Progress0 of 0 lessons

COBOL STANDARD-2 Clause - Quick Reference

The STANDARD-2 clause in COBOL specifies compliance with the COBOL 2002 standard (ISO/IEC 1989:2002). It enables access to modern COBOL features including built-in functions, enhanced PERFORM statements, improved exception handling, and other advanced capabilities.

Primary Use

Specify COBOL 2002 standard compliance

Division

ENVIRONMENT DIVISION

Section

CONFIGURATION SECTION

Status

Optional clause

Overview

The STANDARD-2 clause is part of the CONFIGURATION SECTION in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION. It specifies that the program should follow the COBOL 2002 standard (ISO/IEC 1989:2002). This enables access to modern COBOL features including built-in functions, enhanced PERFORM statements, improved exception handling, and other advanced capabilities that were not available in COBOL 85.

Syntax

cobol

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
STANDARD-2.
 
* Examples:
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
STANDARD-2.
 
* With other configuration clauses:
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
SOURCE-COMPUTER. IBM-3090.
OBJECT-COMPUTER. IBM-3090.
STANDARD-2.

Practical Examples

Basic STANDARD-2 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
* Basic STANDARD-2 clause example (COBOL 2002)
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. STANDARD-2-EXAMPLE.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
STANDARD-2.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  WS-COUNTER           PIC 9(3) VALUE ZERO.
01  WS-RESULT            PIC 9(5).
01  WS-MESSAGE           PIC X(50) VALUE "Using COBOL 2002 Standard".
01  WS-ARRAY             PIC 9(3) OCCURS 10 TIMES.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-LOGIC.
    DISPLAY WS-MESSAGE
    DISPLAY "Standard: COBOL 2002 (STANDARD-2)"
    
    * Use COBOL 2002 features like enhanced PERFORM
    PERFORM VARYING WS-COUNTER FROM 1 BY 1 UNTIL WS-COUNTER > 10
        MOVE WS-COUNTER TO WS-ARRAY(WS-COUNTER)
        COMPUTE WS-RESULT = WS-COUNTER * WS-COUNTER
        DISPLAY "Index: " WS-COUNTER " Array Value: " WS-ARRAY(WS-COUNTER) " Square: " WS-RESULT
    END-PERFORM
    
    * Use COBOL 2002 built-in functions
    DISPLAY "String length of message: " FUNCTION LENGTH(WS-MESSAGE)
    
    DISPLAY "STANDARD-2 processing completed"
    STOP RUN.

Explanation: This example demonstrates basic usage of the STANDARD-2 clause. The program specifies COBOL 2002 compliance, which enables access to modern COBOL features like enhanced PERFORM statements, built-in functions (FUNCTION LENGTH), and improved array handling. These features provide more functionality and better code readability compared to COBOL 85.

STANDARD-2 with Built-in Functions

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
* STANDARD-2 with built-in functions example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. STANDARD-2-FUNCTIONS-EXAMPLE.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
STANDARD-2.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  WS-INPUT-STRING      PIC X(50) VALUE "Hello World".
01  WS-UPPER-STRING      PIC X(50).
01  WS-LOWER-STRING      PIC X(50).
01  WS-REVERSE-STRING    PIC X(50).
01  WS-SUBSTRING         PIC X(20).
01  WS-STRING-LENGTH     PIC 9(3).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-LOGIC.
    DISPLAY "STANDARD-2 Built-in Functions Example"
    DISPLAY "Original string: " WS-INPUT-STRING
    
    * Use COBOL 2002 built-in functions
    MOVE FUNCTION UPPER-CASE(WS-INPUT-STRING) TO WS-UPPER-STRING
    MOVE FUNCTION LOWER-CASE(WS-INPUT-STRING) TO WS-LOWER-STRING
    MOVE FUNCTION REVERSE(WS-INPUT-STRING) TO WS-REVERSE-STRING
    MOVE FUNCTION SUBSTRING(WS-INPUT-STRING, 1, 5) TO WS-SUBSTRING
    MOVE FUNCTION LENGTH(WS-INPUT-STRING) TO WS-STRING-LENGTH
    
