The assignment statement evaluates an expression and assigns its value to one or more target variables.
These statements are used for internal data movement, as well as for specifying computations. (The GET and PUT statements with the STRING option can also be used for internal data movement. Additionally, the PUT statement can specify computations to be done. See Stream-oriented data transmission.)
Because the attributes of the target variable or pseudovariable can differ from the attributes of the source (a variable, a constant, or the result of an expression), the assignment statement might require conversions (see Data conversion).