COBOL
A programming language designed in 1959 so that business programs could be written in English-like statements and run on different makes of computer.
In May 1959 a committee of government and industry representatives called CODASYL began designing a common business language. Its members drew on earlier work, including Grace Hopper's FLOW-MATIC language at Remington Rand and IBM's COMTRAN. The first specification appeared in 1960.
The US Department of Defense required COBOL support on the computers it purchased, which pushed manufacturers to adopt it. Banks, insurers and governments wrote systems in COBOL that are still running today.
Why it matters
COBOL made portable business software practical and put programs within reach of people who were not mathematicians. Programs written in the 1960s and 1970s still process payments, benefits and payroll, which is why programmers continue to maintain COBOL.
Key facts
- Specification first released in 1960.
- Based in part on Grace Hopper's FLOW-MATIC.
- Use was encouraged by US Department of Defense purchasing rules.
- Large amounts of banking and government code still run in COBOL.
Sources
- Campbell-Kelly, Martin, and William Aspray, et al. Computer: A History of the Information Machine. 3rd ed. Westview Press, 2013.
- Beyer, Kurt W. Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age. MIT Press, 2009.
- Sammet, Jean E. "The Early History of COBOL." In History of Programming Languages, ACM, 1978.