COBOL coding techniques for performance?

Can you provide one or more COBOL coding techniques or recommendations, based on your experience, where efficiencies can be gained?

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Yes, the biggest one would be to avoid using subscripts -- use indexes instead. By the way, all of my performance tips are available in my SHARE presentation called LE Performance Tips and Techniques.

COBOL coding tips -- table element references

Given these data descriptions: 

77 SUB1 PIC S9(4) USAGE BINARY.
01 GRP1.
   05 TAB1 OCCURS 1000 INDEXED BY TABINDX.
      10 SALES PIC 9(7) PACKED-DECIMAL.
      10 EXPENSES PIC 9(7) PACKED-DECIMAL.
      10 INVENTORY PIC 9(7) PACKED-DECIMAL.
Slow code: 
PERFORM VARYING SUB1
FROM 1 BY 1
UNTIL SUB1 > 1000
   COMPUTE SALES-TOTAL = SALES-TOTAL + SALES(SUB1)
   COMPUTE EXPENSE-TOTAL = EXPENSE-TOTAL + EXPENSES(SUB1)
   COMPUTE INVENTORY-TOTAL = INVENTORY-TOTAL + INVENTORY(SUB1)
END-PERFORM
Fast code: 
PERFORM VARYING TABINDX
FROM 1 BY 1
UNTIL TABINDX > 1000
   COMPUTE SALES-TOTAL = SALES-TOTAL + SALES(TABINDX)
   COMPUTE EXPENSE-TOTAL = EXPENSE-TOTAL + EXPENSES(TABINDX)
   COMPUTE INVENTORY-TOTAL = INVENTORY-TOTAL + INVENTORY(TABINDX)
END-PERFORM

This was first published in March 2005

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