COBOL Course

Cheatsheet

A quick reference — the essential syntax of COBOL on a single page. Press Ctrl/Cmd + P to print it.

Structure and Divisions

Minimal Program

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. MINIMAL-PROGRAM.
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           DISPLAY "Hello from COBOL".
           STOP RUN.

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION, PROGRAM-ID, and PROCEDURE DIVISION are mandatory in every program.

Fixed Format Rules

Column 1-6   : Sequence number (optional)
Column 7     : Comments (*), Continuations (-)
Column 8-11  : Area A (Divisions, Sections, Paragraphs, level 01)
Column 12-72 : Area B (Statements, data clauses, levels > 01)

Traditional COBOL requires rigid column alignment. A * character in column 7 marks a comment.

Variables and Types (DATA DIVISION)

Variables Declaration

       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 WS-USER-NAME PIC X(20) VALUE "Alice".
       01 WS-USER-AGE  PIC 9(3)  VALUE 25.
       01 WS-SALARY    PIC 9(4)V99 VALUE 1500.50.

Variables are declared in WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. Level 01 indicates main records, PIC defines the type (X for alphanumeric, 9 for numeric, V for implicit decimals).

Structured Variables (Records)

       01 WS-USER-RECORD.
          05 WS-FIRST-NAME PIC X(15) VALUE "John".
          05 WS-LAST-NAME  PIC X(15) VALUE "Doe".
          05 WS-DETAILS.
             10 WS-ROLE    PIC X(10) VALUE "Coder".

Data hierarchy uses level numbers (01, 05, 10) to group sub-fields into complex records.

COBOL Arithmetic

Formal Mathematical Statements

ADD 5 TO WS-COUNTER.
ADD WS-VAL-A TO WS-VAL-B GIVING WS-SUM.
SUBTRACT 10 FROM WS-TOTAL.
MULTIPLY WS-QTY BY WS-PRICE GIVING WS-SUBTOTAL.
DIVIDE WS-TOTAL BY 2 GIVING WS-HALF.

Use GIVING to store the result in a new variable without modifying the initial operand.

COMPUTE Statement
```
COMPUTE WS-FINAL-AMOUNT = (WS-SUBTOTAL * 1.22) - WS-DISCOUNT.
```
COMPUTE allows complex algebraic calculations using standard math operators (+, -, *, /, **).

Control Flow

IF-ELSE Conditionals

IF WS-USER-AGE >= 18 THEN
    DISPLAY "Access granted"
ELSE
    DISPLAY "Access denied"
END-IF.

Conditional blocks must always terminate with END-IF (or a period "." in older dialects).

EVALUATE (Switch-Case)

EVALUATE WS-USER-AGE
    WHEN 0 THRU 17
        DISPLAY "Minor"
    WHEN 18 THRU 64
        DISPLAY "Adult"
    WHEN OTHER
        DISPLAY "Senior"
END-EVALUATE.

EVALUATE checks multiple conditions and is equivalent to switch-case or nested IF-ELSE structures.

Paragraphs and Loops (Iterations)

Paragraphs and PERFORM

       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       MAIN-LOGIC.
           PERFORM DO-INITIALIZE.
           DISPLAY "Running...".
           STOP RUN.

       DO-INITIALIZE.
           DISPLAY "Initializing".

Paragraphs partition PROCEDURE DIVISION code into logical reusable modules called with PERFORM.

Loops (PERFORM TIMES / UNTIL)

* Fixed numerical loop
PERFORM 5 TIMES
    DISPLAY "Hello"
END-PERFORM.

* Conditional loop (while/until)
PERFORM UNTIL WS-COUNTER > 10
    DISPLAY "Count: " WS-COUNTER
    ADD 1 TO WS-COUNTER
END-PERFORM.

PERFORM UNTIL executes the block UNTIL the condition becomes true (evaluated before each iteration).

COBOL · Cheatsheet — eLearner.app

Structure and Divisions

Variables and Types (DATA DIVISION)

COBOL Arithmetic

Control Flow

Paragraphs and Loops (Iterations)