COBOL Interview Questions

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Contents

Cobol Interview Questions for Freshers

1. What is COBOL?
2. What are the available data types in the COBOL language?
3. How is the NEXT SENTENCE statement different from CONTINUE statement?
4. What is IS NUMERIC clause?
5. What is the importance of using REPLACING option in a COPY statement?
6. How is SSRANGE different from NOSSRANGE?
7. How is PERFORM … WITH TEST AFTER different from PERFORM … WITH TEST
BEFORE?
8. What happens during INPUT PROCEDURE and OUTPUT PROCEDURE?
9. Why is LINKAGE SECTION needed?
10. Why should we not define OCCURS clause at 01 level?
11. How do we find current date from the system within a century?
12. How is CALL command different from LINK?
13. What is the importance of INITIALIZE verb?
14. Differentiate between OS/VS COBOL and VS COBOL II.
15. What do you understand by static and dynamic linking?
16. What are the object oriented features provided in COBOL?

Cobol Questions for Experienced

17. What are some of the guidelines that can be followed while developing a
structured COBOL program?
18. What are the different divisions in COBOL programs?

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 COBOL Interview Questions

Cobol Questions for Experienced (.....Continued)

19. How is sorting achieved in the COBOL program?

20. Why should the file be opened in I-O mode when it is being used for REWRITE
purposes?
21. How do we remove the spaces at end of every record in an output file that is of
variable length?
22. How can we process two files by comparing key fields?
23. How can we reference or make COBOL program realise that about the following
file formats?
24. What are the differences between Structured COBOL and Object-Oriented
COBOL programming?
25. What are the causes of S0C7, S0C5 and S0C1?
26. Under what circumstances are scope terminators mandatorily needed?
27. What are the problems associated with using ordered sequential files?
28. How is INCLUDE different from COPY?
29. What do you understand by the following terminologies?
30. Why is S9(4) COMP needed despite knowing that Comp-3 would utilise less
space?
31. Consider a scenario where we have a program having an array of 20 items. When
the program tries to access the 21st item, the program fails to abend. What is
the reason for this?

Cobol Sample Programs

32. Write a COBOL program that allows users to enter the names of students of a
class and then displays it. Try to use OCCURS clause for achieving this.
33. Write a COBOL program that takes 2 numbers as inputs and performs addition
and multiplication on them and displays the result.
34. Write a COBOL program example for demonstrating the DELETE concept from a
file based on a matching record.

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Let's get Started

Introduction to COBOL

COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language which is one of the oldest
high-level programming languages that was developed mainly for readability and
portability of the code across different mainframe systems. Despite being the oldest
programming language, it has gained huge importance in the so ware industry due
to its ability to perform advanced computations for achieving different business
objectives. Due to this, the need for mainframe developers having COBOL knowledge
has grown rapidly. In this article, we will see the most commonly asked interview
questions for both freshers and experienced professionals that will help them ace the
COBOL interviews.

Cobol Interview Questions for Freshers

1. What is COBOL?
COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language and is one of the oldest
high-level programming languages used for solving complex business problems in
different domains like business verticals, finance, security and administrative
purposes. Following are the features of this programming language:

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 COBOL Interview Questions

Simplicity: It is an easy-to-learn language with a simple and wide vocabulary for

syntax and has an uncluttered style of coding.
Business-oriented capabilities: COBOL has advanced capabilities for file
handling that let it operate on huge data and can be used for simple to complex
processing operations thereby being it the most popular technology for
handling business transactions.
Universality: COBOL is one of the oldest programming languages and has
survived for more than 6 decades across growing business needs and has
adapted across almost every platform, product and compiler.
Scalability: COBOL is highly scalable, reliable and is also portable across
different platforms. They provide variables control structures that make it easy
to read, debug and modify.

2. What are the available data types in the COBOL language?

There are mainly three data types supported by COBOL, they are:
Numeric data type – Used for representing numerical values between 0-9.
Alphabetic data type – Used for representing alphabetic values ranging from A-
Z.
Alphanumeric data type – Used for representing both numeric and alphabetic
types.

3. How is the NEXT SENTENCE statement different from

CONTINUE statement?
The CONTINUE statement is like a null statement that indicates no operation and
the control needs to be passed to the next executable instruction a er explicit scope
terminator. It can be used anywhere in conditional statements or imperative
statements are used. Example syntax for CONTINUE in case of IF construct is:

IF condition-1 THEN
{statement-1 ... | CONTINUE}
[ELSE {statement-2 ... | CONTINUE}]
[END-IF]

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 COBOL Interview Questions

The NEXT SENTENCE statement does the task of simply transferring the control to an
implicit CONTINUE statement that is present immediately a er the next separator
period. If the statement is specified along with the END-IF statement then the control
passes to the statement a er the closest following period. It is mainly used to
transfer control to the next sentence.

