Mainframe Training : COBOL Programming

COBOL Programming

Mainframe Training Overview

The course starts with an overview of structured programming concepts.

The four divisions of a COBOL program and their functions are reviewed in detail.

Students will gain hands on experience through a series of class discussions and workshop exercises that include several modifications to a skeletal COBOL program.

File processing, program looping, conditional program statements, and table processing are covered in detail.

Development of clear and understandable program designs is stressed along with building maintainable programs.

Program debugging techniques are also discussed.

Mainframe Training Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, each student will be able to -

design and develop structured programs

define variables and build program code

define / discuss the internal descriptions of data in a COBOL program

READ and WRITE files

use IF, EVALUATE, PERFORM statements

use arithmetic statements

use explicit scope (END-) terminators

load / process COBOL tables via indexes / subscripts

analyze the File-Status field

analyze a program abend

debug a COBOL program's logic via displays and walk-thrus

code COBOL Intrinsic Functions

code COBOL calls to the Language Environment (LE)

code COBOL Internal SORT

Mainframe Training Audience

The course is for entry level students who must understand, design, code, test, and debug COBOL programs.

Mainframe Training Prerequisites

Six months experience with TSO/ISPF is required.

No previous COBOL experience is needed.

Mainframe Training Course duration

5 days

Mainframe Training Course outline

Day 1 - Course Introduction

I. Introduction to Structured Techniques

II. COBOL Program Components

        A. Identification Division

        B. Environment Division

        C. Data Division

        D. Procedure Division

        E. Program Examples

III. Input / Output Operations

        A. Environment Division - SELECT and ASSIGN

        B. Procedure Division - FD and Record definition

        C. Procedure Division - OPEN/CLOSE, READ/WRITE

IV. Program Control Statements

        A. The Family of PERFORMs

        B. End processing statements - GOBACK

        C. Conditional Statements - IF, EVALUATE

        E. Statement Terminators (-END)

        F. Sub Program Access - CALL statement

        Hands-on Workshops

Days 2 - Hands-on Workshops

V. Program Code

        A. Data Storage Types

        B. Character and Numeric Moves

        C. Edit Picture Characters

        D. Special Features - Reference Modification, Figurative Constants,

            Special Registers, INITIALIZE, SET, STRING, COPY

        E. Arithmetic statements - Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide, Compute

Days 3 - Hands-on Workshops

VI. Table Processing

        A. Table definitions

        B. Search modes - SEARCH, SEARCH ALL

        C. Subscripting vs. indexing

Days 4 - Hands-on Workshops

VII. Additional Topics - Internal SORT, Debugging Abends, Intrinsic Functions, File Status, Calls to LE

Days 5 - Hands-on Workshops

Appendices

Appendix A	Programming Exercises	Appendix H	Calls to Language Environment
Appendix B	JES RUN	Appendix I	EBCDIC Collating Sequence
Appendix C	Error List Sample	Appendix J	Display Verb Examples
Appendix D	Internal Sort	Appendix K	Two Dimensional tables
Appendix E	S0C7 Debugging	Appendix L	Sub Program
Appendix F	Intrinsic Functions	Appendix M	Unstring
Appendix G	File Status Code