COBOL stands for Common Business-Oriented Language.

The US Department of Defense

, in a conference, formed CODASYL (Conference on Data Systems Language) to devel
op a language for business data processing needs which is now known as COBOL.
COBOL is used for writing application programs and we cannot use it to write sys
tem software. The applications like those in defense domain, insurance domain, e
tc. which require huge data processing make extensive use of COBOL.
During 1950s, when the businesses were growing in the western part of the world,
there was a need to automate various processes for ease of operation and this g
ave birth to a high-level programming language meant for business data processin
g.
? In 1959, COBOL was developed by CODASYL (Conference on Data Systems Language).
? The next version, COBOL-61, was released in 1961 with some revisions.
? In 1968, COBOL was approved by ANSI as a standard language for commercial use
(COBOL-68).
? It was again revised in 1974 and 1985 to develop subsequent versions named COB
OL-74 and COBOL-85 respectively.
? In 2002, Object-Oriented COBOL was released, which could use encapsulated obje
cts as a normal part of COBOL programming.
Standard Language
COBOL is a standard language that can be compiled and executed on machines such
as IBM AS/400, personal computers, etc.
Business Oriented
COBOL was designed for business-oriented applications related to financial domai
n, defense domain, etc. It can handle huge volumes of data because of its advanc
ed file handling capabilities.
Robust Language
COBOL is a robust language as its numerous debugging and testing tools are avail
able for almost all computer platforms.
Structured Language
Logical control structures are available in COBOL which makes it easier to read
and modify. COBOL has different divisions, so it is easy to debug.
Cobol
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xInstalling COBOL on Windows/LinuxInstalling COBOL on Windows/LinuxInstalling CO
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talling COBOL on Windows/LinuxInstalling COBOL on Windows/LinuxInstalling COBOL
on Windows/LinuxInstalling COBOL on Windows/Linux
There are many Free Mainframe Emulators available for Windows which can be used
to write and learn simple COBOL programs.
One such emulator is Hercules, which can be easily installed on Windows by follo
wing a few simple steps as given below:
? Download and install the Hercules emulator, which is available from the Hercul
es' home site : www.hercules-390.eu
? Once you have installed the package on Windows machine, it will create a folde
r like C:/hercules/mvs/cobol.
? Run the Command Prompt (CMD) and reach the directory C:/hercules/mvs/cobol on

CMD.
? The complete guide on various commands to write and execute a JCL and COBOL pr
ograms can be found at:
www.jaymoseley.com/hercules/installmvs/instmvs2.htm
Hercules is an open-source software implementation of the mainframe System/370 a
nd ESA/390 architectures, in addition to the latest 64-bit z/Architecture. Hercu
les runs under Linux, Windows, Solaris, FreeBSD, and Mac OS X.
A user can connect to a mainframe server in a number of ways such as thin client
, dummy terminal, Virtual Client System (VCS), or Virtual Desktop System (VDS).
Every valid user is given a login id to enter into the Z/OS interface (TSO/E or
ISPF).
In order to execute a COBOL program in batch mode using JCL, the program needs t
o be compiled, and a load module is created with all the sub-programs. The JCL u
ses the load module and not the actual program at the time of execution. The loa
d libraries are concatenated and given to the JCL at the time of execution using
JCLLIB or STEPLIB.
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