Declaring numeric variable to handle more than 31 digits

Ranjith741 · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2013 Posts: 9 Location: India

Hi,

I want to declare a Working Storage variable in the program

10 XYZ-AMT PIC S9(18)V9(18).

I have tried the compiler option CBL ARITH(EXTEND) but it is allowing a maximum of 31 digits.

Can anyone suggest any ideas to handle 36 digits numeric variable.

Thanks in advance.

Rohit Umarjikar · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 12:41 pm

Why is there a need to have more than 31? what is the source for your program?

Ranjith741 · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2013 Posts: 9 Location: India

Actually this program is designed to be used as a currency coverter alongwith some business logic. Hence each digit after decimal point matters

Nic Clouston · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:08 pm

Go see the person who specified the program logic. ask them how many decimals should be used. Generally no more than 5 or 6 should be required.

Rohit Umarjikar · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:31 pm

enrico-sorichetti · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:49 pm

Bill Woodger · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:06 pm

If you really feel that you need 36 digits it is simple.

You define one field of 18 for the integer part, and an second field of 18 for the decimal part.

Then you process them separately.

Would this be necessary for a currency-conversion? Not in the least, it would be absurd, but if it's The Requirement...

Ranjith741 · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2013 Posts: 9 Location: India

Bill Woodger · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 3:15 pm

I think you should take at least one shot at talking to them about this. What do they need 18 integer digits for? 123,456,789,123,456,789. In any existing traded currency, that is far bigger than could be needed excluding massive hyper-inflation.

Unless reporting to an absurd and useless number of decimals, you will never need anywhere near 18 digits.

Even using extended-double-precision (or whatever it is called) floating point values, I don't think you can can 36 significant digits. In fact I'm certain you can't.

So what is the point of the whole thing?

If it makes no sense, you don't just do it without a struggle with them first, because it may mean that you have missed something (or they have).

Ranjith741 · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2013 Posts: 9 Location: India

Sure Bill. I will definitely raise this as a serious concern to right folks.

Just wanted to check all the available options before highlighting this as a genuine show stopper.

Robert Sample · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:13 pm

There is no way in COBOL to handle more than 31 digits as a single variable. If you cannot get the requirement changed to something more reasonable, you will have to use two variables for the data as suggested.

Bill O'Boyle · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:21 pm

I didn't think Turkish Lira was being used anymore?

seagull · New User Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 24 Location: Dublin

The only reason I can see for that number of decimals is someone wanting to know how many Zimbabwean dollars you get for £0.000000000000000001
Except that the Zimbabwean dollar is no longer in use.