COBOL MOVE Statement

COBOL MOVE Statement

The MOVE statement transfers data from one data item to another. It is one of the most frequently used statements in COBOL.

Syntax

MOVE identifier-1/literal TO identifier-2 [identifier-3 ...]

Types of MOVE

1. Elementary MOVE - Moving data between elementary items 2. Group MOVE - Moving data between group items 3. MOVE CORRESPONDING - Moving matching fields between groups

Example Program

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. MOVE-DEMO.

       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 WS-SOURCE      PIC X(10) VALUE 'HELLO     '.
       01 WS-TARGET      PIC X(10).
       01 WS-NUM-SOURCE  PIC 9(5)  VALUE 12345.
       01 WS-NUM-TARGET  PIC 9(5).
       01 WS-EDITED      PIC Z,ZZ9.

       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
           MOVE WS-SOURCE TO WS-TARGET
           DISPLAY 'Alphanumeric MOVE: ' WS-TARGET

           MOVE WS-NUM-SOURCE TO WS-NUM-TARGET
           DISPLAY 'Numeric MOVE: ' WS-NUM-TARGET

           MOVE WS-NUM-SOURCE TO WS-EDITED
           DISPLAY 'Edited MOVE: ' WS-EDITED

           STOP RUN.

Expected Output

Alphanumeric MOVE: HELLO
Numeric MOVE: 12345
Edited MOVE: 12,345

Key Points

• Alphanumeric moves are left-justified with space padding
• Numeric moves are right-justified with zero padding
• MOVE respects PICTURE clause editing