<s>
COBOL	O
(	O
;	O
an	O
acronym	O
for	O
"	O
common	O
business-oriented	O
language	O
"	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
compiled	B-Language
English-like	O
computer	O
programming	O
language	O
designed	O
for	O
business	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
an	O
imperative	B-Application
,	O
procedural	B-Application
and	O
,	O
since	O
2002	O
,	O
object-oriented	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
is	O
still	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
applications	O
deployed	O
on	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
,	O
such	O
as	O
large-scale	O
batch	B-General_Concept
and	O
transaction	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
jobs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
declining	O
popularity	O
and	O
the	O
retirement	O
of	O
experienced	O
COBOL	O
programmers	O
,	O
programs	O
are	O
being	O
migrated	O
to	O
new	O
platforms	O
,	O
rewritten	O
in	O
modern	O
languages	O
or	O
replaced	O
with	O
software	B-Architecture
packages	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
was	O
designed	O
in	O
1959	O
by	O
CODASYL	B-Language
and	O
was	O
partly	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
programming	O
language	O
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
designed	O
by	O
Grace	O
Hopper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
created	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
US	O
Department	O
of	O
Defense	O
effort	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
portable	B-Architecture
programming	O
language	O
for	O
data	O
processing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expansions	O
include	O
support	O
for	O
structured	B-Language
and	O
object-oriented	B-Language
programming	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
standard	O
is	O
ISO/IEC	O
1989:2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lacking	O
a	O
large	O
standard	B-Library
library	I-Library
,	O
the	O
standard	O
specifies	O
43	O
statements	O
,	O
87	O
functions	O
and	O
just	O
one	O
class	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
throughout	O
its	O
life	O
for	O
its	O
verbosity	O
,	O
design	O
process	O
,	O
and	O
poor	O
support	O
for	O
structured	B-Language
programming	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
years	O
,	O
COBOL	O
has	O
been	O
assumed	O
as	O
a	O
programming	B-Language
language	I-Language
for	I-Language
business	I-Language
operations	O
in	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
,	O
although	O
in	O
recent	O
years	O
an	O
increasing	O
interest	O
has	O
surged	O
on	O
migrating	O
COBOL	O
operations	O
to	O
cloud	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
a	O
time	O
when	O
new	B-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
were	O
proliferating	O
at	O
an	O
ever-increasing	O
rate	O
,	O
the	O
same	O
survey	O
suggested	O
that	O
if	O
a	O
common	O
business-oriented	O
language	O
were	O
used	O
,	O
conversion	O
would	O
be	O
far	O
cheaper	O
and	O
faster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Representatives	O
included	O
Grace	O
Hopper	O
(	O
inventor	O
of	O
the	O
English-like	O
data	O
processing	O
language	O
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
)	O
,	O
Jean	O
Sammet	O
and	O
Saul	O
Gorn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Portable	B-Architecture
programs	O
would	O
save	O
time	O
,	O
reduce	O
costs	O
and	O
ease	O
modernization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
28	O
and	O
29	O
May	O
1959	O
(	O
exactly	O
one	O
year	O
after	O
the	O
Zürich	O
ALGOL	B-Language
58	I-Language
meeting	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
meeting	O
was	O
held	O
at	O
the	O
Pentagon	O
to	O
discuss	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
a	O
common	O
programming	B-Language
language	I-Language
for	I-Language
business	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
FORTRAN	B-Application
,	O
the	O
only	O
mainstream	O
language	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
lacked	O
the	O
features	O
needed	O
to	O
write	O
such	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
steering	O
committee	O
met	O
on	O
4	O
June	O
and	O
agreed	O
to	O
name	O
the	O
entire	O
activity	O
as	O
the	O
Committee	O
on	O
Data	O
Systems	O
Languages	O
,	O
or	O
CODASYL	B-Language
,	O
and	O
to	O
form	O
an	O
executive	O
committee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
committee	O
mainly	O
examined	O
the	O
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
,	O
AIMACO	B-Language
and	O
COMTRAN	B-Language
programming	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
language	O
was	O
