COBOL Manual for TNS/E Programs (H06.08+, J06.03+)

8 Procedure Division
The Procedure Division is optional, but a program without a Procedure Division does nothing except
initialize data.
The Procedure Division is composed of statements, which specify the actions to be taken by the
program. The program does its work by executing the statements in their appropriate sequence.
The way you organize the statements not only governs the order in which they execute but also
can contribute to your program’s readability and maintainability.
You can organize statements into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and sentences and/or
paragraphs into sections. A paragraph, a group of successive paragraphs, a section, or a group
of successive sections can be executed as a unit called a procedure.
Figure 10 Relationship of Statements, Sentences, Paragraphs, and Sections
The Procedure Division can optionally include a Declaratives Portion. The Declaratives Portion is
a set of sections at the beginning of the Procedure Division. These sections are executed if specified
conditions arise during the execution of statements outside the Declaratives Portion.
Topics:
• Procedure Division Components and Syntax
• References to Data Items
• Common Semantic Rules
• Common Phrases
• Input-Output
• Arithmetic Operations
• Conditional Expressions
• Concatenation Expressions
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