Ch 7_1. COMPUTING IN COBOL

Operator symbols used in COMPUTE 

 Symbol    COBOL Verb
 ------    ----------
 =         GIVING
 +         ADD
 -         SUBTRACT
 *         MULTIPLY
 /         DIVIDE
 **                     exponentiation (no corr. COBOL verb)
Note: Symbols in COMPUTE must be preceded and followed by a space.

Special Symbols used in Compute 

 (
 )

Priority

  1. **
  2. * or / (whichever appears first from L to R)
  3. + or - (whichever appears first from L to R)
  4. The use of paranthesis overides rules 1-3. Operators within "( )" are performed first
Examples: 
A / (B + C)
A + B * C
(B ** 2 - 4 * A * C) ** 0.5



COBOL Computing Verbs 

COMPUTE SALARY = HRS * RATE
MULTIPLY HRS BY RATE GIVING SALARY

COMPUTE BALANCE = BALANCE + DEPOSIT
ADD DEPOSIT TO BALANCE

COMPUTE NET-PAY = GROSS-PAY - TAX - FICA - INS-PREM
SUBTRACT TAX FICA INS-PREM FROM GROSS-PAY GIVING NET-PAY

COMPUTE MONTHLY-SAL = ANN-SAL / 12
DIVIDE ANN-SAL BY 12 GIVING MONTHLY-SAL