Murach's Structured Cobol: Training and Reference (Murach: Training & Reference) [Paperback]

This book does something no other COBOL book does -- it teaches how to develop COBOL programs using a PC-based compiler (ideal for individuals) as well as on a mainframe (the environment where 80 per cent of all COBOL programming is done). This realistic slant and the emphasis on the structured programming methods that professionals use, make this book the ideal choice for anyone who wants to learn COBOL.

If you're new to COBOL, this is the right book for training, either in a classroom or on your own. You'll be writing production programs far more quickly-and with far more confidence-than you can using any other COBOL book or course. I guarantee it! But more than that, this is the best COBOL reference you can find anywhere.

Don't know how to code a streamlined EVALUATE statement instead of a complex nested IF? Turn to page 198. Have to develop a program that edits a file of input transactions, sorts them, and then uses them to update a master file? Look at the program in figure 16-9, then copy the code from the companion CD-ROM to use as a starting point for your own code. Need to maintain a program with a Declaratives section and you're not sure how that works? Go to chapter 21, not just for information on Declaratives, but also for a practical look at the realities of maintenance programming.

In fact, each page is packed with the information COBOL programmers need every day. From COBOL statements to structured programming techniques to IBM mainframe specifics, no other book even comes close to giving you such practical coding examples and real-world advice. Get your copy today!

A quick look at the contents...

Section 1: Get started right with 5 chapters that teach you how to write, compile, test, and debug COBOL programs that prepare multi-level reports using the structured methods the top professionals use.

Section 2: Learn special-purpose features as you need them, intrinsic functions, copy libraries and subprograms, working with dates and characters, dealing with leftover Y2K code, table handling, and more!

Section 3: File handling and everything you need to know to design and code structured programs that handle sequential, indexed, and relative files.

Section 4: COBOL for specific platforms. Round out your knowledge of COBOL in the workplace. Learn how to: develop interactive programs on a PC; compile and test programs on a mainframe; code CICS and DB2 programs on a mainframe; maintain old programs; and use object-oriented COBOL.

When we decided to update our Structured ANS COBOL books, we re-thought our approach from scratch. We wanted our new edition to be a terrific tool for beginners, but we also wanted it to be an indispensable reference for programmers on the job.

The result is Murach's Structured COBOL, and there isn't another COBOL book that even comes close to matching the value it delivers. If you're new to COBOL, you'll know more at the end of the first 5 chapters than you will from reading other COBOL books cover to cover. If you're already working in a COBOL shop, you'll rely on this book every day for information on coding details, statements you don't know about, better ways of programming, and the realities of working in an IBM mainframe shop.

What's more, all the information is presented in such a concise, time-saving way, you can find out what you want to know, when you want to know it, no matter how rushed you are. Try it yourself...you'll find it's an essential addition to your COBOL library.

Mike Murach, Anne Prince and Raul Menendez