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

PICTURE Character-Strings
PICTURE character-strings (character-strings in the PICTURE clause) use the COBOL character set
as described in PICTURE Clause (page 191). The editing characters in Table 14 specify the editing
operations that a process performs on data when storing it in data items. The compiler recognizes
these characters as editing characters only within PICTURE clauses. In all other places, these
characters follow the rules for character-strings and separators.
Table 14 PICTURE Character-String Editing Characters
Editing OperationCharacter
Space insertionB
Zero suppressionZ
Zero0
Plus+
Minus-
CreditCR
DebitDB
Check protect*
Dollar sign$
Comma or decimal point,
Period or decimal point.
Slash/
Comments
A comment-entry or a comment line can contain any combination of characters in the computer’s
character set. Both types of comments are character-strings that serve only to document a program.
A comment-entry follows a paragraph header in the Identification Division and can continue on
additional lines. A comment line is any line anywhere in the source text that has a comment
character in the indicator field.
76 Language Elements