Editing Data

Having mentioned the types of arithmatic and the need to convert data to the correct internal format required by each, it is perhaps time to consider the reverse process of making such numbers printable.

There are two specific instructions ED (Edit) and EDMK (Edit and Mark) and they both require the target destination to comprise a string of hexadecimal characters (called an edit pattern), as shown opposite. The first byte of the pattern is a pad character used to replace suppressed zeroes.

In COBOL the target field might be defined as PIC ZZ9.99, while in PLI it might be defined as PIC 'ZZ9.99', both of which facilitate the display of a 5 digit number.

Edit patterns