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Languages & runtimes · #cobol
Learn how COBOL's EVALUATE statement replaces nested IFs with a clear, range‑capable multi‑way branch, illustrated by a status‑code‑to‑benefit example.
A practical COBOL pattern for reliable VSAM KSDS batch updates using explicit INVALID KEY handling and DECLARATIVES USE AFTER-ERROR, with checkpoint restart and error logging without abend.
Learn how COBOL programmers can add or subtract days safely with the standard intrinsic functions DATE-OF-INTEGER and INTEGER-OF-DATE, avoiding manual leap‑year logic.
Embedded SQL lets COBOL programs access DB2 directly, but you must design for trust boundaries, operational checks, and failure modes. This article outlines a minimal architecture, sample code, and when to consider redesigning.
In a COBOL application running under CICS, maintaining data integrity during transaction retries is critical. While the use of sync-points and the EXEC CICS SYNCPOINT command ensures that a Logical Unit of Work (LUW) is processed atomically, the system does not natively track whether a specific business event has already been persisted if the transaction is
Migrating a legacy COBOL application to a modern schema without downtime requires a shadowing strategy where data is dual-written to both the legacy mainframe and a target system. A primary challenge involves the REDEFINES clause in the Data Division, which allows a single memory area to be interpreted as multiple distinct data structures. While sequential f
COBOL relies on a strict mapping between the FILE SECTION and the physical storage of a dataset. Because the record layout is defined by fixed-length PICTURE clauses, any modification to the data structure—such as inserting a new field or expanding an existing one—shifts the byte offsets for all subsequent fields in the record. When updating a schema to acco