    * Display results
    DISPLAY "Uppercase: " WS-UPPER-STRING
    DISPLAY "Lowercase: " WS-LOWER-STRING
    DISPLAY "Reversed: " WS-REVERSE-STRING
    DISPLAY "Substring (1-5): " WS-SUBSTRING
    DISPLAY "Length: " WS-STRING-LENGTH
    
    * Use numeric functions
    DISPLAY "Absolute value of -15: " FUNCTION ABS(-15)
    DISPLAY "Square root of 16: " FUNCTION SQRT(16)
    DISPLAY "Maximum of 10, 20, 5: " FUNCTION MAX(10, 20, 5)
    DISPLAY "Minimum of 10, 20, 5: " FUNCTION MIN(10, 20, 5)
    
    STOP RUN.

Explanation: This example shows how to use COBOL 2002 built-in functions with STANDARD-2. The program demonstrates string functions like FUNCTION UPPER-CASE, FUNCTION LOWER-CASE, FUNCTION REVERSE, FUNCTION SUBSTRING, and FUNCTION LENGTH, as well as numeric functions like FUNCTION ABS, FUNCTION SQRT, FUNCTION MAX, and FUNCTION MIN. These functions provide powerful capabilities that were not available in COBOL 85.

Enhanced PERFORM Statements

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
* STANDARD-2 enhanced PERFORM statements example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. STANDARD-2-PERFORM-EXAMPLE.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
STANDARD-2.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  WS-COUNTER           PIC 9(3) VALUE ZERO.
01  WS-TOTAL             PIC 9(5) VALUE ZERO.
01  WS-ARRAY             PIC 9(3) OCCURS 10 TIMES.
01  WS-FOUND-FLAG        PIC X(1) VALUE 'N'.
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-LOGIC.
    DISPLAY "STANDARD-2 Enhanced PERFORM Example"
    
    * Initialize array
    PERFORM VARYING WS-COUNTER FROM 1 BY 1 UNTIL WS-COUNTER > 10
        MOVE WS-COUNTER TO WS-ARRAY(WS-COUNTER)
    END-PERFORM
    
    * Enhanced PERFORM with multiple conditions
    PERFORM VARYING WS-COUNTER FROM 1 BY 1 
        UNTIL WS-COUNTER > 10 OR WS-FOUND-FLAG = 'Y'
        IF WS-ARRAY(WS-COUNTER) = 7
            MOVE 'Y' TO WS-FOUND-FLAG
            DISPLAY "Found 7 at position: " WS-COUNTER
        END-IF
        ADD WS-ARRAY(WS-COUNTER) TO WS-TOTAL
    END-PERFORM
    
    DISPLAY "Total sum: " WS-TOTAL
    
    * PERFORM with EXIT PERFORM
    PERFORM VARYING WS-COUNTER FROM 1 BY 1 UNTIL WS-COUNTER > 10
        IF WS-ARRAY(WS-COUNTER) > 8
            EXIT PERFORM
        END-IF
        DISPLAY "Processing: " WS-ARRAY(WS-COUNTER)
    END-PERFORM
    
    DISPLAY "Enhanced PERFORM processing completed"
    STOP RUN.

Explanation: This example demonstrates enhanced PERFORM statements available in STANDARD-2. The program shows PERFORM VARYING with multiple conditions using OR, and the EXIT PERFORM statement for early loop termination. These features provide better control flow and more flexible loop handling compared to the basic PERFORM statements available in COBOL 85.

Improved Exception Handling

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
* STANDARD-2 improved exception handling example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. STANDARD-2-EXCEPTION-EXAMPLE.
 
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
CONFIGURATION SECTION.
STANDARD-2.
 
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01  WS-DIVIDEND          PIC 9(5) VALUE 100.
01  WS-DIVISOR           PIC 9(3) VALUE 0.
01  WS-RESULT            PIC 9(7).
01  WS-ERROR-MESSAGE     PIC X(50).
 
