--- title: "Cobol Tough Questions (1 of 3)" description: "COBOL tough interview questions part 1 of 3" url: https://srinimf.com/2012/01/01/cobol-tough-questions-1-of-3/ date: 2012-01-01 modified: 2026-10-10 author: "Srini" image: https://i0.wp.com/srinimf.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cobol-tough-questions-1-of-3.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1 categories: ["COBOL"] tags: ["COBOL Interview Questions", "COBOL Tips and Tricks"] type: post lang: en --- # Cobol Tough Questions (1 of 3) [Here is](https://srinimf.com/2016/02/01/how-to-give-vb-record-in-linkage-section/) [Cobol](http://astore.amazon.com/mainframesrin-20/detail/0471722618/175-8343130-5378911) [tough questions](https://srinimf.com/2012/02/28/cics-tough-questions-2of-3/): Related[COBOL OCCURS Clause How to Code Correctly](https://srinimf.com/2015/12/26/3-ingenious-cobol-occurs-examples-that-you-never-miss/) **1. What is the relation between INITIAL and BY CONTENT?** When you choose to use the **initial **in the main program, which means whenever you invoke, its state comes to the **initial** – all the working storage values remain the same as before-and-after the call. Related[COBOL: Indexed BY Vs USAGE Vs OCCURS](https://srinimf.com/2015/07/20/mainframe-cobol-occurs-indexed-byusage-is-index-1-of-2/) When you pass values to the sub-Program, by calling it using  **BY CONTENT, **see the below example, those values remain the same – not initialized. Related[COBOL: How to Initialize Pointer Variable an Example](https://srinimf.com/2015/09/07/cobol-usage-is-pointer-data-item/) Call ‘sub’ using by content A1 ==> Main Progrm Related[COBOL String modification idea using pointer statement](https://srinimf.com/2012/03/28/cobol-string-modification/) Procedure division using A1 ==> [Sub program](https://srinimf.com/2016/04/06/cics-sample-program-for-xctl/) **2. When STRING is a [pointer variable](https://srinimf.com/2015/12/31/how-to-pass-cobol-pointer-data-items-in-call-by-reference/), how many non-black characters the variable WC-count will have**?** ** ``` Move 1 to WC-count String first-name delimited by ' ' Into Name-out With POINTER WC-count. ``` **3. The last statement in the [called program](https://srinimf.com/2017/03/02/cobol-call-by-reference-and-call-by-content/) is ‘EXIT PROGRAM’ or ‘GO BACK’?** Here is my previous post on [Exit Program and Go BACK](https://srinimf.com/2015/10/04/cobol-subroutine-why-exit-program-is-mandatory/). **4. Array within the array?** ``` 01 Table occurs 10.    03 field-1 pic xxx.    03 sub1table pic 9(5) occurs 5.   03 field-2 pic 99. It is then possible to refer to an entire record: table (IDX) or a field in it: field-1 (IDX) or a field in a sub-table: sub-table (IDX1, IDX2). ``` **Related posts** - [COBOL: How to Use PERFORM Varying Correctly](https://srinimf.com/2015/07/24/mainframe-cobol-occurs-indexed-byusage-is-index-2-of-2/)DateJuly 24, 2015 - [COBOL VB Files – Top Interview Questions](https://srinimf.com/2015/02/04/cobol-tough-interview-questions-on-vb-files/)DateFebruary 4, 2015 - [COBOL Tough Questions (2 of 3)](https://srinimf.com/2012/01/08/cobol-tough-questions-2-of-3/)DateJanuary 8, 2012 ### Share this: - - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) - [![](https://i0.wp.com/assets.pinterest.com/images/pidgets/pinit_fg_en_rect_gray_20.png)](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsrinimf.com%2F2012%2F01%2F01%2Fcobol-tough-questions-1-of-3%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fsrinimf.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F01%2Fcobol-tough-questions-1-of-3.jpg%3Ffit%3D1200%252C900%26ssl%3D1&description=Cobol%20Tough%20Questions%20%281%20of%203%29) - - [Share on Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/share) - [Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp](https://srinimf.com/2012/01/01/cobol-tough-questions-1-of-3/?share=jetpack-whatsapp) - [More](#) - - [Print (Opens in new window) Print](https://srinimf.com/2012/01/01/cobol-tough-questions-1-of-3/?share=print) - [Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit](https://srinimf.com/2012/01/01/cobol-tough-questions-1-of-3/?share=reddit) - [Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram](https://srinimf.com/2012/01/01/cobol-tough-questions-1-of-3/?share=telegram) - [Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email](mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Cobol%20Tough%20Questions%20%281%20of%203%29&body=https%3A%2F%2Fsrinimf.com%2F2012%2F01%2F01%2Fcobol-tough-questions-1-of-3%2F&share=email) - ### Like this: Like Loading…