Also known as an array in other languages, a table is a group of data associated with a single item name. To identify pieces data (elements) within that table the item is given a subscript number which follows the name.

  W-NAME (elements)      Subscript
        Smith                 1
        Jones                 2
      MacDoon                 3
       Walker                 4
      O'Leary                 5

So, DISPLAY W-NAME (2) will give "Jones".

A 2-dimensional table uses two subscripts:

So element (2, 4) will contain "1.1".

To define the W-NAME (1-dimensional) table in the data division:

     01 W-NAME  PIC X(10) OCCURS 5 TIMES.

To define the SALES-TABLE (2-dimensional) table, just add another level to the group. Hence:

     01 SALES-TABLE.
           03 BRANCH-NO OCCURS 4.
                05 MONTHLY-SALES OCCURS 4 PIC 9V9.

Notice how only the top level 05 contains the PIC clause. Level 01 describes a whole table made up of 4 items (level 03) containing 4 elements (level 05).

Table can be multi-dimensional, but always the last level will be the identifier name that is associated with the subscripts and will have the PIC clause.

For the use of tables, see the League Table Program in the Sample Code section.

Finally, don't try to refer to a table element that is of a greater value than that defined in the data division, i.e. W-NAME (6) will cause a runtime error and terminate the program. It should be obvious that a subscript should be a numeric literal or an identifier that is numeric.

The use of identifiers as subscripts is where tables are of most use, i.e. MONTHLY-SALES (INPUT-BRANCH, INPUT-MONTH).