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COBOL Tutorial

COBOL VAL-NOTIFY - Quick Reference

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Overview

VAL-NOTIFY is a COBOL feature that provides notification capabilities for validation operations. It allows programs to send notifications about validation results to users, external systems, or log files, enhancing monitoring and reporting capabilities.

Key Features

  • Automatic notifications - Triggers notifications after validation operations
  • Multiple destinations - Can send to console, logs, or external systems
  • Detailed reporting - Provides comprehensive validation result information
  • Configurable messages - Supports customizable notification content

Syntax and Usage

VAL-NOTIFY usage patterns and notification configuration for different validation scenarios.

Basic VAL-NOTIFY Usage

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. VAL-NOTIFY-EXAMPLE.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  CUSTOMER-DATA.
           05  CUSTOMER-AGE     PIC 9(3) VALUE 25.
           05  CUSTOMER-NAME    PIC X(30) VALUE "JOHN DOE".
       01  VALIDATE-STATUS  PIC 9(2) VALUE 0.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           VALIDATE CUSTOMER-AGE
           VAL-NOTIFY "Age validation completed"
           
           VALIDATE CUSTOMER-NAME
           VAL-NOTIFY "Name validation completed"
           
           STOP RUN.

Basic usage of VAL-NOTIFY to send notifications after validation operations.

VAL-NOTIFY with Status Checking

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. VAL-NOTIFY-STATUS.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  INVALID-DATA     PIC 9(3) VALUE 999.
       01  VALIDATE-STATUS  PIC 9(2) VALUE 0.
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           VALIDATE INVALID-DATA
           IF VALIDATE-STATUS = 00
               VAL-NOTIFY "Validation successful for data item"
           ELSE
               VAL-NOTIFY "Validation failed with status: " VALIDATE-STATUS
           END-IF
           STOP RUN.

Using VAL-NOTIFY with status checking to send appropriate notifications.

VAL-NOTIFY with Detailed Reporting

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       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. VAL-NOTIFY-DETAILED.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  CUSTOMER-RECORD.
           05  CUSTOMER-ID     PIC 9(6) VALUE 123456.
           05  CUSTOMER-STATUS PIC X(1) VALUE "A".
           05  CUSTOMER-BALANCE PIC 9(8)V99 VALUE 1000.50.
       01  VALIDATE-STATUS  PIC 9(2) VALUE 0.
       01  NOTIFICATION-MSG PIC X(100).
       
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           VALIDATE CUSTOMER-RECORD
           STRING "Customer validation completed - ID: " CUSTOMER-ID
                  " Status: " CUSTOMER-STATUS
                  " Balance: " CUSTOMER-BALANCE
                  INTO NOTIFICATION-MSG
           VAL-NOTIFY NOTIFICATION-MSG
           STOP RUN.

Creating detailed notification messages with validation context information.

Notification Types

Success Notifications

Notifications sent when validation succeeds.

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VAL-NOTIFY "Validation successful"

Error Notifications

Notifications sent when validation fails.

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VAL-NOTIFY "Validation failed: " ERROR-DETAILS

Warning Notifications

Notifications for validation warnings.

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VAL-NOTIFY "Validation warning: " WARNING-MESSAGE

Detailed Notifications

Comprehensive validation result notifications.

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VAL-NOTIFY "Validation completed with details"

Best Practices

  • Use meaningful messages - Provide clear and informative notification content
  • Include context - Include relevant data identifiers and context in notifications
  • Handle all scenarios - Send notifications for success, failure, and warning cases
  • Configure appropriately - Set up notification destinations based on requirements
  • Monitor performance - Ensure notifications don't impact program performance

VAL-NOTIFY Quick Reference

Notification TypeSyntaxUse Case
BasicVAL-NOTIFY "message"Simple notification
With StatusVAL-NOTIFY "status: " status-codeStatus-based notification
DetailedVAL-NOTIFY detailed-messageComprehensive reporting
ConditionalIF condition VAL-NOTIFY "message"Conditional notification

Test Your Knowledge

1. What is the primary purpose of VAL-NOTIFY in COBOL?

  • To notify users of validation results
  • To send notifications to external systems
  • To log validation events
  • All of the above

2. When is VAL-NOTIFY typically triggered?

  • Before validation occurs
  • After validation completes, regardless of success or failure
  • Only when validation fails
  • Only when validation succeeds

3. What types of notifications can VAL-NOTIFY send?

  • Only error messages
  • Only success messages
  • Both success and error messages with detailed information
  • Only system alerts

4. How does VAL-NOTIFY differ from simple error handling?

  • It only works with VALIDATE statements
  • It provides more detailed notification capabilities and can send to multiple destinations
  • It only works with file operations
  • It only works with database operations

5. What is a common use case for VAL-NOTIFY?

  • Data quality monitoring and reporting
  • File sorting operations
  • Mathematical calculations
  • Database connectivity

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Concepts

VALIDATE

Data validation statement.

VALIDATE-STATUS

Validation status checking.

Error Handling

Robust error handling strategies.

Data Validation

Comprehensive data validation techniques.

Logging and Monitoring

Program monitoring and logging.

VALIDATE-STATUSVAL-UPDATE