particularly	O
influential	O
because	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
implemented	O
and	O
because	O
AIMACO	B-Language
was	O
a	O
derivative	O
of	O
it	O
with	O
only	O
minor	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
'	O
s	O
inventor	O
,	O
Grace	O
Hopper	O
,	O
also	O
served	O
as	O
a	O
technical	O
adviser	O
to	O
the	O
committee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
'	O
s	O
major	O
contributions	O
to	O
COBOL	O
were	O
long	O
variable	O
names	O
,	O
English	O
words	O
for	O
commands	O
and	O
the	O
separation	O
of	O
data	O
descriptions	O
and	O
instructions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
's	O
COMTRAN	B-Language
language	O
,	O
invented	O
by	O
Bob	O
Bemer	O
,	O
was	O
regarded	O
as	O
a	O
competitor	O
to	O
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
by	O
a	O
short-range	O
committee	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
colleagues	O
of	O
Grace	O
Hopper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
one	O
case	O
,	O
after	O
Roy	O
Goldfinger	O
,	O
author	O
of	O
the	O
COMTRAN	B-Language
manual	O
and	O
intermediate-range	O
committee	O
member	O
,	O
attended	O
a	O
subcommittee	O
meeting	O
to	O
support	O
his	O
language	O
and	O
encourage	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
algebraic	O
expressions	O
,	O
Grace	O
Hopper	O
sent	O
a	O
memo	O
to	O
the	O
short-range	O
committee	O
reiterating	O
Sperry	O
Rand	O
's	O
efforts	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
language	O
based	O
on	O
English	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1980	O
,	O
Grace	O
Hopper	O
commented	O
that	O
"	O
COBOL	O
60	O
is	O
95%	O
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
"	O
and	O
that	O
COMTRAN	B-Language
had	O
had	O
an	O
"	O
extremely	O
small	O
"	O
influence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
she	O
said	O
that	O
she	O
would	O
claim	O
that	O
work	O
was	O
influenced	O
by	O
both	O
FLOW-MATIC	B-Language
and	O
COMTRAN	B-Language
only	O
to	O
"	O
keep	O
other	O
people	O
happy	O
[	O
so	O
they ]	O
would	O
n't	O
try	O
to	O
knock	O
us	O
out	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Features	O
from	O
COMTRAN	B-Language
incorporated	O
into	O
COBOL	O
included	O
formulas	O
,	O
the	O
clause	O
,	O
an	O
improved	O
IF	O
statement	O
,	O
which	O
obviated	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
GO	O
TOs	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
more	O
robust	O
file	O
management	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
context-sensitive	O
keywords	O
were	O
rejected	O
,	O
the	O
approach	O
was	O
later	O
used	O
in	O
PL/I	B-Language
and	O
partially	O
in	O
COBOL	O
from	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Little	O
consideration	O
was	O
given	O
to	O
interactivity	B-General_Concept
,	O
interaction	O
with	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
(	O
few	O
existed	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
)	O
and	O
functions	O
(	O
thought	O
of	O
as	O
purely	O
mathematical	O
and	O
of	O
no	O
use	O
in	O
data	O
processing	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
,	O
the	O
intermediate-range	O
committee	O
received	O
copies	O
of	O
the	O
FACT	B-Language
language	O
specification	O
created	O
by	O
Roy	O
Nutt	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
being	O
technically	O
superior	O
,	O
FACT	B-Language
had	O
not	O
been	O
created	O
with	O
portability	B-Architecture
in	O
mind	O
or	O
through	O
manufacturer	O
and	O
user	O
consensus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
lacked	O
a	O
demonstrable	O
implementation	O
,	O
allowing	O
supporters	O
of	O
a	O
FLOW-MATIC-based	O
COBOL	O
to	O
overturn	O
the	O
resolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RCA	O
representative	O
Howard	O
Bromberg	O
also	O
blocked	O
FACT	B-Language
,	O
so	O
that	O
RCA	O
's	O
work	O
on	O
a	O
COBOL	O
implementation	O
would	O
not	O
go	O
to	O
waste	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
language	O
's	O
stated	O
objectives	O
were	O
to	O
allow	O
efficient	O
,	O
portable	B-Architecture
programs	O
to	O
be	O
easily	O
written	O
,	O
to	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
move	O
to	O
new	O
systems	O
with	O
minimal	O
effort	O
and	O
cost	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
be	O
suitable	O
for	O
inexperienced	O
programmers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CODASYL	B-Language
Executive	O
Committee	O
later	O
created	O
the	O
COBOL	O
Maintenance	O
Committee	O
to	O
answer	O
questions	O
from	O
users	O
and	O
vendors	O
and	O
to	O
improve	O
and	O
expand	O
the	O
specifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
