Beginning COBOL for programmers : [a tutorial and modular reference on Cobol for established programmers

__Beginning COBOL for Programmers__ is a comprehensive, sophisticated tutorial and modular skills reference on the COBOL programming language for established programmers. This book is for you if you are a developer who would like to—or must—add COBOL to your repertoire. Perhaps you recognize the opportunities presented by the current COBOL skills crisis, or are working in a mission critical enterprise which retains legacy COBOL applications. Whatever your situation, __Beginning COBOL for Programmers__ meets your needs as an established programmer moving to COBOL. __Beginning COBOL for Programmers__ includes comprehensive coverage of ANS 85 COBOL features and techniques, including control structures, condition names, sequential and direct access files, data redefinition, string handling, decimal arithmetic, subprograms, and the report writer. The final chapter includes a substantial introduction to object-oriented COBOL. Benefiting from over one hundred example programs, you’ll receive an extensive introduction to the core and advanced features of the COBOL language and will learn to apply these through comprehensive and varied exercises. If you've inherited some legacy COBOL, you’ll be able to grasp the COBOL idioms, understand the constructs, and recognize what's happening in the code you’re working with. Today’s enterprise application developers will find that COBOL skills open new—or old—doors, and this extensive COBOL reference is the book to help you acquire and develop your COBOL skills. What you’ll learn* The basics of COBOL and its control structures * How to declare and manipulate data, including tabular data * How to handle sequential, indexed, and relative files * How to SORT data and use Input and Output procedures * How to SEARCH tabular data * How to use contained and external subprograms to create modular programs * How to use the COBOL Report Writer * How to write ISO 2002 object-oriented COBOL programs Who this book is for This book is for established programmers looking for a COBOL tutorial and modular skills reference in one handy book. Whether you have inherited some legacy COBOL and need to maintain it, or you have a fresh COBOL project in front of you, the tutorial and skills reference will help you succeed in COBOL. Table of Contents1. Introduction to COBOL 2. COBOL Foundation 3. Data Declaration In COBOL 4. Procedure Division Basics 5. Control Structures: Selection 6. Control Structures: Iteration 7. Introduction to Sequential Files 8. Advanced Sequential Files 9. Edited Pictures 10. Processing Sequential Files 11. Creating Tabular Data 12. Advanced Data Declaration 13. Searching Tabular Data 14. Sorting and Merging 15. String Manipulation 16. Creating Large Systems 17. Direct Access Files 18. The COBOL Report Writer 19. OO-COBOL Beginning COBOL for Programmersis a comprehensive, sophisticated tutorial and modular skills referenceon the COBOL programming language for established programmers. This book is for you if you are a developer who would like to - or must - add COBOL to your repertoire. Perhaps you recognize the opportunities presented by the current COBOL skills crisis, or you may be working in a mission critical enterprise which retains legacy COBOL applications. Whatever your situation, Beginning COBOL for Programmers meets your needs as an established programmer moving to COBOL. Beginning COBOL for Programmersincludes coverage of the latest COBOL featuresand techniques, including control structures, tabular data, sequential files, procedure divisions, string handling, decimal arithmetic, report writer, object-orientedCOBOL, and more. You'll receive extensive introductions to the core features of the COBOL language, and then find solutions about how to effectively deploy COBOL to build robust mission critical enterprise applications that talk to legacy enterprise applications or aspects of those applications. If you've inherited some legacy COBOL, you'll be able to grasp the COBOL idioms and recognize what's happening in the code you're working with. The death of COBOL has been predicted time and time again, yet COBOL still remains a dominant force at the heart of enterprise computing. In 1997, the Gartner group estimated that of the 300 billion lines of code in the world, 240 billion (80%) were written in COBOL, and that dominance is not greatly changed today. But there is a crisis on the horizon. While the number of COBOL programmers reaching retirement age has created a growing shortage, attempts to rewrite COBOL legacy systems in a more fashionable language have oftennot been successful or put aside for a number of reasons. Therefore, today's enterprise application developers - mostly skilled at C++, C♯ and Java - can find COBOL skills open new - or old - doors, and this handy reliable reference is a book that you can turn to for your COBOL skills Front Matter....Pages i-xxvii Introduction to COBOL....Pages 1-15 COBOL Foundation....Pages 17-36 Data Declaration in COBOL....Pages 37-54 Procedure Division Basics....Pages 55-72 Control Structures: Selection....Pages 73-108 Control Structures: Iteration....Pages 109-129 Introduction to Sequential Files....Pages 131-156 Advanced Sequential Files....Pages 157-180 Edited Pictures....Pages 181-203 Processing Sequential Files....Pages 205-245 Creating Tabular Data....Pages 247-272 Advanced Data Declaration....Pages 273-302 Searching Tabular Data....Pages 303-326 Sorting and Merging....Pages 327-359 String Manipulation....Pages 361-397 Creating Large Systems....Pages 399-433 Direct Access Files....Pages 435-476 The COBOL Report Writer....Pages 477-518 OO-COBOL....Pages 519-546 Back Matter....Pages 547-556 Beginning COBOL for Programmers is a comprehensive, sophisticated tutorial and modular skills reference on the COBOL programming language for established programmers. This book is for you if you are a developer who would like to - or must - add COBOL to your repertoire. Perhaps you recognize the opportunities presented by the current COBOL skills crisis, or you may be working in a mission critical enterprise which retains legacy COBOL applications. Whatever your situation, Beginning COBOL for Programmers meets your needs as an established programmer moving to COBOL Michael Coughlan. A Tutorial And Modular Reference On Cobol For Established Programmers--cover. Includes Index.