Murach's Structured COBOL [Paperback]

Mike Murach (Author), Anne Prince (Author), Raul Menendez (Author)

Book Description

Series: Murach: Training & Reference | Publication Date: September 2000

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.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Please note: Murach’s Structured COBOL, ISBN: 1890774057 has been replaced by Murach’s Mainframe COBOL, ISBN: 1890774243. When Micro Focus dropped Personal COBOL, a PC compiler, we published Murach’s Mainframe COBOL, ISBN: 1890774243, in which all examples of PC COBOL have been dropped...a much cleaner presentation. And to make the new book even better for mainframe training, we added two chapters to the IBM Environment section.

We’re happy to return to straight mainframe COBOL because 95% of COBOL runs on mainframes and that’s where the customer base for training books is. In the business world, mainframe systems are still "alive" and run billions of line of code that must be maintained etc. So Murach’s Mainframe COBOL, freshens our mainframe line and ties in with our best-selling, classic books on OS/390 and z/OS JCL (1890774146), CICS (189077409X), and DB2 (1890774022).

About the Author

Mike Murach, Anne Prince and Raul Menendez

Product Details

• Paperback: 780 pages
• Publisher: Mike Murach & Associates (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890774057
• ISBN-13: 978-1890774059
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you write COBOL programs (or want to), you need this book, October 16, 2000

By 

Jay Moseley (Abilene, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murach's Structured COBOL (Paperback)

Structured COBOL is a brand new addition to the excellent catalog of mainframe computer programming books published by Mike Murach and Associates. If you are programming on the IBM mainframe platform, or intend to be, this is a title you should have on your desk. Although beginning programmers are included in the target audience, the real value of this material will be as a reference for on-the-job programmers.

At more than 760 pages, it covers everything you would need to research. Information is presented in an innovative format where each page of narrative is paired with a facing page containing a concise statement of COBOL syntax, suggested guidelines for the use of the COBOL feature, and one or more practical examples of the feature in code.

If you are a beginning programmer, the coverage of structured design, coding, and testing methodology is the best I have ever seen. Used as a text to learn COBOL, the language syntax is designed to be generic enough to work under any COBOL compiler. The chapters of the first section of the book are intended to be read in sequence as the information they provide each builds on the prior chapter. You will be writing COBOL code beginning in chapter 2. The remaining sections cover advanced, special-purpose features and techniques and may be read in the order that best suits the reader.

Although the COBOL coding is generic enough to be useful on any platform and compiler, the ultimate goal of the book is aimed at the IBM mainframe environment. The last section of the text covers such IBM specific topics as using ISPF and SDSF to edit, compile, and debug a COBOL program. It also includes sections on designing COBOL programs to run under CICS and to access DB2 databases.

As with all Murach books, the focus of Structured COBOL is getting real work done in the real world. All of the example code in the book can be applied directly to real world situations: dealing with pre-2000 dates in legacy programs, updating sequential files using matching record techniques, and creating and updating indexed datasets with primary only or primary plus alternate record keys. There is even a section describing how to deal with maintenance on programs written prior to the advent of structured design methods.

If you are looking for a single COBOL book for your library, take a look at Murach's Structured COBOL.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Murach's Structured COBOL, February 5, 2004

By 

Peter Sterwe (Täby Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murach's Structured COBOL (Paperback)

I've just browsed this book, which was delivered just 5 minutes ago, but I was very disapointed. Most examples are still in the old fashion COBOL way from the 70's and are not taking advantage of "Mixed Case", "Scope Terminators"(not even mentioned in the index), which makes a COBOL program structured. Use of the "full stop (.)" should be forbidden, where it's not needed, and that's only at the end of a paragraph. Using "MOVE 'Y' TO EOF_SWITCH" instead of "Set EOF to True" even more disqualifies this book as a "structured programming" book, which should be more up-to-date in thinking of how to use Cobol. The examples on OO-Cobol seem to be ok, maybe written by another author?
This book is of course a good reference for Cobol programmers, but I was expecting a more "modern" aproach to using the Cobol language and have examples "extremly" structured and in every minute take advantage of possibilities available in the language. Younger programmers are used to other structured languages, e.g Visual Basic and Java, and should be informed that the Cobol language is not a "left over from the 60's" but is is real structured programming language. Old programs have to be rewritten or Cobol will not survive. My expectation was that Murach would help us, but this is not really the case!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to code, compile, test, and debug interactive programs, February 14, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murach's Structured COBOL (Paperback)

Murach's Structured COBOL is a complete course in the use of COBOL in a single 780-page volume. Mike Murach, Anne Prince, and Raul Menendez collaborate to cover all aspects from getting started and special-purpose features to file handling and the use of COBOL for specific platforms. Readers will learn how to code, compile, test, and debug interactive programs; the best techniques for designing and coding structured programs; the specifics necessary for developing programs for IBM mainframes; fourteen full programs and dozens of coding examples to enable the coding of the reader's own programs; and exercises at the end of each chapter to provide a maximum amount of applied practice in a minimum of time on your own personal computer. The informative, "user friendly" text is accompanied by a CD-ROM. Murach's Structured COBOL is very highly recommended for the novice approaching COBOL for the first time, and has much of value for even the seasoned, experienced COBOL user.