IF condition-1 THEN
{statement-1 ... | NEXT SENTENCE}

4. What is IS NUMERIC clause?

This clause is used for checking if an item is a numeric value or not. If it is numeric -
positive or negative, TRUE will be returned. For example:

CHECK-NUMBER SECTION.
DISPLAY 'Check if input is numeric ' INPUT-NUM
IF INPUT-NUM IS NUMERIC
DISPLAY 'input is numeric'
ELSE
DISPLAY 'input is non numeric'

5. What is the importance of using REPLACING option in a COPY

statement?
REPLACING option is used for allowing the same copy to be used multiple times by
changing the replace value in the same code.
Syntax COPY <VariableName> REPLACING BY

6. How is SSRANGE different from NOSSRANGE?

Both are options used by the compiler for finding subscript outside of range.
SSRANGE is used for handling the overflow of an array systematically. It needs to be
specified explicitly which helps in finding exact subscript outside of range. Whereas
the NOSSRANGE is used in cases of very sensitive applications that are driven by
performance. It is the default option that gets applied and need not be specified
explicitly and it does not support runtime errors whenever the index goes out of
range.

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 COBOL Interview Questions

7. How is PERFORM … WITH TEST AFTER different from

PERFORM … WITH TEST BEFORE?
PERFORM ... WITH TEST BEFORE indicates that the condition must be tested at the
beginning of every execution of the specified PERFORM range. Whereas TEST AFTER
is used for testing the condition a er every execution.

8. What happens during INPUT PROCEDURE and OUTPUT

PROCEDURE?
In INPUT PROCEDURE, the input file will be opened, the records from the file are read
and can also be edited. The records will then be released to sorting operation and
then the file will be closed. Whereas in OUTPUT PROCEDURE, the output file will be
opened, the records post sorting will be written in the output file and then the file
will be closed.

9. Why is LINKAGE SECTION needed?

It is used for passing data from one program to another. It can also be used for
passing data from a procedure to another program. It maps data in the calling
program’s working storage.

10. Why should we not define OCCURS clause at 01 level?

01 level is the level of record. We can repeat the fields within a record but we cannot
repeat the record itself. The OCCURS clause indicates the repetition of the definition
of data names. This is why we cannot use the OCCURS clause at the 01 level.

11. How do we find current date from the system within a

century?
We can find it out by using the Intrinsic function called FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE . We
can also make use of the DATE function for accepting the current date. It has to be
noted that the current date cannot be accepted if we are using CICS COBOL
programs.

12. How is CALL command different from LINK?

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 COBOL Interview Questions

CALL command is an actual command that initiates an external program and returns.
The LINK command is also similar to CALL but it does not belong to COBOL verb
vocabulary. The LINK command runs like a separate run unit whereas CALL is
executed as a single run unit.

13. What is the importance of INITIALIZE verb?

INITIALIZE verb is used for initializing values in data items to their default value.
Numeric items will be set to 0, alphabetic and alphanumeric items will be set to
spaces. Items like FILLERS, OCCURS DEPENDING ON are to be le untouched during
the initialization.

14. Differentiate between OS/VS COBOL and VS COBOL II.

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 COBOL Interview Questions

OS/VS COBOL VS COBOL II

Runs either in 24-

Runs in 24-bit addressing mode. bit or 31-bit
addressing modes.

Does not support

Supports Report Writer.
Report Writer.

USAGE IS POINTER
USAGE IS POINTER is not supported.
is supported.

Reference
Reference modification is not
modification is
supported here.
supported here.

EVALUATE is
EVALUATE is not supported here.
supported here.

Scope terminators
Scope terminators are not supported.
are supported.

ANSI 85 standards
Follows ANSI 74 standards.
are followed here.

Calls between
Calls between programs are not
programs are
supported under CICS (Customer
supported under
Information Control System).
CICS.

15. What do you understand by static and dynamic linking?

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 COBOL Interview Questions

Static and dynamic linking are two types of linking available in COBOL. Static linking
refers to the linking of subroutine into calling program and not existing as a separate
module. In dynamic linking, the subroutine exists as a separate program and does
not link to the main program. The static linking can be done by using the NODYNAM
link option and the dynamic linking can be done by using the DYNAM option.

