Floating Comment Indicator


Info! Inline comments are introduced by COBOL V5.1 and supported from v5.1. Previous versions (before COBOL V5.1) do not support inline comments.
  • The floating comment indicator is used to add comments in the middle of the code line.
  • The indicator begins with *> and sets the statements written after the indicator as comments.
  • The comments starting with *> are called inline or floating comments.
  • A floating comment line can begin anywhere in Area-A and Area-B.

Rules -

  • Both characters (* and >) should be contiguous.
  • A space should precede the floating comment indicator (*>).

Examples -

Scenario1 - Inline comment in Area-A.

Code -

----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5
	    *> INLINE COMMENT LINE CAN BE UPTO END OF THE AREA-B.

Scenario2 - Inline comment in Area-B.

Code -

----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5
       01 WS-VAR        PIC X(12).    *> INLINE COMMENT  

Practical Example -


Scenario - Floating comment code in COBOL program.

Code -

----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5
       ...
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.

        *> Inline comment starts in Area-A

           DISPLAY "INLINE COMMENT DISPLAY". *> Inline comment in Area-B
           ...