September	O
,	O
five	O
more	O
manufacturers	O
had	O
joined	O
CODASYL	B-Language
(	O
Bendix	O
,	O
Control	O
Data	O
Corporation	O
,	O
General	O
Electric	O
(	O
GE	O
)	O
,	O
National	O
Cash	O
Register	O
and	O
Philco	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
all	O
represented	O
manufacturers	O
had	O
announced	O
COBOL	O
compilers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GE	O
and	O
IBM	O
planned	O
to	O
integrate	O
COBOL	O
into	O
their	O
own	O
languages	O
,	O
GECOM	O
and	O
COMTRAN	B-Language
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
reluctant	O
short-term	O
committee	O
enacted	O
a	O
total	O
cleanup	O
and	O
,	O
by	O
March	O
1963	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
COBOL	O
's	O
syntax	O
was	O
as	O
definable	O
as	O
ALGOL	B-Language
's	O
,	O
although	O
semantic	O
ambiguities	O
remained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1962	O
,	O
IBM	O
announced	O
that	O
COBOL	O
would	O
be	O
their	O
primary	O
development	O
language	O
and	O
that	O
development	O
of	O
COMTRAN	B-Language
would	O
cease	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
Edition	O
1965	O
brought	O
further	O
clarifications	O
to	O
the	O
specifications	O
and	O
introduced	O
facilities	O
for	O
handling	O
mass	B-Device
storage	I-Device
files	B-Operating_System
and	O
tables	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1962	O
,	O
both	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
of	O
America	O
Standards	O
Institute	O
(	O
now	O
ANSI	O
)	O
formed	O
groups	O
to	O
create	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
American	O
National	O
Standard	O
(	O
ANS	O
)	O
COBOL	O
and	O
was	O
adopted	O
by	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
in	O
1972	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Independently	O
of	O
the	O
ANSI	O
committee	O
,	O
the	O
CODASYL	B-Language
Programming	O
Language	O
Committee	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
improving	O
the	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
described	O
new	O
versions	O
in	O
1968	O
,	O
1969	O
,	O
1970	O
and	O
1973	O
,	O
including	O
changes	O
such	O
as	O
new	O
inter-program	O
communication	O
,	O
debugging	O
and	O
file	O
merging	O
facilities	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
improved	O
string-handling	O
and	O
library	B-Library
inclusion	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
CODASYL	B-Language
was	O
independent	O
of	O
the	O
ANSI	O
committee	O
,	O
the	O
CODASYL	B-Language
Journal	O
of	O
Development	O
was	O
used	O
by	O
ANSI	O
to	O
identify	O
features	O
that	O
were	O
popular	O
enough	O
to	O
warrant	O
implementing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1974	O
,	O
ANSI	O
published	O
a	O
revised	O
version	O
of	O
(	O
ANS	O
)	O
COBOL	O
,	O
containing	O
new	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
file	O
organizations	O
,	O
the	O
statement	O
and	O
the	O
segmentation	B-General_Concept
module	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Deleted	O
features	O
included	O
the	O
statement	O
,	O
the	O
statement	O
(	O
which	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
implementer-defined	O
random	B-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
module	B-Architecture
(	O
which	O
was	O
superseded	O
by	O
the	O
new	O
sequential	O
and	O
relative	O
I/O	O
modules	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISO	B-General_Concept
later	O
adopted	O
the	O
updated	O
standard	O
in	O
1978	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1981	O
,	O
Joseph	O
T	O
.	O
Brophy	O
,	O
Senior	O
Vice-president	O
of	O
Travelers	O
Insurance	O
,	O
threatened	O
to	O
sue	O
the	O
standard	O
committee	O
because	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
upwards	B-General_Concept
compatible	I-General_Concept
with	O
COBOL-74	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
that	O
year	O
,	O
the	O
Data	B-General_Concept
Processing	I-General_Concept
Management	I-General_Concept
Association	I-General_Concept
(	O
DPMA	O
)	O
said	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
strongly	O
opposed	O
"	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
standard	O
,	O
citing	O
"	O
prohibitive	O
"	O
conversion	O
costs	O
and	O
enhancements	O
that	O
were	O
"	O
forced	O
on	O
the	O
user	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ISO	B-General_Concept
TC97-SC5	O
installed	O
in	O
1979	O
the	O
international	O
COBOL	O
Experts	O
Group	O
,	O
on	O
initiative	O
of	O
Wim	O
Ebbinkhuijsen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
three	O
years	O
,	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
