Multiple choice technology mainframe

The clause IF A IS NOT POSITIVE is the same as the clause IF A IS NEGATIVE.

  1. True

  2. False
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

NOT POSITIVE means not greater than zero, which includes zero and negative numbers. NEGATIVE means only less than zero. Since NOT POSITIVE includes zero (which is NOT negative), these clauses are not equivalent. Zero is the key difference.

AI explanation

In COBOL, "NOT POSITIVE" means the value is zero or negative, whereas "NEGATIVE" strictly means less than zero. Zero is neither positive nor negative, so it satisfies "IS NOT POSITIVE" but fails "IS NEGATIVE." Because the two conditions diverge exactly at zero, they are not equivalent clauses — a value of 0 would take the "NOT POSITIVE" branch but not the "NEGATIVE" branch. This is a classic COBOL condition-testing gotcha, so the statement claiming they're the same is false.

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