Computer Fundamentals Multiple choice Questions and Answers on COBOL Basics for Frehsers

1. COBOL stands for _________

a) Common Business Oriented Language
b) Common Business Object Language
c) Common Beneficial Oriented Language
d) Common Beneficial Object Language

Answer: a

Explanation: COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language. It is designed for business purpose. It is fast and relatively simple to learn.

2. COBOL is a language that keeps evolving.

a) True
b) False

Answer: a

Explanation: The statement is true. COBOL has billions of lines of existing code with more added each year. It thus keeps updating itself.

3. Which of the following is not a part of the program division in COBOL?

a) Identification
b) Environment
c) Procedure
d) Compilation

Answer: d

Explanation: COBOL has 4 basic parts in the division section: Identification, Environment, data and procedure. Each program is organized like a book.

4. Which of the following is not a part of the Identification division?

a) Paragraphs
b) Entries
c) Phrases
d) Clauses

Answer: c

Explanation: The order of identification division is:
Paragraphs
Entries
Clauses.

5. D in COBOL stands for _________

a) Data
b) Draft
c) Debugger
d) Debugging lines

Answer: d

Explanation: It stands for debugging lines. Compiler fills in with the sequence numbers. There are certain coding rules that must be followed in COBOL.

6. Comment in COBOL is denoted by ________

a) *
b) /
c) //
d) ;

Answer: a

Explanation: Comment is denoted by asterisk. (*) It denotes the comment line. Hyphen – denotes continuation.

7. The data division is used to ________

a) Declare program id
b) Declare variables
c) File control
d) Input-Output section

Answer: b

Explanation: The data division is used to declare and create variables and constant fields. There are 3 basic data types in COBOL.

8. Which is not a data type in COBOL?

a) numeric
b) alphanumeric
c) alphabetic
d) float

Answer: d

Explanation: There is no data type called as float in COBOL. It has only 3 basic data types: numeric, alphabetic and alphanumeric. Variables are created in the data division.

9. What does S denote in a picture clause?

a) A symbol
b) A character
c) A sign
d) Alphanumeric sign

Answer: b

Explanation: It denotes a sign in a picture clause. Picture clause values usually use 9, X, V, S, A.

10. _____________ denotes the format in which data is stored in memory.

a) kind
b) attach
c) select
d) usage

Answer: d

Explanation: Usage denotes the format in which data is stored in the memory. Normally the phrase usage is omitted in COBOL.