--- title: "25 Top COBOL Recently asked Interview Questions" description: "COBOL interview questions of type multiple choice you can read and learn quickly to your next interview." url: https://srinimf.com/2015/11/23/25-awesome-things-you-can-learn-from-these-cobol-interview-questions/ date: 2015-11-23 modified: 2026-10-10 author: "Srini" image: https://i0.wp.com/srinimf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cobol-25-top-interview-questions.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1 categories: ["COBOL"] tags: ["COBOL Tips and Tricks", "Interview Questions"] type: post lang: en --- # 25 Top COBOL Recently asked Interview Questions COBOL top 25 questions gives you confidence for interviews and [to use](https://srinimf.com/2015/06/22/sample-cobol-date-program-for-mainframe-projects/) in your current projects. **1. Which one of the following is an INCORRECT specification for a data-nme?** 1. LAST-NAME 2. 1234 3. 12A3 4. SALES **2. Which of the following is an INVALID paragraph name ?** 1. a) 999 2. b) A-1 3. c) A+1 4. d) XX9 **3. Level numbers range from _____  to _____ .** 1. a) 00,  49 2. b) 01,  50 3. c) 01,  49 4. d) 00,  50 **4. Two data names at the same level within a record must** 1. be unique 2. not necessarily unique 3. necessarily unique 4. none of the above **5.With COBOL 85 the use of the word FILLER?** 1. cannot be ommitted 2. is used to report memory usage 3. can be omitted entirely 4. is a form feed control command to the printer **6. The maximum number of digits in a numeric item is?** 1. a) 16 2. b) 17 3. c) 18 4. d) 20 **7. Which of the following is not a VALID [COBOL figurative](https://srinimf.com/2016/03/15/the-modern-rules-of-cobol-figurative-constants/) constant?** 1. ZERO 2. ZEROS 3. ONES 4. QUOTES **8. A  STOP RUN statement?** 1. must appear only once in a program 2. can appear in several places in a program 3. was not available in COBOL 74 4. is used to stop the printer. **9. The VALUE clause** 1. is used to obtain the value of a variable. 2. is used to initialise a variable to a certain value. 3. cannot be used in the data division  of a program. 4. cannot be used to initialise a  nonnumeric varaible. **10.Which of the following declarations is essential in the IDENTIFICATION DIVISION?** a) DATE-COMPILED. b) PROGRAM-ID. **11.When the UNTIL option is used with PERFORM verb, the condition is tested** a) before b)  after c) before and after d) not at all **12.The association between a file-name and physical device on which the file reside is established by the select statement which should appear in :** (a) FILE section. ENVIRONMENT division. (b) FILE-CONTROL paragraph, INPUT-OUTPUT section, ENVIRONMENT, division. (c) CONFIGURATION section, ENVIRONMENT division. (d) FILE section, DATA division. **13.The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause can be applied to** a)Numeric edited items b)Alphanumeric edited items c) Both of the above d) is not a valid clause in COBOL – 85 **14.One of the following correctly describe the concepts of ‘statement’ and ‘sentence’ in COBOL:** (a) A COBOL sentence is a sequence [of COBOL](https://srinimf.com/2016/01/07/5-top-limitations-of-cobol-search-all/) sentences, the last of which is     terminated by a period. (b) A COBOL sentence is a sequence of COBOL statements, the last of which is   terminated by a period. (c) T[here is](https://srinimf.com/2016/02/01/how-to-give-vb-record-in-linkage-section/) no concept of ‘sentence’ in COBOL. English sentences can, however, appear in comment lines. (d) The concept of ‘sentence’ and ‘statement’ are identical in COBOL. **15. Use of the EXTEND option with the OPEN verb causes the file to be positioned** a) at the first record b) at the last record c) after the last record d) before the last record **16.The Procedure Division entry for the called program includes a ______ clause.