changed	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
the	O
group	O
to	O
a	O
formal	O
Working	O
Group	O
:	O
WG	O
4	O
COBOL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
later	O
,	O
DEC	O
released	O
a	O
VAX/VMS	B-Operating_System
COBOL-80	O
,	O
and	O
noted	O
that	O
conversion	O
of	O
COBOL-74	O
programs	O
posed	O
few	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1985	O
,	O
the	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
Working	O
Group	O
4	O
accepted	O
the	O
then-version	O
of	O
the	O
ANSI	O
proposed	O
standard	O
,	O
made	O
several	O
changes	O
and	O
set	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
new	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
standard	O
COBOL	O
85	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sixty	O
features	O
were	O
changed	O
or	O
deprecated	B-General_Concept
and	O
115	O
were	O
added	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Object-oriented	B-Language
features	O
were	O
taken	O
from	O
C++	B-Language
and	O
Smalltalk	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
estimate	O
was	O
to	O
have	O
this	O
revision	O
completed	O
by	O
1997	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
Committee	O
Draft	O
(	O
CD	O
)	O
was	O
available	O
by	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
vendors	O
(	O
including	O
Micro	O
Focus	O
,	O
Fujitsu	O
,	O
and	O
IBM	O
)	O
introduced	O
object-oriented	B-Language
syntax	O
based	O
on	O
drafts	O
of	O
the	O
full	O
revision	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
approved	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
standard	O
was	O
approved	O
and	O
published	O
in	O
late	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fujitsu/GTSoftware	O
,	O
Micro	O
Focus	O
and	O
RainCode	O
introduced	O
object-oriented	B-Language
COBOL	O
compilers	O
targeting	O
the	O
.NET	B-Application
Framework	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
many	O
other	O
new	O
features	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
in	O
the	O
CODASYL	B-Language
COBOL	O
Journal	O
of	O
Development	O
since	O
1978	O
and	O
had	O
missed	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
be	O
included	O
in	O
COBOL-85	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Improved	O
interoperability	O
with	O
other	O
programming	O
languages	O
and	O
framework	B-Application
environments	I-Application
such	O
as	O
.NET	B-Application
and	O
Java	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
2003	O
and	O
2009	O
,	O
three	O
technical	O
reports	O
were	O
produced	O
describing	O
object	B-Application
finalization	I-Application
,	O
XML	B-Protocol
processing	O
and	O
collection	O
classes	O
for	O
COBOL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
programs	O
are	O
used	O
globally	O
in	O
governments	O
and	O
businesses	O
and	O
are	O
running	O
on	O
diverse	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
z/OS	B-Application
,	O
z/VSE	B-Application
,	O
VME	B-General_Concept
,	O
Unix	B-Application
,	O
NonStop	B-Architecture
OS	I-Architecture
,	O
OpenVMS	B-Operating_System
and	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Near	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
20th	O
century	O
,	O
the	O
year	B-Error_Name
2000	I-Error_Name
problem	I-Error_Name
(	O
Y2K	B-Error_Name
)	O
was	O
the	O
focus	O
of	O
significant	O
COBOL	O
programming	O
effort	O
,	O
sometimes	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
programmers	O
who	O
had	O
designed	O
the	O
systems	O
decades	O
before	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
studies	O
attribute	O
as	O
much	O
as	O
"	O
24%	O
of	O
Y2K	B-Error_Name
software	O
repair	O
costs	O
to	O
Cobol	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
clean-up	O
effort	O
put	O
into	O
these	O
programs	O
for	O
Y2K	B-Error_Name
,	O
a	O
2003	O
survey	O
found	O
that	O
many	O
remained	O
in	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
and	O
2012	O
,	O
Computerworld	O
surveys	O
(	O
of	O
352	O
readers	O
)	O
found	O
that	O
over	O
60%	O
of	O
organizations	O
used	O
COBOL	O
(	O
more	O
than	O
C++	B-Language
and	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
.NET	I-Language
)	O
and	O
that	O
for	O
half	O
of	O
those	O
,	O
COBOL	O
was	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
their	O
internal	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
some	O
businesses	O
have	O
migrated	O
their	O
systems	O
from	O
expensive	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
to	O
cheaper	O
,	O
more	O
modern	O
systems	O
,	O
while	O
maintaining	O
their	O
COBOL	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
COBOL	O
programmers	O
was	O
shrinking	O
fast	O
due	O
to	O
