Martin at 11:10, 25 March 2026

2026-03-25T11:10:25Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:10, 25 March 2026
Line 52:		Line 52:

	----		----
	''[[~~COBOL~~ programming standards\|← Back to index]]''		''[[Cobol programming standards\|← Back to index]]''

Martin at 11:09, 25 March 2026

2026-03-25T11:09:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:09, 25 March 2026
Line 52:		Line 52:

	----		----
	''[[COBOL programming ~~standard~~\|← Back to index]]''		''[[COBOL programming standards\|← Back to index]]''

Martin at 11:09, 25 March 2026

2026-03-25T11:09:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:09, 25 March 2026
Line 52:		Line 52:

	----		----
	''[[COBOL ~~Programming~~ ~~Standard~~\|← Back to index]]''		''[[COBOL programming standard\|← Back to index]]''

Martin: Created page with "== 2. Source-Code Layout == === 2.1 Column Format === All programs use fixed-format COBOL unless the project explicitly adopts free-format (`cobc -free`). In fixed format: {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" ! Columns !! Area !! Rule |- | 1–6 || Sequence || Leave blank or use numeric sequence; never use for logic. |- | 7 || Indicator || Asterisk (`*`) = full-line comment. Hyphen (`-`) = continuation. Blank = code. |- | 8–11 ||..."

2026-03-25T11:08:24Z

Created page with "== 2. Source-Code Layout == === 2.1 Column Format === All programs use fixed-format COBOL unless the project explicitly adopts free-format (<code>cobc -free</code>). In fixed format: {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" ! Columns !! Area !! Rule |- | 1–6 || Sequence || Leave blank or use numeric sequence; never use for logic. |- | 7 || Indicator || Asterisk (<code>*</code>) = full-line comment. Hyphen (<code>-</code>) = continuation. Blank = code. |- | 8–11 ||..."

New page

== 2. Source-Code Layout ==

=== 2.1 Column Format ===

All programs use fixed-format COBOL unless the project explicitly adopts free-format (<code>cobc -free</code>). In fixed format:

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! Columns !! Area !! Rule
|-
| 1–6 || Sequence || Leave blank or use numeric sequence; never use for logic.
|-
| 7 || Indicator || Asterisk (<code>*</code>) = full-line comment. Hyphen (<code>-</code>) = continuation. Blank = code.
|-
| 8–11 || Area A || Division / section / paragraph headers; 01 and 77 level items; FD entries.
|-
| 12–72 || Area B || All other data definitions and procedural statements.
|}

=== 2.2 Indentation ===

Indent subordinate levels by 4 spaces relative to their parent. Do not use tab characters.

<syntaxhighlight lang="cobol">
01 WS-CUSTOMER-RECORD.
05 WS-CUST-ID PIC X(6).
05 WS-CUST-NAME PIC X(40).
05 WS-CUST-BALANCE PIC S9(9)V99 COMP-3.
</syntaxhighlight>

Nested IF / EVALUATE constructs add 4 spaces per level:

<syntaxhighlight lang="cobol">
EVALUATE TRUE
WHEN dal-method-ok
PERFORM R080-PROCESS-RECORD
WHEN OTHER
PERFORM E000-HANDLE-ERROR
END-EVALUATE
</syntaxhighlight>

=== 2.3 Line Length ===

Keep all code within columns 8–72 (Area A/B combined). Comments may use columns 8–72 as well. Do not rely on the reference area (73–80).

=== 2.4 Blank Lines and Section Separators ===

* One blank comment line before every paragraph header.
* Three asterisk-border comment lines before every major section (see [[#3. Comment Standards|§3]]).
* Use the compiler directive <code>/</code> (slash in column 7) to eject to a new listing page between major sections.

----

----
''[[COBOL Programming Standard|← Back to index]]''

COBOL Std 2 Source-Code Layout - Revision history

Martin at 11:10, 25 March 2026

Martin at 11:09, 25 March 2026

Martin at 11:09, 25 March 2026