Beginning COBOL for Programmers

CHAPTER 3

Data Declaration in COBOL

As you explore the COBOL language, you will notice many differences between it and other programming languages. Iteration, selection, and assignment are all done differently in COBOL than in languages like C, Java, and Pascal. But on the whole, these differences are fairly minor—more a question of nuance than a radical departure. When you are familiar with how iteration and selection work in other languages, COBOL’s implementation requires only a small mental adjustment. Assignment might create more of a hiccup, but there is nothing too radical even in that. The real difference between COBOL and these other ...