01  CURRENCY-AMOUNT  PIC 9(6)V99 VALUE 123456.
01  FORMATTED-AMOUNT PIC X(12).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-LOGIC.
    * Right-align text data
    MOVE SOURCE-DATA TO TARGET-FIELD RIGHT
    DISPLAY "Right-aligned: [" TARGET-FIELD "]"
    
    * Right-align currency amount
    MOVE CURRENCY-AMOUNT TO FORMATTED-AMOUNT RIGHT
    DISPLAY "Currency: [" FORMATTED-AMOUNT "]"
    
    STOP RUN.

RIGHT can be used with MOVE and STRING operations for alignment.

RIGHT vs LEFT Comparison

Alignment	Position	Padding
RIGHT	Right end	Left side
LEFT	Left end	Right side
Default	Left end	Right side

Practical Examples

These examples demonstrate how to use the RIGHT clause effectively in different formatting scenarios.

Currency Formatting

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IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. CURRENCY-FORMATTING.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  AMOUNT           PIC 9(6)V99 VALUE 123456.
01  FORMATTED-AMOUNT PIC X(12).
01  DISPLAY-AMOUNT   PIC X(15).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-LOGIC.
    * Right-align the amount
    MOVE AMOUNT TO FORMATTED-AMOUNT RIGHT
    
    * Create display with currency symbol
    STRING "$" DELIMITED BY SIZE
           FORMATTED-AMOUNT DELIMITED BY SIZE
           INTO DISPLAY-AMOUNT RIGHT
    
    DISPLAY "Amount: [" DISPLAY-AMOUNT "]"
    
    * Format multiple amounts
    PERFORM FORMAT-AMOUNTS
    STOP RUN.
 
FORMAT-AMOUNTS.
    MOVE 100 TO AMOUNT
    MOVE AMOUNT TO FORMATTED-AMOUNT RIGHT
    DISPLAY "Small amount: [" FORMATTED-AMOUNT "]"
    
    MOVE 999999 TO AMOUNT
    MOVE AMOUNT TO FORMATTED-AMOUNT RIGHT
    DISPLAY "Large amount: [" FORMATTED-AMOUNT "]"
    
    MOVE 0 TO AMOUNT
    MOVE AMOUNT TO FORMATTED-AMOUNT RIGHT
    DISPLAY "Zero amount: [" FORMATTED-AMOUNT "]".

RIGHT alignment creates professional currency formatting.

Report Column Alignment

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* Report formatting with RIGHT alignment
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  REPORT-LINE      PIC X(80).
01  ITEM-NAME        PIC X(20) VALUE "Product A".
01  QUANTITY         PIC 9(4) VALUE 123.
01  PRICE            PIC 9(6)V99 VALUE 456789.
01  TOTAL            PIC 9(8)V99.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
GENERATE-REPORT.
    * Calculate total
    MULTIPLY QUANTITY BY PRICE GIVING TOTAL
    
    * Create formatted report line
    STRING ITEM-NAME DELIMITED BY SIZE
           SPACES DELIMITED BY SIZE
           QUANTITY DELIMITED BY SIZE
           SPACES DELIMITED BY SIZE
           PRICE DELIMITED BY SIZE
           SPACES DELIMITED BY SIZE
           TOTAL DELIMITED BY SIZE
           INTO REPORT-LINE RIGHT
    
    DISPLAY REPORT-LINE
    
    * Alternative: Format each field separately
    PERFORM FORMAT-REPORT-LINE.
 
FORMAT-REPORT-LINE.
    * Right-align each column
    MOVE ITEM-NAME TO REPORT-LINE(1:20) RIGHT
    MOVE QUANTITY TO REPORT-LINE(25:4) RIGHT
    MOVE PRICE TO REPORT-LINE(35:8) RIGHT
    MOVE TOTAL TO REPORT-LINE(50:10) RIGHT
    
    DISPLAY "Formatted: [" REPORT-LINE "]".

RIGHT alignment creates properly aligned report columns.

Percentage Formatting

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* Percentage formatting with RIGHT
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  PERCENTAGE       PIC 9(3)V99 VALUE 12345.
01  FORMATTED-PCT    PIC X(8).
01  DISPLAY-PCT      PIC X(10).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
FORMAT-PERCENTAGES.
    * Right-align percentage
    MOVE PERCENTAGE TO FORMATTED-PCT RIGHT
    
    * Add percent symbol
    STRING FORMATTED-PCT DELIMITED BY SIZE
           "%" DELIMITED BY SIZE
           INTO DISPLAY-PCT RIGHT
    
    DISPLAY "Percentage: [" DISPLAY-PCT "]"
    
    * Format different percentages
    MOVE 50 TO PERCENTAGE
    MOVE PERCENTAGE TO FORMATTED-PCT RIGHT
    STRING FORMATTED-PCT DELIMITED BY SIZE
           "%" DELIMITED BY SIZE
           INTO DISPLAY-PCT RIGHT
    DISPLAY "50%: [" DISPLAY-PCT "]"
    
    MOVE 999 TO PERCENTAGE
    MOVE PERCENTAGE TO FORMATTED-PCT RIGHT
    STRING FORMATTED-PCT DELIMITED BY SIZE
           "%" DELIMITED BY SIZE
           INTO DISPLAY-PCT RIGHT
    DISPLAY "999%: [" DISPLAY-PCT "]".

