C O B O L Mark T. Flancbaum CS /6/02 OmmonOmmon usinessusiness rientedriented anguageanguage

Introduction zHistory of COBOL zSample Code zApplication Areas zStrengths and Weaknesses zCurrent State of the Language zFuture of the Language

History zRelated Languages yFLOW-MATIC, AIMACO COMTRAN xGrace Hopper’s Proposal zCODASYL ( Conference on Data Systems Languages) ySponsored by Department of Defense (DoD) yGoal: Develop a standard business-oriented language yDesign Goals: xEnglish as much as possible xEasy to use even at the expense of being less powerful xDesign should not be overly restricted by the problems of its implementation

Versions of COBOL

Sample Program zSimple COBOL program that reads employee records and prints out a payroll report

Sample Program z4 Main Divisions yIdentification Division xIdentifies Program to Computer xCan Provide Documentation yEnvironment Division xDescribes specific computer equipment to be used in the program. (I/O Devices) yData Division xDescribes I/O variables to be used in program yProcedure Division xContains instructions necessary for reading input, processing it, and creating output

Sample Program zEnglish-Like Language zPICTURE specifies the data type zModular design zPERFORM...UNTIL Loop yConditional Variable zArithmetic Done in English Words

Application Areas zBUSINESS APPLICATIONS zIdeally suited for writing customized application programs. zSpecifically for commercial applications yAnything that operates on large volumes of data xPayroll xInventory xAccounting Reports Led to Electronic Mechanization of Accounting

Influences zHas had little influence on design of subsequent languages yFew have attempted to design a new language for business applications since its appearance zPL/I

Strengths zData Division zOperating on Large Volumes of Data Efficiently zOptimal for Business Applications zUser friendly yEasy to learn because of English-Like syntax zReadable yPossible for managers with little computer experience to understand COBOL programs zCommon to most computers yCompilers available for most computers

Weaknesses zProcedure Division zLack of Recursion zNo Dynamic Memory Allocation zNot capable of handling High level Scientific Problems with complex calculations zCOBOL programs are generally longer than similar programs in other languages. yHurts writability

Weaknesses zIf the inventor of C++ can come up with the object-oriented C++ by taking C and adding C’s postfix increment operator, then an object-oriented COBOL should be called: ADD 1 TO COBOL GIVING COBOL which is the languages verbose way of incrementing a value. y(Wikipedia, 2002)

Current State of the Language zOne of the most widely used languages today zEstimated 70% of production business applications written in COBOL zNo longer the “King” of large-scale development yPackaged Enterprise Applications z“…we use Web front ends, all of our data is on Oracle and our development staff uses a combination of desktop and server tools in their work. But the industrial-strength grunt work is COBOL on UNIX servers. We haven’t found anything that can handle batch data in a more effective manner” (COMPUTERWORLD, 2002).

Predictions zIs COBOL dead? y“Despite the barrels of ink claiming otherwise, the business world still runs on COBOL.” (COMPUTERWORLD, 2002) zCOBOL not going anywhere, anytime soon zPossible resurgence in custom development in business to gain competitive advantage. zSupport of Microsoft.NET will expand functionality yProgram to the web (e-business) yAble to work seamlessly with developers of other languages

Conclusion zCOBOL is user-friendly, easy to learn and to read zDesigned Specifically for business applications that process large volumes of data zIt is still very much alive, but is not the “king” of business as it was a decade ago zCOBOL will continue to be the “work horse” of the business world and will expand its functionality to meet new needs