CURRENT-DATE and slicing in COBOL

One function call returns the whole timestamp; reference modification slices it.

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. CURRENT-DATE-DEMO.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 NOW-STAMP  PIC X(21).
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
*> CURRENT-DATE returns 21 characters; (start:length) slices them.
    MOVE FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE TO NOW-STAMP
    DISPLAY "Year:  " NOW-STAMP(1:4)
    DISPLAY "Month: " NOW-STAMP(5:2)
    DISPLAY "Clock: " NOW-STAMP(9:2) ":" NOW-STAMP(11:2)
    STOP RUN.

How it works

1. FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE yields 21 characters: date, time, and zone offset.
2. NOW-STAMP(1:4) is reference modification — start position, then length.
3. Three slices pull the year, the month, and the clock out of one field.

Keywords and builtins used here

• DATA
• DISPLAY
• DIVISION
• IDENTIFICATION
• MOVE
• PROCEDURE
• SECTION
• STOP

The run, in numbers

Lines

12

Characters to type

376

Tokens

60

Three-star pace

40 tpm

At the three-star pace of 40 tokens a minute, this run takes about 90 seconds.

Type this snippet

Step 2 of 3 in Functions & calls, step 23 of 27 in Language basics.

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