COBOLs

COBOL, or the Common Business-Oriented Language, is one of the oldest high-level programming languages designed for business data processing. The term COBOLs is sometimes used informally to refer to multiple COBOL programs or to different implementations of the language, though the standard name remains COBOL.

Developed in the late 1950s through a joint effort led by Grace Hopper and supported by the U.S. Department of Defense and private industry via CODASYL, COBOL was created to be readable by business users and portable across hardware. Its emphasis on English-like syntax, data processing, and report generation aimed to streamline business computations and data management across diverse computer systems.

Key features include a verbose, self-documenting syntax; robust data division for defining complex data structures; strong support for fixed-point decimal arithmetic essential to financial calculations; and facilities for sequential and indexed file processing, report generation, and batch processing. Programs are traditionally organized into divisions and sections, such as IDENTIFICATION, ENVIRONMENT, DATA, and PROCEDURE, with a focus on data declarations and readable logic.

Standards and ongoing maintenance: COBOL has undergone multiple standardization efforts under ANSI and ISO, with revisions over the decades, including widely recognized standards in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, followed by later updates. Although newer languages and technologies have gained popularity, COBOL remains in use in many legacy systems, particularly in finance, government, and large enterprises. Modern COBOL implementations provide interoperability with other languages, integration with contemporary platforms, and tools for modernization, testing, and deployment.