COBOL-the language of business data processing -- has been used for accounting systems, inventory control, database maintenance, payroll systems, and many other applications. With the help of COBOL For Dummies, you'll read and understand existing COBOL programs as well as write programs of your own. This book contains everything you need to know to store and retrieve data in files, perform calculations necessary for business operations, and organize and format data for presentation on paper and on the computer screen. Inside, find helpful advice on how to Choose the right solutions for the year 2000 problem Use simple, step-by-step processes for defining different types of file organizations and accesses Create PICTURE clauses to store and format data in ways that make the most sense for your applications Explore the data tables that you can build inside a COBOL program to model real-world events and situations Set up sorting procedures capable of handling millions of records