retirements	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
an	O
impending	O
skills	O
gap	O
in	O
business	O
and	O
government	O
organizations	O
which	O
still	O
use	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
systems	O
for	O
high-volume	O
transaction	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
identification	O
division	O
specifies	O
the	O
name	O
and	O
type	O
of	O
the	O
source	O
element	O
and	O
is	O
where	O
classes	O
and	O
interfaces	B-Application
are	O
specified	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
environment	O
division	O
specifies	O
any	O
program	O
features	O
that	O
depend	O
on	O
the	O
system	O
running	O
it	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
files	B-Operating_System
and	O
character	B-General_Concept
sets	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
height	O
of	O
COBOL	O
's	O
popularity	O
coincided	O
with	O
the	O
era	O
of	O
keypunch	B-Device
machines	I-Device
and	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
itself	O
was	O
written	O
onto	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
,	O
then	O
read	O
in	O
and	O
compiled	B-Language
,	O
and	O
the	O
data	O
fed	O
into	O
the	O
program	O
was	O
sometimes	O
on	O
cards	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fixed-format	O
,	O
code	O
must	O
be	O
aligned	O
to	O
fit	O
in	O
certain	O
areas	O
(	O
a	O
hold-over	O
from	O
using	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Name	O
Column(s )	O
Usage	O
Sequence	O
number	O
area	O
1	O
–	O
6	O
Originally	O
used	O
for	O
card/line	O
numbers	O
(	O
facilitating	O
mechanical	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
sorting	O
to	O
assure	O
intended	O
program	O
code	O
sequence	O
after	O
manual	O
editing/handling	O
)	O
,	O
this	O
area	O
is	O
ignored	O
by	O
the	O
compiler	O
Indicator	O
area	O
7	O
The	O
following	O
characters	O
are	O
allowed	O
here	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Classes	O
and	O
interfaces	B-Application
have	O
been	O
in	O
COBOL	O
since	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Classes	O
have	O
factory	O
objects	O
,	O
containing	O
class	O
methods	B-Language
and	O
variables	O
,	O
and	O
instance	O
objects	O
,	O
containing	O
instance	B-Language
methods	I-Language
and	O
variables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inheritance	O
and	O
interfaces	B-Application
provide	O
polymorphism	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
generic	B-Language
programming	I-Language
is	O
provided	O
through	O
parameterized	O
classes	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
instantiated	O
to	O
use	O
any	O
class	O
or	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
does	O
not	O
provide	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
hide	O
methods	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Method	B-Language
overloading	I-Language
was	O
added	O
in	O
COBOL	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
configuration	O
section	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
specify	O
variable	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
currency	O
signs	O
,	O
locales	B-Device
and	O
character	B-General_Concept
sets	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
sequential	O
files	B-Operating_System
,	O
records	O
are	O
contiguous	O
and	O
must	O
be	O
traversed	O
sequentially	B-General_Concept
,	O
similarly	O
to	O
a	O
linked	B-Data_Structure
list	I-Data_Structure
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indexed	O
files	B-Operating_System
have	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
indexes	O
which	O
allow	O
records	O
to	O
be	O
randomly	B-General_Concept
accessed	I-General_Concept
and	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
sorted	O
on	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
record	O
must	O
have	O
a	O
unique	B-Application
key	I-Application
,	O
but	O
other	O
,	O
,	O
record	O
keys	O
need	O
not	O
be	O
unique	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Implementations	O
of	O
indexed	O
files	B-Operating_System
vary	O
between	O
vendors	O
,	O
although	O
common	O
implementations	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
C-ISAM	B-Application
and	O
VSAM	O
,	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
IBM	O
's	O
ISAM	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
other	O
implementations	O
are	O
Record	B-Application
Management	I-Application
Services	I-Application
on	O
OpenVMS	B-Operating_System
and	O
Enscribe	B-Application
on	O
HPE	B-Architecture
NonStop	I-Architecture
(	O
Tandem	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Relative	O
files	B-Operating_System