RIGHT alignment formats percentages consistently.

Date and Time Formatting

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* Date and time formatting with RIGHT
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  CURRENT-DATE     PIC X(8).
01  CURRENT-TIME     PIC X(6).
01  FORMATTED-DATE   PIC X(12).
01  FORMATTED-TIME   PIC X(10).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
FORMAT-DATE-TIME.
    * Get current date and time
    MOVE FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE TO CURRENT-DATE
    MOVE FUNCTION CURRENT-TIME TO CURRENT-TIME
    
    * Right-align date components
    STRING CURRENT-DATE(1:4) DELIMITED BY SIZE
           "-" DELIMITED BY SIZE
           CURRENT-DATE(5:2) DELIMITED BY SIZE
           "-" DELIMITED BY SIZE
           CURRENT-DATE(7:2) DELIMITED BY SIZE
           INTO FORMATTED-DATE RIGHT
    
    * Right-align time components
    STRING CURRENT-TIME(1:2) DELIMITED BY SIZE
           ":" DELIMITED BY SIZE
           CURRENT-TIME(3:2) DELIMITED BY SIZE
           ":" DELIMITED BY SIZE
           CURRENT-TIME(5:2) DELIMITED BY SIZE
           INTO FORMATTED-TIME RIGHT
    
    DISPLAY "Date: [" FORMATTED-DATE "]"
    DISPLAY "Time: [" FORMATTED-TIME "]"
    
    * Create timestamp
    STRING FORMATTED-DATE DELIMITED BY SIZE
           " " DELIMITED BY SIZE
           FORMATTED-TIME DELIMITED BY SIZE
           INTO FORMATTED-DATE RIGHT
    DISPLAY "Timestamp: [" FORMATTED-DATE "]".

RIGHT alignment creates consistent date/time formatting.

Best Practices and Considerations

Understanding best practices ensures effective use of the RIGHT clause.

Best Practices

Use for numeric data - RIGHT alignment is standard for numbers
Consider field size - Ensure target field is large enough
Be consistent - Use RIGHT alignment consistently throughout
Test formatting - Verify alignment with various data lengths
Document usage - Clearly specify when RIGHT is used
Consider readability - Ensure aligned data is easy to read

Common Use Cases

Use Case	Description	Example
Currency Amounts	Right-align monetary values	$1,234.56
Percentages	Right-align percentage values	25.5%
Report Columns	Align numeric columns in reports	Quantity: 123
Dates and Times	Format date/time displays	2023-12-25
Account Numbers	Right-align account identifiers	Account: 123456

Performance Considerations

Minimal impact - RIGHT alignment has negligible performance effect
Formatting operation - Only affects data movement time
Field size dependent - Performance varies with field size
Output formatting - Most commonly used in display operations
Memory usage - No additional memory requirements

RIGHT Clause Quick Reference

Usage	Syntax	Example
Basic RIGHT	MOVE source TO target RIGHT	MOVE AMOUNT TO FIELD RIGHT
With STRING	STRING data INTO target RIGHT	STRING A B INTO C RIGHT
Currency formatting	MOVE amount TO field RIGHT	MOVE 123456 TO CURRENCY RIGHT
Report alignment	MOVE data TO column RIGHT	MOVE QUANTITY TO COLUMN RIGHT
Percentage	MOVE pct TO field RIGHT	MOVE 25.5 TO PERCENT RIGHT

Test Your Knowledge

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

To align text to the right side of a field
To extract the rightmost characters from a string
To perform right arithmetic operations
To move data to the right

2. In which COBOL statements is the RIGHT clause commonly used?

MOVE and STRING statements
READ and WRITE statements
ADD and SUBTRACT statements
IF and EVALUATE statements

3. What happens when you use RIGHT with a MOVE operation?

Data is moved to the rightmost position
Data is right-aligned with left padding
Data is reversed
Data is truncated

4. How does RIGHT differ from LEFT alignment?

RIGHT is faster than LEFT
RIGHT aligns to the right, LEFT aligns to the left
RIGHT can only be used with numbers
There is no difference

5. What is the default alignment when RIGHT is not specified?

RIGHT alignment
LEFT alignment
CENTER alignment
No alignment

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Concepts

MOVE Statement

Understanding MOVE operations in COBOL.

STRING Statement

Using STRING for data concatenation.

LEFT Clause

Using LEFT clause for left alignment.

Data Formatting

Data formatting techniques in COBOL.

Report Generation

Report generation and formatting in COBOL.

REWRITE Statement ROLLBACK Statement

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL RIGHT Clause - Quick Reference

Overview

Purpose and Usage

Alignment Concept

Syntax

Basic Syntax

RIGHT vs LEFT Comparison

Practical Examples

Currency Formatting

Report Column Alignment

Percentage Formatting

Date and Time Formatting

Best Practices and Considerations

Best Practices

Common Use Cases

Performance Considerations

RIGHT Clause Quick Reference

Test Your Knowledge

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between RIGHT and LEFT alignment in COBOL?

How do you implement RIGHT alignment in a COBOL program?

Can you use RIGHT with all types of data fields?

What are some common use cases for the RIGHT clause?

How does RIGHT alignment affect program performance?

Related Concepts

MOVE Statement

STRING Statement

LEFT Clause

Data Formatting

Report Generation

Related Pages