data division

English

Noun

data division (plural data divisions)

  1. (computing) The part of a COBOL program in which the format and layout of external files and databases, and internally-used variables and constants are defined
    • 1971, Allen Kent, Harold Lancour, Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science:
      The data division is that portion of the program set aside to identify explicitly all the format characteristics of data received by the program, created within the program, and produced as output.
    • 1997, Peter Groves, Sourcebook on intellectual property law:
      It is best to define the variables within the data division before writing the procedure division.
    • 2002, Earl H. Parsons, Structured Programming with COBOL Examples:
      We use the data division to control the definition of these fields.

Usage notes
  • The term is capitalized (as DATA DIVISION) in the COBOL source code.
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