The following universal resource locator (URL) addresses can be used to obtain more information on a variety of COBOL subjects. If you find that any of the following links fail or are no longer supported, please notify me by e-mail: info@flexus.com.
Visit Andres Montes' COBOL en Espaņol! Web Page for COBOL information in the Spanish Language.
COBOL - COMUNIDAD VIRTUAL
Visit the COBOL - COMUNIDAD VIRTUAL, an Argentinian COBOL Web Page.
Here are some interesting stories submitted by COBOL programmers that we think you'll enjoy. COBOL Anecdotes
Don Schricker's COBOL 97 Proposed Language Standards Page
General COBOL Page with various resources
Eric Loriaux's System 390 Page
Michael Kasten's COBOL Home Page
Bal Oberoi's Page on Mainframe Programming
Grace Hopper; The Woman, the Legend
Welcome to USS Hopper (DDG 70)
Background Information about Grace Hopper
How much should a programmer earn?
A free Fujitsu Compiler - A download for Students only. NOT recommend for developing.
The Share Organization (International Users Group of IBM & compatible hardware & software).
The Guide Organization (IBM User's Group).
Attention COBOL Programmers! The comp.lang.cobol newsgroup is a great way to get answers to some of your burning questions on the use of the language. In addition, representatives of most of the COBOL compiler companies monitor the newgroup. That means you can get answers to your tech support questions without having to call your compiler company. If your web browser supports newsgroup access click on the hypertext link above to go into the newsgroup.
If you are here, then you probably have some interest in the COBOL programming language. Sorry to disappoint the "COBOL Bashers" out there, but this page is devoted to collecting quotations and anecdotes from the COBOL programming community.
The above image is what many people think of COBOL....a raptor from ancient days gone by. COBOL is certainly a raptor, but not like the one above. The modern COBOL programming language is more like the F-22 Raptor pictured below. Powerful, fast and modern!
This page is not a "C bashing" page. It is a COBOL reality page, designed to help dispell myths about the COBOL language. During the past few years it has been "politically correct" to condemn COBOL as the Titanic of programming languages. Our experience with the language and the people who enjoy using it is much different.
We have heard many people say something like, "The best programming language is _______." Most intelligent people will agree that to say a single programming language is "best" is akin to saying that the best aircraft is an F14 Tomcat. While it is indeed possible to haul 200 people from New York to Los Angeles in a Grumman F14 Tomcat, you would have to do it one person at a time. It makes far more sense to utilize a Boeing 747 or Airbus 320 to accomplish the task at hand. It is also highly important to keep the task at hand in mind. If the task at hand is to defend a nation against enemy fighter jets, I for one, certainly wouldn't want to be in a dogfight if my only choice of aircraft were a 747 (no offense Boeing!). By the way, the aircraft analogy was borrowed from a recent article on mainframe computers versus PC's. If anyone read the article, I would like to give proper credit to the author.
The issue here is that the programming community should recognize that each programming language was designed to perform certain tasks very well, but there is no such thing as an "all-purpose" programming language that does everything well. You could use FORTRAN to write a business application and COBOL to write a scientific application, but that wouldn't make much sense. Use the right tool for the job.
Please submit your COBOL anecdotes, interesting quotations and other items of interest to the COBOL programming community via e-mail and I will try to get as many of them on this page as possible. I will also maintain an archive of these stories for the future.
