MODULE 1 · FIRST STEPS · 5/8

DISPLAY and literals

12 min30 XPExercise

DISPLAY is the simplest way for a program to talk to the outside world. In batch it writes to SYSOUT, and operators and support staff read those messages when a job fails at 3 a.m. Writing clear DISPLAY output is a real part of the job.

Literals

A literal is a value written directly in the code. There are two kinds.

Alphanumeric literals are text in quotes. Double and single quotes both work, but a literal must end with the same quote it started with. To put a quote inside a literal, write it twice, or use the other kind of quote around it:

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. QUOTES.
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           DISPLAY "SAY ""HI""".
           DISPLAY 'IT''S DONE'.
           DISPLAY 'SAY "HI"'.
           STOP RUN.

SAY "HI"
IT'S DONE
SAY "HI"

Numeric literals are numbers without quotes: 42, 007, 1.50, -3. They can have a sign and a decimal point, and are displayed as written. "42" in quotes is not a number; it is two characters that happen to be digits. That difference matters as soon as you start doing arithmetic.

Several items in one DISPLAY

DISPLAY writes its items one after another, with no spaces between them. Put the spaces you want inside the literals, or use the figurative constant SPACE:

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. ITEMS.
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           DISPLAY "BRANCH" "042".
           DISPLAY "BRANCH " "042".
           DISPLAY "BRANCH" SPACE "042".
           DISPLAY "RECORDS READ: " 1500.
           STOP RUN.

BRANCH042
BRANCH 042
BRANCH 042
RECORDS READ: 1500

Staying on the same line

Each DISPLAY normally ends the line. Add WITH NO ADVANCING to stay on it, so the next DISPLAY continues where this one stopped:

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. NOADV.
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           DISPLAY "STEP 1 ... " WITH NO ADVANCING.
           DISPLAY "OK".
           STOP RUN.

STEP 1 ... OK

This is handy when the second half of a line depends on something the program works out later.

Long literals

A literal cannot run past column 72. If a message is too long, split it into two literals in the same DISPLAY, each on its own line: DISPLAY "FIRST HALF OF A LONG MESSAGE, " then, on the next line, "SECOND HALF". COBOL also has a continuation line (- in column 7) for this, but splitting is easier to read.

On the job

Make every batch message greppable: start it with the program name, e.g. DISPLAY "PAYCALC: 1500 RECORDS READ". When a job log has output from twenty programs, support staff will thank you.

Your task

Write the header that the nightly batch prints to SYSOUT. It must be exactly:

ACME BANK - NIGHTLY BATCH
MANAGER'S NOTE: "ALL BALANCED"
BRANCH 042 CLOSED
STEPS RUN: 5

Rules:

Line 2 contains both an apostrophe and double quotes. Write it as one literal.
Line 3 must be written by two DISPLAY statements: the first prints BRANCH and stays on the line with WITH NO ADVANCING, the second prints the rest.
On line 4, the 5 must be a numeric literal (no quotes).

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