COBOL

Question 1

In COBOL, who initiated the language development that was later sponsored by the Department of Defense?

Answer 1

Mary K. Hawes

Question 2

The philosophy of separating data descriptions from procedural instructions in COBOL was heavily influenced by this person.

Answer 2

Grace Hopper

Question 3

in what year when the landmark test proved COBOL’s machine independence by running the same program on RCA and Univac computers.

Answer 3

1960

Question 4

This consortium developed COBOL to provide a portable, English-like standard for commercial data processing.

Answer 4

CODASYL

Question 5

This computer scientist suggested the name “COBOL” during the initial development sprint.

Answer 5

Bob Bemer

Question 6

Version of COBOL that introduced structured programming features like scope terminators to eliminate “spaghetti code.”

Answer 6

COBOL-85

Question 7

This COBOL standard replaced portable arithmetic results with IEEE 754 data types.

Answer 7

COBOL 2014

Question 8

This major U.S. government agency manages approximately 60 million lines of COBOL code as of 2025.

Answer 8

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Question 9

This mandatory clause for elementary items in the Data Division defines the category, size, and format of the data.

Answer 9

PICTURE (PIC) Clause

Question 10

This clause specifies the internal storage format, such as DISPLAY, BINARY, or POINTER.

Answer 10

USAGE Clause

Question 11

In COBOL, this data type is strictly limited to letters and space characters.

Answer 11

Alphabetic (PIC A)

Question 12

Specialized operator used for pattern matching that evaluates whether a data item matches a defined regular expression.

Answer 12

LIKE

Question 13

This operator splits a single string into multiple substrings based on specific delimiters in COBOL.

Answer 13

UNSTRING

Question 14

System-reserved words that represent specific fixed values, such as ZERO, SPACE, or NULL.

Answer 14

Figurative Constants

Question 15

This division contains the executable instructions and execution logic in a COBOL program.

Answer 15

PROCEDURE DIVISION

Question 16

This implicitly defined special register returns the declared size of an identifier in bytes at compile time.

Answer 16

LENGTH OF

Question 17

This specific level number is used to define named constants for literal values or the results of constant expressions.

Answer 17

Level 78 (Constant-Names)

Question 18

This file organization uses one or more indexes to locate data by identifying key values and their corresponding record locations.

Answer 18

Indexed Files

Question 19

In fixed-format COBOL, this specific column contains an asterisk to mark a comment line.

Answer 19

Column 7

Question 20

This specific section within the Data Division is used to limit variables locally to a subprogram.

Answer 20

LINKAGE SECTION

Question 21

COBOL is inherently case-sensitive, meaning EMPLOYEE-NAME and employee-name are treated as completely different identifiers.
True or False

Answer 21

False (COBOL is not case-sensitive; identifiers are treated the same regardless of case)

Question 22

The COMPUTE statement in COBOL allows for familiar algebraic syntax instead of using multiple procedural verbs.
True or False

Answer 22

True

Question 23

COBOL supports abstract data types like sets, trees, and graphs natively as built-in structures. True or False

Answer 23

False (Sets, trees, and graphs are not natively supported and must be implemented using procedural logic and indexed files)

Question 24

In free-format COBOL, continuation of lines is done with a hyphen at the end of the line.
True or False

Answer 24

True

Question 25

COBOL evaluation of arithmetic expressions processes addition and subtraction prior to multiplication and division. True or False

Answer 25

False (Multiplication and division have higher precedence and are evaluated prior to addition and subtraction)

Question 26

The INITIALIZE statement in COBOL is an executable assignment statement used to reset a variable to its default values. True or False

Answer 26

True

Question 27

Parameters passed BY CONTENT in COBOL allow the subprogram to directly modify the original variable. True or False

Answer 27

False (BY CONTENT passes a copy; BY REFERENCE allows direct modification)

Question 28

The EXIT PROGRAM statement terminates the entire COBOL program and stops execution completely. True or False

Answer 28

False (EXIT PROGRAM ends a subprogram and returns to the caller; STOP RUN terminates the entire program)

Question 29

Recursive subprograms were natively supported in all versions of COBOL starting from COBOL 60. True or False

Answer 29

False (Traditional COBOL did not support recursion; it was introduced in COBOL 2002+ with the RECURSIVE keyword)

Question 30

COBOL achieves modular decomposition through the use of sections, paragraphs, and PERFORM statements. True or False

Answer 30

True

Question 31

In COBOL, the PICTURE (PIC) clause is considered a Noise Word. True or False

Answer 31

False (PIC is a Descriptive Keyword, not a Noise Word)

Question 32

A period is the mandatory terminator for every COBOL sentence. True or False

Answer 32

True

Question 33

COBOL 2002 launched Object-Oriented COBOL, introducing classes and encapsulated objects. True or False

Answer 33

True

Question 34

The PERFORM VARYING statement in COBOL functions similarly to a FOR loop in other programming languages. True or False

Answer 34

True

Question 35

Parallel processing and coroutines are natively supported in traditional batch-processing COBOL. True or False

Answer 35

False (Neither parallel processing nor coroutines are supported in traditional COBOL)

Question 36

What is the output of the following program snippet in COBOL? MOVE 10 TO COUNT. PERFORM UNTIL COUNT > 12 DISPLAY "Count: " COUNT ADD 1 TO COUNT END-PERFORM.