** a) GIVING b) USING c) VALUE d) PIC **17.IF CHAR-1 < CHAR-2** WRITE  LINE-1 ELSE WRITE  LINE-2 If  before executing  this statement, CHAR-1 contains alphanumeric literal ‘1’  and CHAR-2 contains alphanumeric literl ‘A’  then … a) LINE-1 is always written. b) LINE-2 is always written. c) Action depends on the computer system on which the program is run. d) compiler error results. **18.IF PAY-CODE = ‘A’** ``` IF PAY-BASIC < 500 MOVE 0 TO PAY-DEDUCT ELSE   IF  PAY-BASIC < 1000  MOVE 120 TO PAY-DEDUCT ELSE  MOVE 150 TO PAY-DEDUCT ELSE MOVE 80 TO PAY-DEDUCT. COMPUTE PAY-DEDUCT  =  PAY-DEDUCT   *  0.9. If this program segment is entered with  PAY-CODE = ‘B’, PAY-BASIC = 900   AND    PAY-DEDUCT = 90 the resulting value of PAY-DEDUCT will be ... ``` a) 0 b) 72 c) 108 d) 135 **19.What is the correct interpretation of the statement** PERFORM   B010-PROCESS-PARA  UNTIL  STATUS = 1. a) Do the paragraph B010-PROCESS-PARA once if STATUS has a value of b) Keep repeating paragraph B010-PROCESS-PARA as long as STATUS has a  value 1. c) Keep repeating paragraph B010-PROCESS-PARA as long as STATUS has a value  other  than d) Do the paragraph B010-PROCESS-PARA once if STATUS has a value  other than 1. **20.In the choices below, a level number is followed by a COBOL clause is expected to go with the data descrtption at that level. Which of them is an incorrect pair?** (a) 01 PICTURE (b) 10   REDEFINES (c) 20   RENAMES (d) 88   VALUES **21. The function of the SYNCHRONIZED clause is to ensure that:** (a) The data-name begins or/and ends at a word boundary for word oriented computers. (b) The record begins or/and ends at a word boundary for word oriented computers. (c) The record always stays at a disk sector (disk segment) boundary for disk files. (d) The data-name assumes binary and not DISPLAYnumber representation. **22.The data-name LINE-1 has following FILE section entry:** 05 LINE-1 PIC X(25) The effect fo the statement … MOVE SPACE TO LINE-1 would be to : (a) Move spaces to all the bytes of LINE-1. (b) Move a single space to the first byte of LINE-1 leaving the others unchanged. (c) Move a single space to the last byte of LINE-1 leaving the others unchanged. (d) Nove of the above. **23.Indicate which one of the following is not a valid form of PERFORM statement.** (a) PERFORM P1 THREE TIMES. (b) PERFORM P1 VARYING I FROM 1 BY 1 UNTIL I > 3. (c) PERFORM P1 UNTIL MORETHAN3. (d) PERFORM P1 THRICE. (e) PERFORM P1 UNTIL THREE > 3. **24.The following statement is used in a COBOL program:** PERFORM UPDATE-INPUT UNTIL DONE. Related[COBOL 66 Level Useful Example](https://srinimf.com/2015/03/13/66-level-in-cobol-advantage/) (a) DONE is a data-name whose value gets decremented at each entry of the paragraph. (b) DONE is a data-name whose value gets decremented at each exit of the paragraph. (c) DONE is a data-name whose value gets defined in an exception heading section. (d) DONE is a condition name. **25.Which one of the following is NOTcorrect?** (a) ADD A, B GIVING C, D. (b) ADD CORRESPONDING A TO (c) ADD A TO B GIVING C. (d) ADD A TO B, C TO D. **26.Which of the following is incorrect?** (a) MULTIPLY A BY B GIVING C. (b) MULTIPLY A INTO B. (c) DIVIDE A BY B GIVING C. (d) DIVIDE A INTO B. **27.Which one of the following if NOT a PROCEDURE DIVISION verb?** (a) ADD (b) SUBTRACT (c) INSERT (d) DELETE ### 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%2F2015%2F11%2F23%2F25-awesome-things-you-can-learn-from-these-cobol-interview-questions%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fsrinimf.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F11%2Fcobol-25-top-interview-questions.jpg%3Ffit%3D1200%252C900%26ssl%3D1&description=25%20Top%20COBOL%20Recently%20asked%20Interview%20Questions) - - [Share on Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/share) - [Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp](https://srinimf.com/2015/11/23/25-awesome-things-you-can-learn-from-these-cobol-interview-questions/?share=jetpack-whatsapp) - [More](#) - - [Print (Opens in new window) Print](https://srinimf.com/2015/11/23/25-awesome-things-you-can-learn-from-these-cobol-interview-questions/?share=print) - [Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit](https://srinimf.com/2015/11/23/25-awesome-things-you-can-learn-from-these-cobol-interview-questions/?share=reddit) - [Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram](https://srinimf.com/2015/11/23/25-awesome-things-you-can-learn-from-these-cobol-interview-questions/?share=telegram) - [Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email](mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%2025%20Top%20COBOL%20Recently%20asked%20Interview%20Questions&body=https%3A%2F%2Fsrinimf.com%2F2015%2F11%2F23%2F25-awesome-things-you-can-learn-from-these-cobol-interview-questions%2F&share=email) - ### Like this: Like Loading…