Structure of a COBOL Program:

Every COBOL program should have the 4 divisions in the order in which they are specified below:

1. Identification division

2. Environment Division

3. Data Division

4. Procedure Division

In the Identification division the particulars about the author, date of writing the program etc will be specified.

In the Environment division, the particulars about the computer environment under which the program was compiled and written etc. will be informed.

In the Data division, the variables which are used by the program will be defined and it is a significant division for the program.

In the procedure division, the programming statements will be written and it is the most important division.

Under the divisions there are different sections intended for specific purposes. To name a few, the working-storage section and File section come under the Data division. Their aim will be to allocate memory space for the variables and to notify the files which are to be used with the program.

The statement of a COBOL program can be written in one or more coding lines. To carry on in the next line one has to use the hyphen (-) in the column 7.