,	O
like	O
indexed	O
files	B-Operating_System
,	O
have	O
a	O
unique	O
record	O
key	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
alternate	O
keys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Relative	O
files	B-Operating_System
also	O
allow	O
for	O
both	O
sequential	O
and	O
random	B-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
non-standard	O
extension	O
is	O
the	O
organization	O
,	O
used	O
to	O
process	O
text	O
files	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
data	O
division	O
is	O
split	O
into	O
six	O
sections	O
which	O
declare	O
different	O
items	O
:	O
the	O
file	O
section	O
,	O
for	O
file	O
records	O
;	O
the	O
working-storage	O
section	O
,	O
for	O
static	B-General_Concept
variables	I-General_Concept
;	O
the	O
local-storage	O
section	O
,	O
for	O
automatic	B-General_Concept
variables	I-General_Concept
;	O
the	O
linkage	O
section	O
,	O
for	O
parameters	O
and	O
the	O
return	B-Language
value	I-Language
;	O
the	O
report	O
section	O
and	O
the	O
screen	O
section	O
,	O
for	O
text-based	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
syntax	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
dot	B-Language
notation	I-Language
"	O
supported	O
by	O
most	O
contemporary	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
level-number	O
of	O
66	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
declare	O
a	O
re-grouping	O
of	O
previously	O
defined	O
items	O
,	O
irrespective	O
of	O
how	O
those	O
items	O
are	O
structured	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
National	O
Similar	O
to	O
alphanumeric	O
,	O
but	O
using	O
an	O
extended	O
character	B-General_Concept
set	I-General_Concept
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Numeric	B-Algorithm
Contains	O
exactly	O
7	O
digits	O
(	O
7	O
=	O
5+2	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Numeric	B-Algorithm
data	O
is	O
converted	O
between	O
different	O
representations	O
and	O
sizes	O
silently	O
and	O
alphanumeric	O
data	O
can	O
be	O
placed	O
in	O
any	O
data	O
item	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
stored	O
as	O
a	O
string	O
,	O
including	O
numeric	B-Algorithm
and	O
group	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
indicates	O
a	O
decimal	O
digit	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
indicates	O
that	O
the	O
item	O
is	O
signed	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
characters	O
define	O
character	O
positions	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
how	O
a	O
leading	O
sign	O
character	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
positioned	O
within	O
the	O
final	O
character	O
data	O
;	O
the	O
rightmost	O
non-numeric	O
character	O
will	O
contain	O
the	O
item	O
's	O
sign	O
,	O
while	O
other	O
character	O
positions	O
corresponding	O
to	O
a	O
to	O
the	O
left	O
of	O
this	O
position	O
will	O
contain	O
a	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
declare	O
pointers	O
and	O
object	O
references	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
mostly	O
geared	O
towards	O
specifying	O
numeric	B-Algorithm
types	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
numeric	B-Algorithm
formats	O
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
report	O
writer	O
is	O
a	O
declarative	B-Language
facility	I-Language
for	O
creating	O
reports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reports	O
are	O
associated	O
with	O
report	O
files	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
are	O
files	B-Operating_System
which	O
may	O
only	O
be	O
written	O
to	O
through	O
report	O
writer	O
statements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
formally	O
,	O
if	O
control	O
passes	O
through	O
the	O
exit	O
point	O
of	O
a	O
invocation	O
that	O
was	O
called	O
earlier	O
but	O
has	O
not	O
yet	O
completed	O
,	O
the	O
COBOL	O
2002	O
standard	O
stipulates	O
that	O
the	O
behavior	O
is	O
undefined	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reason	O
is	O
that	O
COBOL	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
"	O
return	B-Language
address	I-Language
"	O
,	O
operates	O
with	O
what	O
may	O
be	O
called	O
a	O
continuation	O
address	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
the	O
behavior	O
in	O
such	O
cases	O
is	O
not	O
only	O
(	O
perhaps	O
)	O
surprising	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
not	O
portable	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
might	O
expect	O
that	O
the	O
output	O
is	O
"	O
1	O
2	O
3	O
END	O
END	O
END	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
fact	B-Language
that	O
is	O
what	O
some	O
COBOL	O
compilers	O
will	O
produce	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