16. What are the object oriented features provided in COBOL?

Object-Oriented COBOL provides the following features:
Define classes and let programs define and create objects of those classes.
Data encapsulation is due to the ability to create objects. The data properties
will be encapsulated in the objects.
Behaviour of objects can be defined for the class by means of methods.
Inheritance is supported in COBOL.
Provides maximum flexibility by means of polymorphism and defining
interfaces.
Also compatible with procedural programming.

Cobol Questions for Experienced

17. What are some of the guidelines that can be followed while
developing a structured COBOL program?
Certain guidelines need to be followed while writing a structured COBOL program.
When developing the CASE construct, we can use EQUIVALENT statements.
We can use Scope Terminators while using nested constructs.
We can also try using IN-LINE PERFORM statements whenever possible when we
want a program to perform something.
To perform a proper conditional check, we can also try using TEST BEFORE and
TEST AFTER statements while using loop constructs to ensure desired results.

18. What are the different divisions in COBOL programs?

There are mainly 4 divisions in a COBOL program, they are:

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 COBOL Interview Questions

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION: This is the most important division that is used for
identifying the program. This division is needed for any COBOL program to run. If
this division is not included in your program, then the program cannot be
compiled.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION: This division is subdivided into 2 types - Configuration
and Input-Output section. They define the written program’s environment.
DATA DIVISION: This division is used for identifying the data items, allocating
proper memory and defining the names within the program. It also has a file,
linkage section and working storage.
PROCEDURE DIVISION: This division supports the main logic of the program. It
should consist of at least one statement for using user-defined variables.

19. How is sorting achieved in the COBOL program?

It is done by using the SORT command whose syntax goes as follows:

SORT file_1 ON ASCENDING/DESCENDING KEY key…

USING file_2
GIVING file_3.

where

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 COBOL Interview Questions

file_1 - sort workfile that needs to be described by using SD entry in FILE

SECTION.
file_2 - input file for SORT that needs to be described using FD entry in FILE
SECTION and using a SELECT clause in FILE CONTROL.
file_3 - output file from SORT and again needs to be described using FD entry in
FILE SECTION and SELECT clause in FILE CONTROL section.
All three files are not supposed to be opened explicitly.
Note:
clause can be replaced by INPUT PROCEDURE IS para_1 THRU para_2 .
USING
While using INPUT PROCEDURE, we need to remember that the section will be
executed before sort and the records need to be released to the work file from
the result of the input procedure.
GIVING clause can be replaced by OUTPUT PROCEDURE IS para_1 THRU para_2 .
While using OUTPUT PROCEDURE, we need to note that the procedure will be
executed once all records were sorted and the records from the sort work file
should be populated one record at a time to the output procedure.

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 COBOL Interview Questions

20. Why should the file be opened in I-O mode when it is being
used for REWRITE purposes?
When the file REWRITE of the record needs to be performed, the file should first be
opened and then the record must be read from the file. This is why the file should
always be opened in I-O mode.

21. How do we remove the spaces at end of every record in an

output file that is of variable length?
Spaces that are present at the end of the record are called trailing spaces. COBOL
does not provide the functionality to remove such trailing spaces. But it can be
achieved by using the RECORD-LENGTH field as follows:
Consider a scenario where we have a file of variable length and the maximum
possible record length is 4000. To remove trailing space from every record, then we
can alter the record length value to RECORD-LENGTH. This ensures that the records
are trimmed which are beyond actual record length. Assuming that a variable-length
file has a maximum record length of 4000.
Move the original record length value to RECORD-LENGTH. This process enables
the trimming of the entire record that is beyond the length.
In case the data is populated only up to 3000 bytes - meaning there are 1000
trailing spaces. Then move the record length value to RECORD-LENGTH.
By doing this, the records would be trimmed off and 1000 bytes would be freed.

22. How can we process two files by comparing key fields?

There are 2 possible approaches for this:

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 COBOL Interview Questions

Approach 1:
We can read records from both files, if the key fields match, then they can
be ignored.
If upon key comparison, the results are unequal, then we identify which file
has missing or new records and update the file with missing records
accordingly.
Approach 2:
If both files have the same records, then the work will be reduced.
If file 1 comes to the AT END state, then we have to move HIGH VALUES
into the key field. The same goes to file 2.
This process needs to be repeated until both key fields are equal to HIGH
VALUES.
For this process to work, the key fields should be in PIC(X) format and not
numeric.
To make the process easier, we can avoid a lot of I-O operations by reading data to
the local array table and then processing the records from there.

