💻 COBOL

COBOL STOP Statement

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COBOL STOP Statement

The STOP statement terminates program execution or pauses for operator response.

Syntax

STOP RUN
STOP literal

Example Program

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. STOP-DEMO.

       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 WS-ERROR-FLAG  PIC 9 VALUE 0.
          88 HAS-ERROR   VALUE 1.
          88 NO-ERROR    VALUE 0.
       01 WS-RETURN-CODE PIC S9(4) COMP VALUE 0.

       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       MAIN-PARA.
           DISPLAY 'Program starting...'

           PERFORM PROCESS-DATA

           IF HAS-ERROR
               MOVE 8 TO WS-RETURN-CODE
               MOVE WS-RETURN-CODE TO RETURN-CODE
               DISPLAY 'Ending with error'
               STOP RUN
           END-IF

           DISPLAY 'Normal completion'
           MOVE 0 TO RETURN-CODE
           STOP RUN.

       PROCESS-DATA.
           DISPLAY 'Processing data...'
           SET NO-ERROR TO TRUE.

Expected Output

Program starting...
Processing data...
Normal completion

GOBACK vs STOP RUN

STOP RUN	GOBACK
Terminates run unit	Returns to caller
Main program use	Subprogram use
Closes all files	Preserves caller's files

Key Points

STOP RUN terminates the entire run unit
GOBACK returns control to calling program
Set RETURN-CODE before STOP RUN for batch jobs
STOP literal pauses execution (rarely used)