Why COBOL is still worth learning?

COBOL is still worth learning because it remains critical for maintaining legacy systems in industries like finance, government, and healthcare, where it's deeply rooted.

Is there any future in COBOL?

Yes, it has. COBOL is the programming language that refuses to retire for more than 6 Decades. As discussed above, 71% of Fortune 500 companies use Mainframe systems. Even if the migration started today, it might take decades to complete.

What is COBOL?

COBOL is an acronym for COmmon Business-Oriented Language, primarily developed for business, finance, and administrative system needs.

What was removed from COBOL in the COBOL II implementation?

OS COBOL	VS COBOL
Runs in 24-bit addressing mode	31-bit addressing mode introduced. Runs either in 24-bit or 31-bit addressing modes
Supports Report Writer	Does not support Report Writer
USAGE IS POINTER is not supported	USAGE IS POINTER is supported
Reference modification is not supported	Reference modification is supported
EVALUATE is not supported	EVALUATE is supported
Scope terminators are not supported	Scope terminators are introduced
Follows ANSI 74 standards	ANSI 85 standards are followed
Calls between programs are not supported under CICS	Calls between programs are supported under CICS

What is the difference between VS COBOL and enterprise COBOL?

VS COBOL	Enterprise COBOL
It supported the 68 COBOL Standard and the 74 COBOL Standard	It supports the 85 COBOL Standard
Undocumented OS/VS COBOL extensions supported	Undocumented OS/VS COBOL extensions not supported

Determine real-time, real mainframe COBOL used for?

Real-time, real mainframe COBOL is used for developing and maintaining critical business applications that require high performance, reliability, and scalability.

Outlines some pros and cons of COBOL programming?

Advantages -

• It is easy to read as it has English-like syntax.
• Relatively easy to develop, use, and maintain.
• Structured high-level and self-documenting programming language.
• Compatible with the previous versions.
• Free and Open-source.
• Process huge volumes of data with ease.

Disadvantages -

• Code might look very long because of its structured programming.
• It has a very wordy syntax.
• It requires more coding lines for specific logic compared with some other known programming languages in the market.

What are the different types of COBOL programs based on its usage?

COBOL programs are two types based on their usage -

• Batch
• Online

Frequently Asked Questions -

Why COBOL is still in demand?
Is COBOL an outdated programming language? Is it still used? Is it still worth learning COBOL programming language nowadays?
How can COBOL be used in business?

What do you know about COBOL?
Explain COBOL programming language?

What is the history of the COBOL programming language?

What are the differences between COBOL and COBOL II?
What are the differences between OS VS COBOL and VS COBOL II?

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