Top 10 Cobol Interview Questions and Answers

COBOL is a programming language used for business applications. COMP is a COBOL data type for storing numbers.

• COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language

• It was developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s

• COBOL is used for developing business applications such as banking, insurance, and finance

• COMP is a COBOL data type used for storing numbers in binary format

• COMP can be further classified into COMP-3, which is used for storing packed decimal numbers

Data can be passed to COBOL through JCL using SYSIN DD statement, PARM parameter, and environment variables.

• Use SYSIN DD statement to pass data to COBOL program

• Pass data using PARM parameter in JCL

• Set environment variables in JCL to pass data

Goto is an unconditional transfer of control while perform is a conditional transfer of control.

• Goto is considered harmful as it can lead to spaghetti code.

• Perform is used to execute a set of statements based on a condition.

• Perform can be used with varying levels of granularity such as perform until, perform varying, etc.

• Goto is rarely used in modern programming languages.

• Example: perform until condition is met, goto line 10

COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) is a high-level programming language used primarily for business, finance, and administrative systems on mainframe computers.

• COBOL is one of the oldest programming languages, designed in the late 1950s.

• It is known for its readability and self-documenting code.

• COBOL is still widely used in legacy systems, especially in the financial and government sectors.

• Example: COBOL programs are often used for processing large volumes of data in ba...read more

No, there is no mandatory condition to call a program in COBOL.

• In COBOL, a program can be called without any mandatory conditions.

• The CALL statement is used to call a program in COBOL.

• The called program can be executed based on the logic written within it.

• Example: CALL 'PROGRAM-NAME' USING parameters.

COBOL is a programming language used for business applications. It is procedural and works by executing a series of instructions.

• COBOL stands for Common Business-Oriented Language.

• It was developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

• COBOL is primarily used for business, finance, and administrative systems.

• It is a procedural language, meaning it follows a step-by-step approach.

• COBOL programs are composed of divisions, sections, and paragraphs.

• It supports file handling, data mani...read more

COB stands for Coordination of Benefits. It is a process used in insurance to determine the order in which multiple insurance policies should pay for a claim.

• COB helps prevent overpayment by ensuring that no more than 100% of the claim amount is paid.

• The primary insurance policy is responsible for paying the claim first, while the secondary policy covers the remaining balance.

• COB applies to situations where a person has multiple insurance policies, such as through their emplo...read more

READ reads data from a file into a variable, while READ INTO WS-VARIABLE reads data into a specified work area.

• READ is used to read data from a file into a variable in COBOL.

• READ INTO WS-VARIABLE is used to read data into a specified work area in COBOL.

• READ example: READ FILE-NAME INTO DATA-VARIABLE.

• READ INTO WS-VARIABLE example: READ FILE-NAME INTO WS-WORK-AREA.

COBOL is a programming language used primarily for business, finance, and administrative systems.

• COBOL stands for Common Business-Oriented Language.

• It is known for its readability and self-documenting nature.

• COBOL is used in industries such as banking, insurance, and government.

• It is designed for processing large volumes of data efficiently.

• COBOL programs are typically structured into divisions, sections, and paragraphs.

Data can be passed to COBOL using input/output files, parameters, or through communication with other programs.

• Data can be passed to COBOL programs through input/output files. The program reads data from input files and writes output to output files.

• Parameters can be used to pass data to COBOL programs. Data can be passed as arguments when calling the program.

• COBOL programs can communicate with other programs using communication methods like sockets or APIs to exchange data.

Comp 1 and Comp 3 are usage clause variables in COBOL.

• Comp 1 is used for binary data and takes up 2 bytes of storage.

• Comp 3 is used for packed decimal data and takes up variable storage depending on the number of digits.

• Usage clause variables are used to define the type of data and how it is stored in memory.

IBM Full Form in COBOL

• IBM stands for International Business Machines

• COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language

• IBM is a company that produces hardware and software, including mainframes

• COBOL is a programming language commonly used for business applications

• IBM mainframes are often used for running COBOL programs

Changes in COBOL programs depend on the specific requirements and goals of the project.

• Changes may involve modifying existing code to add new functionality or improve performance.

• Updates may also be necessary to ensure compatibility with new hardware or software systems.

• Refactoring code to improve readability and maintainability is another common change.

• Examples of changes include adding new data fields, modifying conditional statements, and updating file handling procedures.

COBOL has four divisions: Identification Division, Environment Division, Data Division, and Procedure Division.

• Identification Division: Contains program name, author, and other identifying information.

• Environment Division: Specifies the hardware and software environment in which the program will run.

• Data Division: Defines the data structures used in the program.

• Procedure Division: Contains the actual program logic and instructions.

• Example: IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID....read more

There are four divisions in COBOL: Identification Division, Environment Division, Data Division, and Procedure Division.

• Identification Division: Contains program name, author, and date.

• Environment Division: Specifies the hardware and software environment.

• Data Division: Defines the data structures used in the program.

• Procedure Division: Contains the actual program logic.