Answer 36

Count: 10 Count: 11 Count: 12

Question 37

What is the output of the following program snippet in COBOL? MOVE 20 TO AGE. IF AGE >= 18 THEN DISPLAY "Eligible" ELSE DISPLAY "Minor" END-IF.

Answer 37

Eligible

Question 38

What is the output of the following program snippet in COBOL? MOVE "B" TO GRADE. EVALUATE GRADE WHEN "A" DISPLAY "Excellent" WHEN "B" DISPLAY "Good" WHEN OTHER DISPLAY "Unknown" END-EVALUATE.

Answer 38

Good

Question 39

What is the output of the following program snippet in COBOL? COMPUTE RESULT = (2 + 3) * 4. DISPLAY RESULT.

Answer 39

20

Question 40

What is the output of the following program snippet in COBOL? PERFORM VARYING I FROM 1 BY 2 UNTIL I > 5 DISPLAY I END-PERFORM.

Answer 40

1 3 5

Question 43

Create a statement in COBOL that defines a variable named TOTAL-AMOUNT as a numeric type with 8 digits and an implied 2 decimal places.

Answer 43

01 TOTAL-AMOUNT PIC 9(8)V99.

Question 43

Create a statement in COBOL using the COMPUTE verb to calculate TAX as 15% (0.15) of GROSS-SALARY.

Answer 43

COMPUTE TAX = GROSS-SALARY * 0.15.

Question 44

Create a statement in COBOL that defines an array named MONTH-SALARY that occurs 12 times and holds a 5-digit numeric value.

Answer 44

05 MONTH-SALARY OCCURS 12 TIMES PIC 9(5).

Question 45

Create a conditional statement in COBOL that checks if BALANCE is less than 0, and if so, displays the string "Overdrawn".

Answer 45

IF BALANCE < 0 THEN DISPLAY "Overdrawn".

Question 46

Create a statement in COBOL that calls an external subprogram named "CALC-BONUS" passing the variable EMPLOYEE-ID by reference.

Answer 46

CALL "CALC-BONUS" USING BY REFERENCE EMPLOYEE-ID.

Question 47

This implicitly defined temporary storage is created by the compiler for statements like INSPECT, STRING, or UNSTRING.

Answer 47

Temporary Storage

Question 49

This IBM mainframe operating system is highly optimized for COBOL, wrapping it as RESTful APIs using z/OS Connect.

Answer 49

z/OS

Question 50

This specific symbol is used to indicate a floating comment anywhere on a line in free-format COBOL.

Answer 50

*>

Question 51

In fixed-format COBOL, this specific area spans columns 8-11 and is used for division, section, and paragraph headers.

Answer 51

Area A

Question 52

This category of keywords refers to words like IS, OF, THE, and IN that make COBOL resemble natural language but do not affect program execution.

Answer 52

Noise Words

Question 53

- The specific text format COBOL uses which requires explaining zones or areas.

Answer 53

Fixed Text Format (specifically mentioning zones/areas)

Question 54

- The category of keywords used in COBOL to improve readability without affecting the logic (e.g., "IS").

Answer 54

Noise Words (keywords used for readability like "IS")

Question 55

- The type of program used to translate COBOL source code into machine-readable format.

Answer 55

Compiler

Question 56

- The data structure used to handle ordered lists of data, often defined in the Data Division.

Answer 56

Arrays

Question 57

- The section of the manuscript that covers hardware implementations like IBM or VAX.

Answer 57

Hardware Implementation

Question 58

- COBOL is considered a "Free Format" language where indentation and zones do not matter. True or False

Answer 58

False – COBOL traditionally uses a Fixed Format with specific zones, though the outline mentions both.

Question 59

- A COBOL manuscript must include a table of contents and a cover page. True or False

Answer 59

True

Question 60

- COBOL supports complex data structures such as Trees and Graphs. True or False

Answer 60

True

Question 61

- "Implicit" and "Explicit" are two ways to declare constants and variables in a programming language. True or False

Answer 61

True

Question 62

Parallel processes and Coroutines are types of control-level structures. True or False

Answer 62

True

Question 63

- If you need to store a person's name that is exactly 20 characters long, what "Data-Level Structure" would you use (e.g., Array, String, or Record)?

Answer 63

Strings

Question 64

- In an expression like IF AGE > 18 AND STATUS = 'ACTIVE', identify the Boolean Operators being used.

Answer 64

AND (Boolean Operator).

Question 65

- Look at the following snippet: ADD 1 TO COUNTER. Identify the Action Keyword and the Identifier.

Answer 65

Action Keyword: ADD; Identifier: COUNTER

Question 66

- You want a program to repeat a calculation until a user types 'QUIT'. Which iteration type from the outline is best suited for this (Pre-test or Post-test)?

Answer 66

Iteration (Post-test) – Typically used when the loop must run at least once before checking the "QUIT" condition.

Question 67

- If a large COBOL program is broken down into smaller, manageable parts to hide complex information, what "Program Abstraction" principle is being applied?

Answer 67

Information Hiding (or Modular Decomposition)

Question 68

COBOL stands for

Answer 68

Common Business-Oriented Language