23. How can we reference or make COBOL program realise that

about the following file formats?
1. Fixed Block File
2. Fixed Unblock File
3. Variable Block File
4. Variable Unblock File
5. Printer File
Following are the explanation to the points one by one:

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 COBOL Interview Questions

1. Fixed Block File: We can identify that a file is a fixed block file if the following 3
conditions are met:
ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
RECORDING MODE IS F
BLOCK CONTAINS 0
2. Fixed Unblock File: We can identify that a file is a fixed unblock file if the
following 2 conditions are met:
ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
RECORDING MODE IS F
3. Variable Block File: We can identify that a file is a variable block file if the
following 4 conditions are met:
ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
RECORDING MODE IS V
BLOCK CONTAINS 0
Record length is never coded as 4 bytes in FD as JCL will consider the record
length as the max length of record plus 4.
4. Variable Unblock File: We can identify that a file is a variable unblock file if the
following 3 conditions are met:
ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
RECORDING MODE IS V
Record length is never coded as 4 bytes in FD as JCL will consider the record
length as the max length of record plus 4.
5. Printer File: We can reference that a file is a printer file if the following 3
conditions are met:
ORGANIZATION IS SEQUENTIAL
RECORDING MODE IS F
BLOCK CONTAIN 0

24. What are the differences between Structured COBOL and

Object-Oriented COBOL programming?

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 COBOL Interview Questions

Structured COBOL Programming Object-Oriented COBOL Programmin

This follows a logical style of

All functionalities are divided into
programming that helps to write code
modules.
logic in a clean manner.

Since it follows an object-oriented

Less secure as there is no data approach, there is encapsulation and
hiding feature involved. abstraction involved which helps in
data hiding.

Here, objects are first identified and

More natural way of coding. functionalities of those are then
written. Hence, it is more secure.

25. What are the causes of S0C7, S0C5 and S0C1?

S0C7 is caused mainly due to the following reasons:
Whenever numeric operations are performed on data of non-numeric type.
When we are working on the uninitialized storage.
When we try to code excessively that surpasses the maximum permitted dub
script.
S0C5 is caused mainly due to the following reasons:
Damaged index or subscript.
Exit occurred incorrectly from a perform.
Before the read operation, I/O is accessed.
When we try to close an unopened dataset.
S0C1 is caused mainly due to the following reasons:

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 COBOL Interview Questions

Incorrectly spelt DD name.

When we perform a read or write operation on an unopened dataset.
When the subprograms that are called are not found.

26. Under what circumstances are scope terminators

mandatorily needed?
When we are using in-line PERFORMS or EVALUATE statements, we need to use scope
terminators. It is recommended because it helps to read the code better and is
deemed as a good coding practice.

27. What are the problems associated with using ordered

sequential files?
The main nature of ordered sequential files is that the records are arranged based on
some key field(s). When a user wants to perform operations like insert or deletion,
then the order based on the field(s) should be maintained at all times. This is
attained only by creating a new file where we insert or update or delete the records
within the new file and then maintain the ordered nature. All these take place on the
disk directly and the time required to access data on disk is the main bottleneck
while processing any functionality. This reduces the speed of computation and slows
down the system unnecessarily if we try to use ordered sequential files whenever not
needed.

28. How is INCLUDE different from COPY?

The main similarity between INCLUDE and COPY is that both help in expanding the
program variables or codes. The important difference between them is that INCLUDE
is used for expanding the code at the time of pre-compilation. Whereas the COPY
expands the code at compilation time. DB2 pre-compilers won’t be able to process
COPY statements which is why the statements involving the validation of table
attributes and DCL statements are embedded using INCLUDE.

29. What do you understand by the following terminologies?

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 COBOL Interview Questions

1. AMODE(31)
2. AMODE(24)
3. RMODE(24)
4. RMODE(ANY)
All 4 are the options that are available in compile or link editing. AMODE expands to
Addressing Mode. AMODE(31) and AMODE(24) represents that the addressing mode
used is 31-bit and 24-bit respectively. When we use AMODE(ANY), it indicates that
either 31-bit mode or 24-bit addressing mode can be used and it is dependent on the
value of RMODE.
RMODE represents Resident Mode within the virtual storage. RMODE(24) represents
that the mode can reside within virtual storage below the 16 Meg line. RMODE(ANY)
represents that the mode can reside below or above 16 Meg line and the address bit
can be either 24-bit or 31-bit depending on the RMODE.

30. Why is S9(4) COMP needed despite knowing that Comp-3

would utilise less space?
S9(4) COMP represents that the item is a small integer which means two words of 1
byte each can occupy a total of 2 bytes. In S9(4) COMP-3, one word is equal to half a
byte which means 4 words can occupy 2 bytes and additionally, the sign occupies
another half byte which results in a maximum of 3 bytes usage. More can be
accommodated in S9(4) COMP when compares to COMP-3.