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MAIN-LOGIC.
    DISPLAY "STANDARD-2 Exception Handling Example"
    
    * Division with exception handling
    COMPUTE WS-RESULT = WS-DIVIDEND / WS-DIVISOR
        ON SIZE ERROR
            DISPLAY "Size error occurred"
            MOVE "Division result too large" TO WS-ERROR-MESSAGE
        ON ZERO DIVIDE
            DISPLAY "Zero divide error occurred"
            MOVE "Division by zero" TO WS-ERROR-MESSAGE
        NOT ON SIZE ERROR
            DISPLAY "Division successful: " WS-RESULT
        NOT ON ZERO DIVIDE
            DISPLAY "No division errors"
    END-COMPUTE
    
    * File processing with exception handling
    DISPLAY "File processing with exception handling"
    
    * Simulate file operations with exception handling
    PERFORM PROCESS-FILE-WITH-EXCEPTIONS
    
    DISPLAY "Exception handling example completed"
    STOP RUN.
 
PROCESS-FILE-WITH-EXCEPTIONS.
    * Enhanced exception handling for file operations
    DISPLAY "Processing file operations..."
    
    * Simulate different file status conditions
    EVALUATE TRUE
        WHEN WS-DIVISOR = 0
            DISPLAY "File not found error simulated"
        WHEN WS-DIVISOR = 1
            DISPLAY "File access denied error simulated"
        WHEN OTHER
            DISPLAY "File processing successful"
    END-EVALUATE.

Explanation: This example shows improved exception handling capabilities in STANDARD-2. The program demonstrates enhanced COMPUTE statements with multiple exception handlers (ON SIZE ERROR, ON ZERO DIVIDE) and their corresponding NOT clauses. This provides more comprehensive error handling and better program robustness compared to COBOL 85.

Best Practices and Considerations

Important Considerations

STANDARD-2 requires COBOL 2002 compliant compiler and runtime
Provides access to modern COBOL features and improved functionality
May have reduced portability compared to STANDARD-1
Enables better code readability and maintainability
Requires understanding of COBOL 2002 features

Advantages

Access to modern COBOL features
Built-in functions for string and numeric operations
Enhanced PERFORM statements
Improved exception handling
Better code readability and maintainability

Limitations

Requires COBOL 2002 compliant environment
May have reduced portability
Not compatible with COBOL 85 systems
Requires understanding of newer features
May increase complexity for simple programs

Best Practices

• Use when modern COBOL features are needed
• Ensure target environment supports COBOL 2002
• Leverage built-in functions for better code
• Use enhanced exception handling for robustness
• Consider portability requirements carefully

Test Your Knowledge

1. What does STANDARD-2 represent in COBOL?

COBOL 85 standard
COBOL 2002 standard
COBOL 74 standard
COBOL 2014 standard

2. What additional features does STANDARD-2 provide over STANDARD-1?

Only basic COBOL features
Built-in functions, enhanced PERFORM, improved exception handling
Only file processing features
Only arithmetic operations

3. Which of the following is available in STANDARD-2 but not in STANDARD-1?

Basic PERFORM statements
FUNCTION LENGTH and other built-in functions
Standard arithmetic operations
File processing statements

4. What is the primary advantage of using STANDARD-2?

Maximum portability
Access to modern COBOL features and improved functionality
Compatibility with legacy systems
Simpler syntax

5. Can STANDARD-2 programs run on COBOL 85 systems?

Yes, always
No, they require COBOL 2002 support
Only if they don't use newer features
Only on some systems

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL STANDARD-2 Clause - Quick Reference

Primary Use

Division

Section

Status

Overview

Syntax

Practical Examples

Basic STANDARD-2 Usage

STANDARD-2 with Built-in Functions

Enhanced PERFORM Statements

Improved Exception Handling

Best Practices and Considerations

Important Considerations

Advantages

Limitations

Best Practices

Test Your Knowledge

Related Concepts

STANDARD Clause

STANDARD-1

Built-in Functions

Enhanced PERFORM

Exception Handling

Related Pages

COBOL Tutorial

COBOL STANDARD-2 Clause - Quick Reference

Primary Use

Division

Section

Status

Overview

Syntax

Practical Examples

Basic STANDARD-2 Usage

STANDARD-2 with Built-in Functions

Enhanced PERFORM Statements

Improved Exception Handling

Best Practices and Considerations

Important Considerations

Advantages

Limitations

Best Practices

Test Your Knowledge

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Concepts

STANDARD Clause

STANDARD-1

Built-in Functions

Enhanced PERFORM

Exception Handling

Related Pages