other	O
compilers	O
,	O
like	O
IBM	B-Language
COBOL	I-Language
,	O
will	O
produce	O
code	O
that	O
prints	O
"	O
1	O
2	O
3	O
END	O
END	O
END	O
END	O
...	O
"	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
,	O
printing	O
"	O
END	O
"	O
over	O
and	O
over	O
in	O
an	O
endless	O
loop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
's	O
conditional	B-Language
statements	I-Language
are	O
and	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
implement	O
decision	O
tables	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
call	O
subprograms	O
and	O
methods	B-Language
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
statement	O
is	O
a	O
return	B-Language
statement	I-Language
and	O
the	O
statement	O
stops	O
the	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
statement	O
has	O
six	O
different	O
formats	O
:	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
return	B-Language
statement	I-Language
,	O
a	O
break	O
statement	O
,	O
a	O
continue	O
statement	O
,	O
an	O
end	O
marker	O
or	O
to	O
leave	O
a	O
procedure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Exceptions	B-General_Concept
are	O
raised	O
by	O
a	O
statement	O
and	O
caught	O
with	O
a	O
handler	O
,	O
or	O
,	O
defined	O
in	O
the	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
procedure	O
division	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Declaratives	B-Language
are	O
sections	O
beginning	O
with	O
a	O
statement	O
which	O
specify	O
the	O
errors	O
to	O
handle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Exceptions	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
names	O
or	O
objects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
declarative	B-Language
to	O
jump	O
to	O
the	O
statement	O
after	O
the	O
one	O
that	O
raised	O
the	O
exception	O
or	O
to	O
a	O
procedure	O
outside	O
the	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
languages	O
,	O
uncaught	O
exceptions	B-General_Concept
may	O
not	O
terminate	O
the	O
program	O
and	O
the	O
program	O
can	O
proceed	O
unaffected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
File	O
I/O	O
is	O
handled	O
by	O
the	O
self-describing	O
,	O
,	O
,	O
and	O
statements	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
further	O
three	O
:	O
,	O
which	O
updates	O
a	O
record	O
;	O
,	O
which	O
selects	O
subsequent	O
records	O
to	O
access	O
by	O
finding	O
a	O
record	O
with	O
a	O
certain	O
key	O
;	O
and	O
,	O
which	O
releases	O
a	O
lock	B-Operating_System
on	O
the	O
last	O
record	O
accessed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
,	O
which	O
handle	O
dynamic	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Files	B-Operating_System
and	O
tables	B-Application
are	O
sorted	O
using	O
and	O
the	O
verb	O
merges	O
and	O
sorts	O
files	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
(	O
1959	O
)	O
COBOL	O
specification	O
supported	O
the	O
infamous	O
statement	O
,	O
for	O
which	O
many	O
compilers	O
generated	O
self-modifying	B-Application
code	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
compilers	O
still	O
support	O
it	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
deemed	O
obsolete	B-General_Concept
in	O
the	O
COBOL	B-Language
1985	I-Language
standard	O
and	O
deleted	O
in	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
program	O
example	O
in	O
The	O
C	O
Programming	O
Language	O
was	O
first	O
published	O
in	O
1978	O
a	O
similar	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
COBOL	O
program	O
sample	O
would	O
have	O
been	O
submitted	O
through	O
JCL	B-Application
,	O
very	O
likely	O
using	O
a	O
punch	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
reader	O
,	O
and	O
80	B-Architecture
column	I-Architecture
punch	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
listing	O
below	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
empty	O
DATA	O
DIVISION	O
,	O
was	O
tested	O
using	O
Linux	O
and	O
the	O
System/370	O
Hercules	B-Application
emulator	I-Application
running	O
MVS	B-Application
3.8J	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
JCL	B-Application
,	O
written	O
in	O
July	O
2015	O
,	O
is	O
derived	O
from	O
the	O
Hercules	B-Application
tutorials	O
and	O
samples	O
hosted	O
by	O
Jay	O
Moseley	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
submitting	O
the	O
JCL	B-Application
,	O
the	O
MVS	B-Application
console	O
displayed	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1970s	O
,	O
adoption	O
of	O
the	O
structured	B-Language
programming	I-Language
paradigm	O
was	O
becoming	O
increasingly	O
widespread	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
published	O
dissent	O
to	O
Dijkstra	O
's	O
