On Saturday, 9 July 2016 18:20:58 UTC+2, Dan Skomsky wrote:
> Once you get the JCL ironed out, I think you need to make some changes to the
> COBOL source itself.
>
> The DISPLAY and ACCEPT verbs without targets default to SYSIN and SYSPRINT
> accordingly. If you wish to communicate to the console you must code
> 'DISPLAY ... UPON CONSOLE' and 'ACCEPT ... FROM CONSOLE'. From the way the
> code is written, the program will go into an infinite loop looking for SYSIN
> and printing on SYSPRINT.
>
Without seeing the data, this need not be true :-)
However, it is an excellent point for someone new to COBOL who may think this
is "zero" in the context of that ACCEPT.
0
It isn't.
You data for that program must always, always, contain:
0000000
Ensure you have a TIME= in your JCL, and make it very small. Small as you can.
Are you running the program under TSO? The "***" is throwing me. In my
experience, use of the CONSOLE is not permitted for application programmers.
TSO is one answer, and you can get "interactive", but actual application
programs won't be running that way, and interactive for the... fun of it...
does not mean much.
I'd suggest not using the compile-and-go. Use the compile-and-link and set up
some JCL for yourself to execute the program. When you late want to find some
reference to what you did, having an actual bit of JCL with the date/time it
was last edited is useful.
Since you are learning COBOL, some tips. Should provoke others :-)
Don't use 77s. They were always untidy, but served a purpose when storage for a
program was more limited. Like in the 1970s. Today they do no space-saving and
are still untidy.
Use the END- constructs to terminate the scope of conditions. You'll have to do
that for...
Don't use a single full-stop/period in the PROCEDURE DIVISION that is not
needed. A world-wide total of $74 trillion* (1964 prices) has been lost through
the errant (present in the wrong place, or missing altogether)
full-stop/period. Since COBOL II it has been a needless loss.
Don't test and set a flag if the value itself can be used to control the loop.
Use an 88 on the source field, and always use an 88 over defining literals in
the PROCEDURE DIVISION.
Formatting a program is good. Placing a blank comment-line after each line of
code will drive everyone** nuts when you give them code to find issues with.
COBOL is a language of words. You can use symbols, like =, but why...?
Here's a small rewrite:
----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5----+----6----+----7--
ID DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. CALC1000.
DATA DIVISION.
FILE SECTION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 SALES-AMOUNT PIC 9(5)V99.
88 END-OF-INTERACTIVE-SESSION VALUE ZERO.
01 SALES-TAX PIC Z,ZZZ.99.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
PERFORM CALCULATE-ONE-SALES-TAX
UNTIL END-OF-INTERACTIVE-SESSION
DISPLAY "END OF SESSION."
GOBACK
.
CALCULATE-ONE-SALES-TAX.
DISPLAY
"-----------------------------------------------"
DISPLAY
"TO END PROGRAM, ENTER 0000000"
DISPLAY
"TO CALCULATE SALES TAX, ENTER THE SALES AMOUNT,"
DISPLAY
"WITH SEVEN DIGITS, INCLUDING TWO DECIMAL DIGITS,"
DISPLAY
"BUT WITH NO DECIMAL POINT, AND DON'T EVEN "
DISPLAY
"CONSIDER USING A SIGN FOR A REVERSAL."
ACCEPT SALES-AMOUNT
COMPUTE SALES-TAX ROUNDED = SALES-AMOUNT
* 0.0785
DISPLAY
"SALES TAX = "
SALES-TAX
.
If you run that (an remember to obey the instructions, as in obey), you'll
encounter some issues. You have effectively a "heading", and you output it each
time. Looks tacky. And that cool way of stopping the loop doesn't seem to work.
Look to use a PERFORM to do the heading, and look at how to do a "priming read"
(and put your read in a PERFORM, in this case an ACCEPT).
Then you can consider some flexibility. ACCEPT (Format 1, in the Language
Reference) will always give you input as though your target field is
alpha-numeric. It will be left-justified, and padded to the end with blanks.
Exercise (non-trivial) allow the user to enter numbers in the normal types of
way.
* this may be considered to be an overestimate
** may be an overstatement
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