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COBOL Arithmetic Operations

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Arithmetic Verbs in COBOL

COBOL provides several verbs for performing arithmetic operations. These are designed to be readable and self-documenting.

ADD Statement

Used to add numeric values:

ADD A TO B - Adds A to B, result stored in B
ADD A B TO C - Adds A and B to C
ADD A TO B GIVING C - Adds A to B, stores result in C

SUBTRACT Statement

Used to subtract numeric values:

SUBTRACT A FROM B - Subtracts A from B, result in B
SUBTRACT A FROM B GIVING C - Result stored in C

MULTIPLY Statement

Used to multiply numeric values:

MULTIPLY A BY B - Multiplies A by B, result in B
MULTIPLY A BY B GIVING C - Result stored in C

DIVIDE Statement

Used to divide numeric values:

DIVIDE A INTO B - Divides B by A, result in B
DIVIDE A INTO B GIVING C - Result stored in C
DIVIDE A INTO B GIVING C REMAINDER D - With remainder

COMPUTE Statement

The COMPUTE statement allows complex arithmetic expressions using standard operators:

+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
** Exponentiation

Important Options

ROUNDED - Rounds the result
ON SIZE ERROR - Handles overflow conditions

Code Example

       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       ARITHMETIC-EXAMPLES.

       * ADD examples
           ADD 10 TO WS-COUNT.
           ADD WS-A WS-B TO WS-C.
           ADD WS-PRICE TO WS-TOTAL GIVING WS-GRAND-TOTAL.

       * SUBTRACT examples
           SUBTRACT 5 FROM WS-COUNT.
           SUBTRACT WS-DISCOUNT FROM WS-PRICE
               GIVING WS-NET-PRICE.

       * MULTIPLY examples
           MULTIPLY WS-QTY BY WS-PRICE.
           MULTIPLY WS-HOURS BY WS-RATE
               GIVING WS-GROSS-PAY ROUNDED.

       * DIVIDE examples
           DIVIDE WS-TOTAL BY WS-COUNT GIVING WS-AVERAGE.
           DIVIDE WS-AMOUNT BY 12
               GIVING WS-MONTHLY
               REMAINDER WS-REMAINING.

       * COMPUTE examples
           COMPUTE WS-RESULT = WS-A + WS-B - WS-C.
           COMPUTE WS-AREA = 3.14159 * WS-RADIUS ** 2.
           COMPUTE WS-TAX = WS-AMOUNT * 0.18 ROUNDED
               ON SIZE ERROR
                   DISPLAY "OVERFLOW ERROR"
               NOT ON SIZE ERROR
                   DISPLAY "TAX CALCULATED"
           END-COMPUTE.

           STOP RUN.