INSPECT vs. UNSTRING in COBOL: Mastering String Manipulation ????

1?? INSPECT – The Quick Way to Analyze and Modify Strings

The INSPECT statement is used to count, replace, or convert occurrences of specific characters or substrings within a string.

?? INSPECT to Count Occurrences

Imagine you need to count how many times the letter "A" appears in a string:

INSPECT WS-TEXT TALLYING WS-COUNT FOR ALL 'A'.        

?? Use Case: Perfect for counting characters or words in a string.

?? INSPECT to Replace Characters

If you want to replace all spaces (' ') with hyphens ('-'), you can do:

INSPECT WS-TEXT REPLACING ALL ' ' BY '-'.        

?? Use Case: Great for formatting output or standardizing data.

2?? UNSTRING – Splitting Strings Into Pieces

The UNSTRING statement is used to break a string into multiple fields based on a delimiter.

?? UNSTRING Example: Splitting a Full Name

Let’s say we receive a name as "John Doe" and need to split it into first name and last name:

UNSTRING WS-NAME DELIMITED BY ' ' INTO WS-FIRST-NAME WS-LAST-NAME.        

?? Use Case: Best for extracting parts of a string, such as CSV data, names, or codes.

?? UNSTRING with Multiple Delimiters

Need to split "John|Doe|Developer"? You can use multiple delimiters:

UNSTRING WS-NAME DELIMITED BY '|' INTO WS-FIRST-NAME WS-LAST-NAME WS-JOB.        

3?? INSPECT vs. UNSTRING – When to Use Each?

?? Best Practice: If you need to analyze or modify text, use INSPECT. If you need to break it into pieces, use UNSTRING.