MODULE 4 · CONDITIONS · 3/8

Level-88 condition names

14 min30 XPExercise

Code full of IF WS-STATUS = "C" OR WS-STATUS = "X" makes the reader look up what "C" and "X" mean. COBOL's answer is the level-88 condition name: a named condition attached to a field.

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. COND88.
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01  WS-STATUS       PIC X VALUE "A".
           88  ACCT-ACTIVE          VALUE "A".
           88  ACCT-DORMANT         VALUE "D".
           88  ACCT-CLOSED          VALUE "C" "X".
       01  WS-SCORE        PIC 999 VALUE 640.
           88  SCORE-POOR           VALUE 0 THRU 579.
           88  SCORE-FAIR           VALUE 580 THRU 669.
           88  SCORE-GOOD           VALUE 670 THRU 999.
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           IF ACCT-ACTIVE
               DISPLAY "ACTIVE ACCOUNT"
           END-IF
           SET ACCT-CLOSED TO TRUE
           DISPLAY "STATUS IS NOW " WS-STATUS
           IF ACCT-CLOSED
               DISPLAY "CLOSED ACCOUNT"
           END-IF
           IF SCORE-FAIR
               DISPLAY "FAIR CREDIT SCORE"
           END-IF
           IF NOT SCORE-POOR
               DISPLAY "NOT A POOR SCORE"
           END-IF
           STOP RUN.

Output:

ACTIVE ACCOUNT
STATUS IS NOW C
CLOSED ACCOUNT
FAIR CREDIT SCORE
NOT A POOR SCORE

How it works

An 88 entry has no storage of its own. It sits under a field (its conditional variable) and names one or more values of that field:

VALUE "A" — a single value
VALUE "C" "X" — any of a list (commas are optional)
VALUE 580 THRU 669 — a range, inclusive at both ends

IF ACCT-CLOSED is exactly the same test as IF WS-STATUS = "C" OR WS-STATUS = "X" — only now it's readable, and if the business adds a new closed code, you change one line in the data division instead of every IF in the program.

SET ... TO TRUE

To make a condition true, don't MOVE the code. Use:

           SET ACCT-DORMANT TO TRUE

That moves "D" into WS-STATUS. If the 88 lists several values, SET uses the first one — SET ACCT-CLOSED TO TRUE stores "C", as the output shows.

You can't SET a condition to FALSE unless the 88 has a WHEN SET TO FALSE clause; in practice you SET a different condition to TRUE instead.

Switches and flags

The most common use is a yes/no flag:

       01  WS-EOF-FLAG     PIC X VALUE "N".
           88  END-OF-FILE          VALUE "Y".
           88  NOT-END-OF-FILE      VALUE "N".

Loops then read PERFORM ... UNTIL END-OF-FILE — you'll write exactly this when you process files.

On the job

Copybooks for real record layouts are full of 88s: status codes, transaction types, product categories. When you're asked "where does the program handle closed accounts?", search for the 88 name, not the literal — and when you add a code, add it to the 88.

Your task

A nightly job reviews each account's status. Read two lines: the one-character status code into WS-STATUS, and the days since the last transaction into WS-DAYS.

Add level-88 condition names to WS-STATUS:

Name	Values
`ACCT-ACTIVE`	`A`
`ACCT-DORMANT`	`D`
`ACCT-CLOSED`	`C`, `X`
`ACCT-VALID`	`A`, `D`, `C`, `X`

Rules:

Not a valid code → display INVALID STATUS and nothing else.
Active and more than 365 days → make it dormant with SET, display MARKED DORMANT.
Dormant and fewer than 30 days → make it active with SET, display REACTIVATED.
Every valid code ends with STATUS: and the (possibly new) code.

For A and 400:

MARKED DORMANT
STATUS: D

Test the codes only through the 88 names, and change the status only with SET ... TO TRUE.

Check your understanding

1. Given 88 ACCT-CLOSED VALUE "C" "X"., what does SET ACCT-CLOSED TO TRUE move into the parent field?

"C" — the first value listed "X" — the last value listed "Y" It's a compile error with two values

2. WS-STATUS holds "B" and has 88 ST-VALID VALUE "A" THRU "E". Is ST-VALID true?

Yes No

← Class and sign conditions Compound and abbreviated conditions →

Run your program to see its output here. The first visible test's input and datasets are used.

Submit to grade your program against every test.