Summary -
In this topic, we described about the Constant with detailed example.
A constant is a data item that has only one value throughout the program execution. COBOL does not any defined standards for constants except figurative constants.
However, the programmer can define a variable with an initial value using the VALUE clause during the variable declaration. The values provided after the VALUE clause are referred to as constants.
Constants are three types and those are –
- Numeric constants – These constants are used to specify numeric values and don’t require any quotes to specify while declaring them.
For example - 123, 657, 33443, 256478 etc,. - Alphanumeric constants/non-numeric constants – These constants are used to specify non-numeric, or alphabetic, or alphanumeric values. They require quotes to specify while declaring them.
For example - "HELLO" "TRUE" "1" 'HI' '123' etc,. - Figurative Constants - These constants are predefined in the COBOL language and used as replacements for standard values like spaces, zeroes, etc.
For example - ZERO, ZEROS, ZEROES, SPACE, SPACES, HIGH-VALUE, HIGH-VALUES etc,.
Let’s take the below example to understand better.
01 A PIC X(10) VALUE "MAINFRAMES".
01 B.
02 C PIC 9(3) VALUE 255.
02 FILLER PIC 9(3) VALUE ZEROES.
In the above example, MAINFRAMES is a non-numeric constant, 256 is a numeric constant, and ZEROES is a figurative constant.
Figurative constants -
Figurative constants are the constant value that is predefined in COBOL language. These figurative constants are known to the COBOL language and perform the specific task if specified. Below are the figurative constants in COBOL language -
| Figurative constant | Description |
|---|---|
| ZERO, ZEROS, ZEROES | Specifies the numeric value zero (0) or one/more occurrences of the zero depending on the context.
For example - 01 WS-VAR PIC 9(5) VALUE ZEROES. |
| SPACE, SPACES | Represents one or more blanks or spaces.
For example - 01 WS-VAR PIC X(5) VALUE SPACES. |
| HIGH-VALUE, HIGH-VALUES | Represents one or more occurrences of the character with the highest position in the assembling sequence used. i.e., the value X'FF' is used.
For example - 01 WS-VAR PIC X(5) VALUE HIGH-VALUES. |
| LOW-VALUE, LOW-VALUES | Represents one or more occurrences of the character with the lowest position in the assembling sequence used. i.e., the value X'00' is used.
For example - 01 WS-VAR PIC X(5) VALUE LOW-VALUES. |
| QUOTE, QUOTES | Represents one or more occurrences of -
For example - 01 WS-VAR PIC X(10) VALUE "MAINFRAMES". |
| ALL | Represents one or more occurrences of the characters string containing the literal. ALL literal represents one or more occurrences of the characters string that compose the literal. |
| symbolic-character | Specifies one or more symbolic-characters defined in the SYMBOLIC CHARACTERS clause of the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph. |
| NULL, NULLS | Represents a value used to define USAGE POINTER, USAGE PROCEDURE-POINTER, USAGE FUNCTION-POINTER, USAGE OBJECT REFERENCE, or the ADDRESS OF special register do not contain a valid address. |
Usage -
Figurative-constants used in the following ways -
- Initialization in DATA DIVISION
For example -01 WS-VAR. 05 WS-VAR1 PIC 9(05) VALUE ZEROES. 05 WS-VAR2 PIC X(05) VALUE SPACES. 05 WS-VAR3 PIC X(10) VALUE HIGH-VALUES.
- Moving to fields.
For example -MOVE ZEROES TO WS-VAR1. MOVE SPACES TO WS-VAR2. MOVE HIGH-VALUES TO WS-VAR3.
- Filling the entire field.
For example -MOVE ALL ZEROES TO WS-VAR1. MOVE ALL SPACES TO WS-VAR2. MOVE ALL HIGH-VALUES TO WS-VAR3.
- Comparing the contents of the fields.
For example -IF WS-VAR1 EQUAL ZEROES ..... IF WS-VAR2 EQUAL SPACES ..... IF WS-VAR3 EQUAL HIGH-VALUES
Example -
Scenario - The below example describes how the constants are used in COBOL programming.
Code -
----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5----+----6----+----7-
***************************** Top of Data ******************************
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. CONSTANT.
AUTHOR. MTH.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-VAR.
05 WS-NUMCONST PIC 9(10) VALUE 256.
05 WS-NNUMCONST PIC X(05) VALUE "TRUE".
05 WS-FIGCONST PIC X(10) VALUE ZEROES.
05 WS-VAR1 PIC 9(10).
05 WS-VAR2 PIC X(20).
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
MOVE 256 TO WS-VAR1.
IF WS-VAR1 EQUAL WS-NUMCONST
DISPLAY "WS-VAR1 VALUE EQUAL TO NUMERIC CONSTANT"
ELSE
DISPLAY "WS-VAR1 VALUE NOT EQUAL TO NUMERIC CONSTANT"
END-IF.
MOVE "FALSE" TO WS-VAR2.
IF WS-VAR2 EQUAL WS-NNUMCONST
DISPLAY "WS-VAR2 VALUE EQUAL TO NON-NUMERIC CONSTANT"
ELSE
DISPLAY "WS-VAR2 VALUE NOT EQUAL TO NON-NUMERIC CONSTANT"
END-IF.
IF WS-FIGCONST EQUAL ZEROES
DISPLAY "WS-FIGCONST IS FILLED WITH ZEROES"
DISPLAY "FIGCONSTANT : " WS-FIGCONST
END-IF.
STOP RUN.
**************************** Bottom of Data ****************************
Output -
Explaining example -
In the above example, we have declared three constant variables. i.e., WS-NUMCONST is a numeric constant with a constant value of 256. WS-NNUMCONST is a non-numeric constant with a constant value "TRUE". Finally, WS-FIGCONST is a variable initialized with figurative constant ZEROES.
The COBOL program was written to explain the processing of constant variables. In the above example, hard-coded values are assigned to the variables for the reader's understanding. However, the values might set in different ways like from other programs or communication areas, etc.