• Coding

  • Is Cobol Still Popular These Days?

Hello everyone, today at uni we were talking about file management and our instructor was talking about Cobol and why she loves that language, she said that it is the best language to choose when dealing with file and data management since it does not deal with files sequentially like Java and C but relatively or through indexing which makes it much more efficient than sequential access. I told her that Cobol has become obsolete(that's what I heard some time before) and she said no it is still popular and to prove that she showed me a book called Cobol for the 21st century which teaches object oriented Cobol and GUI for Cobol apps.

But who still needs to put big amounts of data in binary files? We have databases! (that's what I am not understanding).

In addition, a freind of mine at uni is now working at a bank as an information manager and that bank's system is all programmed in Cobol, he listed to me some more banks who still use Cobol for storing information. Another person I know said some companies are paying high salaries for Cobol programmers.

Anyways, I am still not sure how much it is popular and useful these days, maybe organizations in Lebanon are a special case. With the availability of full fledged Databases and DBMSs such as Oracle and new programming languages and technologies these days, do you think this old language and technology is up to the standard to compete when it comes to developing enterprise solutions and application? Do you think investing time and effort in learning Cobol would be worth ? I am not sure, please share your ideas and view about this language that used to be one of the most popular languages in the 60s and 70s. :)
Well COBOL (just like FORTRAN) was extremely popular back in mainframes days. With the apparition of 2-tier architectures and workstations, all these new technologies like Java and C# and the likes, became more and more popular. Scripting languages like Perl and Python showed great potential as they increase programmer's productivity. Then there was the 3-tier and n-tier, and JEE, .NET, databases, ...

But what about the old COBOL code? Who is going to maintain it? It is not always easy to re-write from scratch, and this is mainly why cobol programmers are wanted. There was a study (can't seem to find it) that estimated that there are more running cobol code lines that all other languages combined.

So yeah COBOL is not really dead. The problem is that (bad) non-technical managers need something shiny new to impress their superiors and this is why they labeled it "obsolete".

Now about the file handling, I don't know how well COBOL does with databases, but I doubt that banks use plain files to store data.
Now about the file handling, I don't know how well COBOL does with databases, but I doubt that banks use plain files to store data.
For what I have heard, it doesn't have anything special about databases but it's file management, I wonder why banks still store data in files and not databases though.
Tell your instructor to get his/her head out of her ass. Sorry. Databases implicitly do what cobol is bound to do with files.

The debate of file storage vs db storage is very common and there's only one case where file storage would surpass DB.
xterm wroteThe debate of file storage vs db storage is very common and there's only one case where file storage would surpass DB.
Which is?
rahmu wrote
xterm wroteThe debate of file storage vs db storage is very common and there's only one case where file storage would surpass DB.
Which is?
when your READ doesn't have have any condition/criteria whatsoever.
a year later
rahmu wroteWell COBOL (just like FORTRAN) was extremely popular back in mainframes days. With the apparition of 2-tier architectures and workstations, all these new technologies like Java and C# and the likes, became more and more popular. Scripting languages like Perl and Python showed great potential as they increase programmer's productivity. Then there was the 3-tier and n-tier, and JEE, .NET, databases, ...

But what about the old COBOL code? Who is going to maintain it? It is not always easy to re-write from scratch, and this is mainly why cobol programmers are wanted. There was a study (can't seem to find it) that estimated that there are more running cobol code lines that all other languages combined.

So yeah COBOL is not really dead. The problem is that (bad) non-technical managers need something shiny new to impress their superiors and this is why they labeled it "obsolete".

Now about the file handling, I don't know how well COBOL does with databases, but I doubt that banks use plain files to store data.
Cobol used the called the six wheel trailer of languages , because it’s slow bulky and plain ugly however it’s robust mature solid for business , contrary to popular myth cobol is very far from being dead , as most large utility companies and sizable amount of banks still use it , in Lebanon nearly most large service entities (utilities / banks etc.. ) definitely still use it.

the company I work for, we have an accounting package written in mid 80s ;-) , we're still using it everyday , we did try some mdern none cobol stuff , we didn't get better result so we simply returned to good old cobol .

oh and remember the cobol moniker , cobol has the largest number of applications lines than any other language .
I do not like COBOL at all. It almost smells like an old machine from the 60ies. It smells like metal, old rubber, dark and damp basements...
I'd rather write my software in assembly.
cobol is depicted to fade away within the next decade due to various maintenance difficulties. at the same time, open system technology performance is surpassing main frame technology.

mainframe has brought numerous inventions into the open system sector. now the open systems are taking over. a change of a generation.
AymanFarhat wroteAnyways, I am still not sure how much it is popular and useful these days, maybe organizations in Lebanon are a special case.
Simply because they are too lazy, afraid and miserly to update their code. Also because bank people are not very IT-oriented. I don't blame them, they follow the thinking "if it is not broken, don't fix it". And banking and such is quite a rigid sector.
Last time I was at Bank Audi I saw one of the employees entering the data of some client into some software with a black screen and a layout that looks very close to a console application (it might be one... not sure). Seriously, haven't they heard about WPF?
the bank where my aunt works, has a vb 6 application designed , don't know about the DB, but I say if it works, it works.
why should they change into a better designed/developed application, while they have one that is fine.