In COBOL, checking for spaces involves examining a data item to determine whether it contains any blank characters (spaces). This is a useful operation in various data processing tasks, such as data validation, string manipulation, and formatting.
There are a few ways to check for spaces in COBOL. One common approach is to use the INSPECT statement. The INSPECT statement allows you to examine a data item character by character and perform specific actions based on the characters encountered. To check for spaces, you can use the ALL or TALLYING phrase in the INSPECT statement, as shown below:
