MODULE 8: String handling

COBOL- String Handling in COBOL

In this module we will cover string manipulating operations such as counting characters in a string, finding of a character/sub-string in a string, replacement of particular character/sub-string in a string, string concatenation and string segmentation(split one string to many string) etc.
All above specified string manipulating operations can be handled by three COBOL verbs:-
- INSPECT
- STRING
- UNSTRING
EXAMINE is older version of INSPECT and it was used in COBOL 74. We will cover EXAMINE verb after INSPECT verb’s explanation
Below we have provided overview of each of these verbs and same is explained in detail in upcoming section

Used to count characters in a string
Used to replaces a group of characters in a sting with another group of characters
Permits several tallies (counts) and replacements with a single statement (instead of writing multiple statements)
Allows group of characters to be counted and replaced
Converts each of a set of character to its corresponding character in another set of characters
INSPECT is explained in detail here < LINK >

INSPECT and EXAMINE are used to perform same operations
EXAMINE was present in the earlier version of COBOL and was replaced in ANSI 74 COBOL with more powerful verb INSPECT
However, many implementation still uses EXAMINE and thus we are covering it at high level
EXAMINE is explained in detail here < LINK >

STRING is used to join together one or more strings or partial source strings to form a single destination string
This is also used to transfer characters from a string to another string starting at some particular character position either in the receiving field or in the sending fields
STRING is explained in detail here < LINK >