remarks	O
,	O
the	O
computer	O
scientist	O
Howard	O
E	O
.	O
Tompkins	O
claimed	O
that	O
unstructured	B-Application
COBOL	O
tended	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
written	O
by	O
programmers	O
that	O
have	O
never	O
had	O
the	O
benefit	O
of	O
structured	B-Language
COBOL	O
taught	O
well	O
"	O
,	O
arguing	O
that	O
the	O
issue	O
was	O
primarily	O
one	O
of	O
training	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
s	O
were	O
largely	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
statement	O
and	O
procedures	O
,	O
which	O
promoted	O
modular	B-Architecture
programming	I-Architecture
and	O
gave	O
easy	O
access	O
to	O
powerful	O
looping	O
facilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
control	O
over	O
data	O
and	O
code	O
came	O
in	O
2002	O
when	O
object-oriented	B-Language
programming	I-Language
,	O
user-defined	B-Language
functions	I-Language
and	O
user-defined	O
data	O
types	O
were	O
included	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
much	O
important	O
legacy	O
COBOL	O
software	O
uses	O
unstructured	B-Application
code	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
become	O
practically	O
unmaintainable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
highly	O
portable	B-Architecture
,	O
"	O
common	O
"	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
source	O
of	O
dialects	O
was	O
the	O
standard	O
itself	O
:	O
the	O
1974	O
standard	O
was	O
composed	O
of	O
one	O
mandatory	O
nucleus	O
and	O
eleven	O
functional	O
modules	B-Architecture
,	O
each	O
containing	O
two	O
or	O
three	O
levels	O
of	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jean	O
Sammet	O
,	O
a	O
short-range	O
committee	O
member	O
,	O
noted	O
that	O
"	O
little	O
attempt	O
was	O
made	O
to	O
cater	O
to	O
the	O
professional	O
programmer	O
,	O
in	O
fact	B-Language
people	O
whose	O
main	O
interest	O
is	O
programming	O
tend	O
to	O
be	O
very	O
unhappy	O
with	O
COBOL	O
"	O
which	O
she	O
attributed	O
to	O
COBOL	O
's	O
verbose	O
syntax	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1985	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
twice	O
as	O
many	O
books	O
on	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
and	O
four	O
times	O
as	O
many	O
on	O
BASIC	O
as	O
on	O
COBOL	O
in	O
the	O
Library	B-Library
of	O
Congress	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Donald	O
Nelson	O
,	O
chair	O
of	O
the	O
CODASYL	B-Language
COBOL	O
committee	O
,	O
said	O
in	O
1984	O
that	O
"	O
academics	O
...	O
hate	O
COBOL	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
computer	O
science	O
graduates	O
"	O
had	O
'	O
hate	O
COBOL	O
 '	O
drilled	O
into	O
them	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
also	O
significant	O
condescension	O
towards	O
COBOL	O
in	O
the	O
business	O
community	O
from	O
users	O
of	O
other	O
languages	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
or	O
assembler	B-Language
,	O
implying	O
that	O
COBOL	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
only	O
for	O
non-challenging	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2003	O
,	O
COBOL	O
featured	O
in	O
80%	O
of	O
information	O
systems	O
curricula	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
the	O
same	O
proportion	O
as	O
C++	B-Language
and	O
Java	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
record	O
and	O
file	O
structure	O
influenced	O
PL/I	B-Language
and	O
Pascal	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
REDEFINES	O
clause	O
was	O
a	O
predecessor	O
to	O
Pascal	B-Application
's	O
variant	O
records	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Explicit	O
file	O
structure	O
definitions	O
preceded	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
database	B-Application
management	I-Application
systems	I-Application
and	O
aggregated	O
data	O
was	O
a	O
significant	O
advance	O
over	O
Fortran	B-Application
's	O
arrays	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PICTURE	O
data	O
declarations	O
were	O
incorporated	O
into	O
PL/I	B-Language
,	O
with	O
minor	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
COBOL	O
's	O
facility	O
,	O
although	O
considered	O
"	O
primitive	O
"	O
,	O
influenced	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
include	B-Language
directives	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
focus	O
on	O
portability	B-Architecture
and	O
standardization	O
meant	O
programs	O
written	O
in	O
COBOL	O
could	O
be	O
portable	B-Architecture
and	O
facilitated	O
the	O
spread	O
of	O
the	O
language	O
to	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
hardware	O
platforms	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
