String handling statements in COBOL are used to do multiple functional operations on strings. Following are the string handling statements −
- Inspect
- String
- Unstring
Inspect
Inspect verb is used to count or replace the characters in a string. String operations can be performed on alphanumeric, numeric, or alphabetic values. Inspect operations are performed from left to right. The options used for the string operations are as follows −
Tallying
Tallying option is used to count the string characters.
Syntax
Following is the syntax of Tallying option −
INSPECT input-string TALLYING output-count FOR ALL CHARACTERS
The parameters used are −
- input-string − The string whose characters are to be counted.
- output-count − Data item to hold the count of characters.
Example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. HELLO. DATA DIVISION. WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. 01 WS-CNT1 PIC 9(2) VALUE 0. 01 WS-CNT2 PIC 9(2) VALUE 0. 01 WS-STRING PIC X(15) VALUE ''ABCDACDADEAAAFF''. PROCEDURE DIVISION. INSPECT WS-STRING TALLYING WS-CNT1 FOR CHARACTER. DISPLAY "WS-CNT1 : "WS-CNT1. INSPECT WS-STRING TALLYING WS-CNT2 FOR ALL ''A''. DISPLAY "WS-CNT2 : "WS-CNT2 STOP RUN.
JCL to execute the above COBOL program.
//SAMPLE JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS = A,MSGCLASS = C //STEP1 EXEC PGM = HELLO
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
WS-CNT1 : 15 WS-CNT2 : 06
Replacing
Replacing option is used to replace the string characters.
Syntax
Following is the syntax of Replacing option −
INSPECT input-string REPLACING ALL char1 BY char2.
The parameter used is −
-
input-string − The string whose characters are to be replaced from char1 to char2.
Example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. HELLO. DATA DIVISION. WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. 01 WS-STRING PIC X(15) VALUE ''ABCDACDADEAAAFF''. PROCEDURE DIVISION. DISPLAY "OLD STRING : "WS-STRING. INSPECT WS-STRING REPLACING ALL ''A'' BY ''X''. DISPLAY "NEW STRING : "WS-STRING. STOP RUN.
JCL to execute the above COBOL program.
//SAMPLE JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS = A,MSGCLASS = C //STEP1 EXEC PGM = HELLO
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
OLD STRING : ABCDACDADEAAAFF NEW STRING : XBCDXCDXDEXXXFF
String
String verb is used to concatenate the strings. Using STRING statement, two or more strings of characters can be combined to form a longer string. ‘Delimited By’ clause is compulsory.
Syntax
Following is the syntax of String verb −
STRING ws-string1 DELIMITED BY SPACE ws-string2 DELIMITED BY SIZE INTO ws-destination-string WITH POINTER ws-count ON OVERFLOW DISPLAY message1 NOT ON OVERFLOW DISPLAY message2 END-STRING.
Following are the details of the used parameters −
- ws-string1 and ws-string2 : Input strings to be concatenated
- ws-string : Output string
- ws-count : Used to count the length of new concatenated string
- Delimited specifies the end of string
- Pointer and Overflow are optional
Example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. HELLO. DATA DIVISION. WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. 01 WS-STRING PIC A(30). 01 WS-STR1 PIC A(15) VALUE ''Tutorialspoint''. 01 WS-STR2 PIC A(7) VALUE ''Welcome''. 01 WS-STR3 PIC A(7) VALUE ''To AND''. 01 WS-COUNT PIC 99 VALUE 1. PROCEDURE DIVISION. STRING WS-STR2 DELIMITED BY SIZE WS-STR3 DELIMITED BY SPACE WS-STR1 DELIMITED BY SIZE INTO WS-STRING WITH POINTER WS-COUNT ON OVERFLOW DISPLAY ''OVERFLOW!'' END-STRING. DISPLAY ''WS-STRING : ''WS-STRING. DISPLAY ''WS-COUNT : ''WS-COUNT. STOP RUN.
JCL to execute the above COBOL program −
//SAMPLE JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS = A,MSGCLASS = C //STEP1 EXEC PGM = HELLO
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
WS-STRING : WelcomeToTutorialspoint WS-COUNT : 25
Unstring
Unstring verb is used to split one string into multiple sub-strings. Delimited By clause is compulsory.
Syntax
Following is the syntax of Unstring verb −
UNSTRING ws-string DELIMITED BY SPACE INTO ws-str1, ws-str2 WITH POINTER ws-count ON OVERFLOW DISPLAY message NOT ON OVERFLOW DISPLAY message END-UNSTRING.
Example
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION. PROGRAM-ID. HELLO. DATA DIVISION. WORKING-STORAGE SECTION. 01 WS-STRING PIC A(30) VALUE ''WELCOME TO TUTORIALSPOINT''. 01 WS-STR1 PIC A(7). 01 WS-STR2 PIC A(2). 01 WS-STR3 PIC A(15). 01 WS-COUNT PIC 99 VALUE 1. PROCEDURE DIVISION. UNSTRING WS-STRING DELIMITED BY SPACE INTO WS-STR1, WS-STR2, WS-STR3 END-UNSTRING. DISPLAY ''WS-STR1 : ''WS-STR1. DISPLAY ''WS-STR2 : ''WS-STR2. DISPLAY ''WS-STR3 : ''WS-STR3. STOP RUN.
JCL to execute the above COBOL program −
//SAMPLE JOB(TESTJCL,XXXXXX),CLASS = A,MSGCLASS = C //STEP1 EXEC PGM = HELLO
When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
WS-STR1 : WELCOME WS-STR2 : TO WS-STR3 : TUTORIALSPOINT