COBOL for Dummies Quick Reference (For Dummies: Quick Reference (Computers))

Designed to lay open at your side as you write COBOL programs, COBOL for Dummies Quick Reference is a simple guide for programmers already familiar with the language. This book won't teach you to write in COBOL; rather, it will help jog your memory when you forget exactly how to do something.

Each section is organized around the various parts of COBOL programs, explaining commands and syntax you'll use in each division of a program (IDENTIFICATION DIVISION, DATA DIVISION, PROCEDURE DIVISION, and so on). Within each part, statements are listed alphabetically for easy reference. Each entry features a couple of paragraphs about what the statement does and, usually, an illustrative code example. A separate section lists all COBOL verbs. Other chapters briefly address flowcharting, debugging, compiler comparisons, the year 2000 problem, and other subjects that could fill entire books by themselves.

Don't expect this book to explain COBOL to you. Do, however, expect it to remind you of key concepts while you're in the midst of coding or to clue you in to new procedures as you read under less urgent circumstances.