MODULE 1 · FIRST STEPS · 6/8

Reading input with ACCEPT

12 min30 XPExercise

DISPLAY writes a line out; ACCEPT reads one in. Each ACCEPT reads the next line of the program's standard input and stores it in a data item. On z/OS that input is the job's SYSIN, typically a few lines typed straight into the JCL:

//STEP01   EXEC PGM=GREET
//SYSIN    DD *
MARY
/*

Batch programs use SYSIN for small control values: a run date, a branch number, a "full or partial run" switch. Bulk data comes from files, which you will meet later.

ACCEPT needs somewhere to put the data

You can't ACCEPT into a literal. You need a variable in WORKING-STORAGE:

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. GREET.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  WS-NAME          PIC X(10).
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           ACCEPT WS-NAME.
           DISPLAY "HELLO, " WS-NAME "!".
           STOP RUN.

With the input MARY, this prints:

HELLO, MARY      !

Why the gap? WS-NAME is PIC X(10): always exactly ten characters. The four letters of MARY fill the left end and the rest is padded with spaces. DISPLAY shows the whole field, spaces included. If the input were longer than ten characters, the extra characters on the right would be cut off. Fixed-length fields are fundamental to COBOL; the next module covers them in detail.

A practical consequence: put a variable-length text field at the end of a line where you can, so the padding is invisible.

Reading numbers

For a number, use a numeric picture such as PIC 9(3) (three digits):

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. BRANCH.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  WS-BRANCH        PIC 9(3).
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           ACCEPT WS-BRANCH.
           DISPLAY "BRANCH NUMBER " WS-BRANCH.
           STOP RUN.

Input 42 produces BRANCH NUMBER 042. A numeric field always shows all its digits, so leading zeros appear.

GnuCOBOL versus z/OS

GnuCOBOL converts 42 into the numeric field for you. IBM's compiler copies the characters exactly as typed, left-justified, so on z/OS SYSIN values for numeric fields are written at full width with leading zeros (042). Do the same and your programs behave identically on both.

GnuCOBOL also reads no more characters than the field has positions. PIC 9(5)V99 is seven positions, so the input 12345.67 is read as 12345.6 and the last digit is lost. Make numeric input fields wide enough for the text you type, decimal point included.

Several values, in order

Each ACCEPT consumes one line, top to bottom. You can read values in one order and display them in another; they stay in their fields until you change them.

Getting the date

ACCEPT can also read from the system instead of from input. ACCEPT WS-TODAY FROM DATE YYYYMMDD fills a PIC 9(8) field with today's date, for example 20260924:

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. TODAY.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  WS-TODAY         PIC 9(8).
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           ACCEPT WS-TODAY FROM DATE YYYYMMDD.
           DISPLAY "RUN DATE: " WS-TODAY.
           STOP RUN.

On the job

Production batch rarely trusts the system clock for the business date. The date usually comes in through SYSIN or a control file, so a job that runs after midnight still processes yesterday's business, and a rerun next week uses the original date.

Your task

An operator logs on to the night shift. The job's input has two lines:

the operator's name (up to 20 characters)
the shift number (one digit)

Read both with ACCEPT into WS-OPERATOR and WS-SHIFT, then display:

SHIFT 2 LOGON
OPERATOR: JANE DOE

(for the input JANE DOE and 2). Note that the shift is printed first, even though it is read second.

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