When working with COBOL structures, what does the POINTER clause indicate?
- It allocates memory for the structure in a sequential manner.
- It defines a pointer variable that holds the memory address of the structure.
- It specifies the starting position of the structure in memory.
- The POINTER clause in COBOL indicates the address of the current occurrence of a table or array.
The POINTER clause is used in COBOL to indicate the address of the current occurrence of a table or array, enabling efficient traversal and manipulation of structured data.
What is the primary purpose of using data types in COBOL?
- To control the flow of the program.
- To define the size of a program.
- To describe the data structure of variables.
- To specify the color of a variable.
In COBOL, data types are used to describe the structure and nature of variables, allowing the program to work with different types of data effectively.
The _____ clause is used to declare the initial value of a COBOL constant.
- ASSIGN
- DEFAULT
- INITIAL
- VALUE
In COBOL, the VALUE clause is used to declare the initial value of a constant. It allows you to assign a value to a data item at the time of its declaration.
The ______ condition handler in COBOL allows you to define custom error-handling logic based on specific conditions.
- CONDITION-CONTROL
- CONDITION-HANDLER
- HANDLER-CONDITION
- HANDLING-CONDITION
The CONDITION-HANDLER in COBOL enables the programmer to define custom error-handling logic based on specific conditions. It provides a way to handle errors or exceptional situations in a tailored manner.
A group item in COBOL can contain multiple elementary items and is defined using the _________ keyword.
- FILLER
- GROUP
- OCCURS
- REDEFINES
In COBOL, a group item is defined using the GROUP keyword. It allows for the grouping of multiple elementary items under a common name for organizational and hierarchical structuring of data.
What role does the "SORT" operation play in optimizing file handling performance in COBOL?
- It arranges data in ascending order for readability
- It helps in sorting large files for efficient processing
- It is used to concatenate multiple files
- It optimizes file storage for faster retrieval
The "SORT" operation in COBOL is used to arrange data in a specified order, facilitating efficient processing of large files by enabling easier retrieval based on the sorted key.
In COBOL, which operator is used for addition?
- * (Multiply)
- + (Plus)
- - (Minus)
- / (Divide)
The addition operation in COBOL is represented by the plus (+) operator. It is used to add two or more numeric values in COBOL programs.
In a multi-user COBOL application, two users are attempting to update the same record in a file simultaneously. How can you prevent conflicts and ensure that only one user can update the record at a time?
- Apply transaction rollback on conflicts
- Enable file versioning
- Implement record-level locking
- Use a semaphore mechanism
To prevent conflicts when multiple users are updating the same record simultaneously, implementing record-level locking is crucial. This ensures that only one user can update the record at a time, avoiding conflicts and maintaining data consistency.
Which file organization type is best suited for situations where records are frequently added and deleted?
- Indexed organization
- Line sequential organization
- Relative organization
- Sequential organization
Indexed organization is best suited for situations where records are frequently added and deleted. It provides efficient access to records through keys, allowing for dynamic record management.
The _____ clause in COBOL allows you to redefine a data item to have a different data type.
- ALTER
- OCCURS
- REDEFINES
- RENAMES
The REDEFINES clause in COBOL allows you to redefine a data item to have a different data type. This enables efficient memory utilization by sharing storage space between different data items.