31. Consider a scenario where we have a program having an

array of 20 items. When the program tries to access the 21st
item, the program fails to abend. What is the reason for
this?
The default compiler option NOSSRANGE must have been used which does not allow
the program to abend. If we want the program to abend whenever accessing an array
element that is out of bounds, we need to use the compiler option of SSRANGE.
Using this option, the program abends with SOC4 error which indicates that it tried to
access an invalid address by using the wrong index.

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 COBOL Interview Questions

Cobol Sample Programs

32. Write a COBOL program that allows users to enter the names
of students of a class and then displays it. Try to use
OCCURS clause for achieving this.
OCCURS clause is used for specifying the table where the contents can be
accessed using indexing. It is advantageous when we do not require different
data entries for data of a similar kind.
COBOL Program:

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION
PROGRAM-ID
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION
DATA DIVISION
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION
01 N PIC 9(2) VALUE 0
01 I PIC 9(2) VALUE 0
01 NAME-IN
02 NAME PIC X(10) OCCURS 10 times
01 KEY-IN PIC X VALUE SPACE
PROCEDURE DIVISION
P-1
DISPLAY(1 1) ERASE
DISPLAY(3 5) "HOW MANY STUDENTS?"
ACCEPT N
DISPLAY(1 1) ERASE
PERFORM GET-DATA-PROC N TIMES
DISPLAY(1 1) ERASE
MOVE 0 to I
PERFORM DISPLAY-DATA-PROC N TIMES
STOP RUN
GET-DATA-PROC
ACCEPT NAME(I)
ADD 1 TO I
DISPLAY-DATA-PROC
DISPLAY NAME(I)
ACCEPT KEY-IN
ADD 1 TO I

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 COBOL Interview Questions

33. Write a COBOL program that takes 2 numbers as inputs and

performs addition and multiplication on them and displays
the result.

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID.

DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 NUMBER1 PIC 9 VALUE ZEROS.
01 NUMBER2 PIC 9 VALUE ZEROS.
01 RESULTANT PIC 99 VALUE ZEROS.
01 OPERATOR PIC X VALUE SPACE.

PROCEDURE DIVISION.
ADDER-MULTIPLIER.
DISPLAY "FIRST INPUT: " WITH NO ADVANCING
ACCEPT NUMBER1
DISPLAY "SECOND INPUT: " WITH NO ADVANCING
ACCEPT NUMBER2
DISPLAY "ENTER + FOR ADD AND * FROM MULTIPLY: " WITH NO ADVANCING
ACCEPT OPERATOR

IF OPERATOR = "+" THEN

ADD NUMBER1, NUMBER2 GIVING RESULTANT
END-IF

IF OPERATOR = "*" THEN

MULTIPLY NUMBER1 BY NUMBER2 GIVING RESULTANT
END-IF

DISPLAY "RESULT OF OPERATION = ", RESULTANT

STOP RUN.

34. Write a COBOL program example for demonstrating the

DELETE concept from a file based on a matching record.

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 COBOL Interview Questions

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
FILE-CONTROL.
SELECT RECORD-FILE ASSIGN TO DISK1.
ORGANIZATION IS INDEXED.
ACCESS MODE IS RANDOM.
RECORD KEY IS STD-ID.
FILE STATUS IS WS-FS.
DATA DIVISION.
FILE SECTION.
FD RECORD-FILE.
01 STD-RECORD.
02 STD-ID PIC 9(03).
02 STD-NAME PIC X(20).

WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
77 WS-FS PIC 9(02).
01 WS-EOF-SW PIC X(01) VALUE 'N'.
88 EOF-SW VALUE 'Y'.

PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DISPLAY 'ENTER THE STUDENT ID TO BE MATCHED'
ACCEPT STD-ID.
DISPLAY 'OPENING FILE TO DELETE MATCHING RECORD..'.
OPEN INPUT RECORD-FILE.
PERFORM UNTIL EOF-SW
READ RECORD-FILE
KEY IS STD-ID
AT END MOVE 'Y' TO WS-EOF-SW
IF WS-FS = 00
DELETE STD-RECORD
MOVE 'Y' TO WS-EOF-SW
ELSE
DISPLAY 'RECORD NOT AVAILABLE'
END-IF
END-PERFORM.
CLOSE RECORD-FILE.
DISPLAY STD-RECORD .
STOP RUN.

Conclusion

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 COBOL Interview Questions

COBOL has been around for many decades and has found its use in various business
purposes due to its strong computational capabilities. In this article, we have seen
the most commonly asked COBOL interview questions for both freshers and
experienced professionals.

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