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Q: Explain EXTERNAL clause

Answer:
EXTERNAL allows data sharing between separately compiled programs. 01 WS-SHARED PIC X(100) EXTERNAL. All programs with same EXTERNAL name share same storage. Use for global data without passing parameters. Be careful with initialization.
external sharing programs
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Q: What is LOCAL-STORAGE SECTION?

Answer:
LOCAL-STORAGE SECTION is reinitialized each invocation. Unlike WORKING-STORAGE which retains values. Each thread gets own copy. Useful for recursive programs and threaded environments. COBOL-85+ feature. Not all compilers support equally.
local-storage initialization threads
COBOL
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Q: What is VALUE clause?

Answer:
VALUE initializes data items. 05 WS-FLAG PIC X VALUE 'Y'. 05 WS-COUNT PIC 9(3) VALUE ZEROS. 05 WS-TABLE OCCURS 5 VALUE 'INIT'. Figurative constants: SPACES, ZEROS, LOW-VALUES, HIGH-VALUES, QUOTES. Cannot use with REDEFINES target.
value initialization data
COBOL
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Q: Explain FUNCTION LENGTH

Answer:
FUNCTION LENGTH returns byte count. FUNCTION LENGTH(field-name). For group items, includes all subordinates. For variable OCCURS, actual current length. Use in COMPUTE, MOVE, comparisons. Often used with STRING pointer initialization.
length function size