COBOL PICTURE Clause

PICTURE clause specifies the characteristics of the variable while declaring it, i.e., variable type, length, etc.

Syntax -

 level-number variable-name 
				[PIC|PICTURE picture-symbol(variable-length)
				[VALUE literal]].

For example - Declaring a variable of alphabetic type to store a value HELLO.

 01 WS-VAR      PIC A(05) VALUE "HELLO".

• level-number - Specifies the level number of the declaration from 01 to 49. From the example, it is 01.
• variable-name - Specifies the name of the variable. From the example, it is WS-VAR.
• PIC - PIC is a short form for PICTURE
• picture-symbol (data-type-character) - Specifies the variable type. From the example, it is A (Alphabetic).
• variable-length - Specifies the variable length to store the data. From the example, it is 05 (variable length is 5).
• literal - Specifies the literal character string. From the example, it is HELLO.

Notes -

• PICTURE clause should code with every elementary and individual variable to specify its type and length.
• PICTURE clause not applicable to the below -
  • Index variables
  • RENAMES clause
  • Internal floating-point variables
  • 88-level number
  • COMP-1 and COMP-2 variables

PICTURE Symbol -

PICTURE symbol is the letter used to specify the type of the variable during its declaration. PICTURE symbols are two types -

• PICTURE symbol for data types
• PICTURE symbol for editing.

PICTURE Symbol for Data Types -

This type specifies the PICTURE symbols assigned for each data type in COBOL. Those are -

Data Type	PICTURE Symbol	Declaration Meaning
Alphabetic	A	Alphabetic character or space. Represents alphabetic data type. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output HELLO PIC A(5) HELLO
Numeric	9	Numeric character. Represents numeric data type. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 123 PIC 9(5) 00123 000123 PIC 9(4) 0123
Alphanumeric	X	Alphanumeric character or space. Represents alphanumeric data type. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output HELLO PIC X(5) HELLO HI PIC X(5) HI
Assumed decimal point	V	Represents the decimal point. It is not counted in the size of the variable/variable. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 123.45 PIC 999V99 12345 123.45 PIC 99V99 2345
Operational sign	S	Represents the Sign of the value. It is not counted in the size of the variable unless a SIGN clause with the SEPARATE CHARACTER phrase is specified. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output -123 PIC S999 12L +123 PIC S999 12C -123 PIC S999 SIGN IS LEADING SEPERATE CHARACTER -123 -123 PIC S999 SIGN IS TRAILING SEPERATE CHARACTER 123-

PICTURE Symbol for Editing -

PICTURE symbol for editing is used to display the data in the user's desired format. These are classified into two types, and those are -

1. Insertion editing - It is a way to format the data in the numeric variables, for displaying in human-readable format.

• Simple insertion - Simple insertion editing involves inserting , (comma), B (blank character), / (forward slash), 0 (Zero) in the PICTURE string while displaying for better readability.
• Special insertion - Special insertion editing is used to insert the decimal-point while displaying the decimal values of a variable. Special insertion symbols are - . (Dot).
• Fixed insertion - Fixed insertion editing is used to insert fixed characters (-, +, CR, DB, and $) into a numeric edited item.
• Floating insertion - Floating insertion editing is used for formatting numeric variables, mainly when dealing with currency values. The symbols are - currency (CS), plus (+), and minus (-).

2. ZERO suppression and replacement editing

Zero Suppression involves omitting leading zeros from a number, and replacement editing involves replacing leading zeros with another character, typically a space (B) or an asterisk (*).

Examples -

Below are the total PICTURE clause symbol list -

Symbol	Declaration Meaning
B	Space insertion character that represents numeric-edited and alphanumeric-edited character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 150682 PIC 99B99B99 15 06 82 15061982 PIC XXBXXBXXXX 15 06 1982
P	Decimal scaling position but not counted in size of variable. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 77 PIC 99P 77 77 PIC P99 77
Z	Zero suppression character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 123 PIC ZZZZZ. 123 000123 PIC ZZZZZZ. 123
0	Zero insertion character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 1234 PIC 990099. 120034 1234 PIC 999900. 123400
/	Slash insertion character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 150682 PIC 99/99/99. 15/06/82
,	Comma insertion character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 123456 PIC 999,999. 123,456 12345 PIC zzz,999. 12345
.	Decimal point or period editing control character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 1234.56 PIC 9999.99. 1234.56 1234.56 PIC 999.99. 234.56 1234.56 PIC 9999.9. 1234.5
+	Plus sign insertion editing control character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output +12345 PIC +9(5). +12345 -123 PIC +9(3). -123 -123 PIC 9(3)+. 123-
-	Minus sign editing control character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output -123 PIC -9(3). -123 +123 PIC +9(3). 123 -123 PIC 9(3)-. 123-
CR	Credit editing control character. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output +123 PIC 9(3)CR. 123 -123 PIC 9(3)CR. 123CR
DB	Debit editing control character or Check protect insertion character.For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output +123 PIC 9(3)DB. 123 -123 PIC 9(3)DB. 123DB
$	Currency symbol insertion character. $ is the default. For example - Input PICTURE Clause Output 000 PIC $,$$9.99. 0.00 90 PIC $$9.00. $90.00 12345 PIC $$,$$9. $2,345

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