ACCEPT FROM in COBOL

ACCEPT reads system values — the date and the clock — without touching the keyboard.

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. ACCEPT-DATE.
DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 TODAY-YMD   PIC 9(8).
01 CLOCK-HMS   PIC 9(8).
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
*> ACCEPT FROM reads system values instead of the keyboard.
    ACCEPT TODAY-YMD FROM DATE YYYYMMDD
    ACCEPT CLOCK-HMS FROM TIME
    DISPLAY "Log opened " TODAY-YMD " at " CLOCK-HMS
    STOP RUN.

How it works

1. Two PIC 9(8) fields wait for the date and the time.
2. ACCEPT TODAY-YMD FROM DATE YYYYMMDD asks for the four-digit-year form.
3. ACCEPT ... FROM TIME delivers hours through hundredths, and DISPLAY prints both raw.

Keywords and builtins used here

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

The run, in numbers

Lines

12

Characters to type

341

Tokens

42

Three-star pace

40 tpm

At the three-star pace of 40 tokens a minute, this run takes about 63 seconds.

Type this snippet

Step 3 of 3 in The program shape, step 3 of 27 in Language basics.

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