Multiple choice technology programming languages

For conversions that lose precision - When a USAGE COMP-1 data item is moved to a FIXED-POINT data item that has more than nine digits, the fixed-point data item will receive only -- significant digits, and the remaining digits will be ----.

  1. (a) 18 , zero

  2. (b) zero , 18

  3. (c) zero , 9

  4. (d) 9 , zero
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

COMP-1 in COBOL is single-precision floating-point format with approximately 7-9 decimal digits of precision. When converting to FIXED-POINT (numeric) with more than 9 digits, only 9 significant digits are preserved due to floating-point precision limits. The remaining less-significant digits become zero. Option A incorrectly suggests 18 digits, and options B and C have the values reversed.

AI explanation

To answer this question, you need to understand the concept of conversions that lose precision in COBOL.

In COBOL, the COMP-1 data type represents a single-precision floating-point number. It is typically used to store numbers with a decimal point and a fractional part. On the other hand, the FIXED-POINT data type represents a fixed-point number with a specified number of digits before and after the decimal point.

When a COMP-1 data item is moved to a FIXED-POINT data item that has more than nine digits, the fixed-point data item will receive only nine significant digits, and the remaining digits will be zero.

Let's go through each option to understand why it is correct or incorrect:

Option A) (a) 18, zero - This option is incorrect because the fixed-point data item receives only nine significant digits, not 18.

Option B) (b) zero, 18 - This option is incorrect because the fixed-point data item receives only nine significant digits, not 18.

Option C) (c) zero, 9 - This option is incorrect because the fixed-point data item receives only nine significant digits, not zero.

Option D) (d) 9, zero - This option is correct because the fixed-point data item receives only nine significant digits, and the remaining digits are zero.

Therefore, the correct answer is option D. The fixed-point data item will receive nine significant digits, and the remaining digits will be zero.

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