I just want to express my gratitude to the compiler designers.  I love the "SET variable1 TO value1" syntax.  It makes much more sense than using the "=" operator as an assignment operator.  I can remember being confused by the use of "=" as an assignment operator since I first encountered it back in 1970.  The "SET...TO..." is so much less confusing.  That leaves the "=" operator to be used for indicating "equal" as one would expect.  I have written in more programming languages than I have fingers and toes in the last fifty years and Visual COBOL is the first one to have a reasonable assignment operator.

Also want to express my gratitude that I can finally use "variable = NULL"  I understand the philosophical concepts behind the idea that "NULL" has no value and hence cannot be "equal" but we still have to compare the variables.   Like it or not, "NULL" is a value.  It is a special value but it is a value nonetheless.