Comments (42) (Please sign in to comment)

1. 

   KenTheCoffinDweller said, 3 months ago

   I wouldn’t even ask “Why?”. COBOL 65 and FORTRAN IV were where I started out in programming.
2. 

   x_Tech said, 3 months ago

   @KenTheCoffinDweller

   I started learning FORTRAN but just before I went nuts a guy in the computer center told me about RatFor. Now I can’t blame FORTRAN.
3. 

   x_Tech said, 3 months ago

   Why not Ada? It’s named after a woman.
4. 

   Pharmakeus Ubik said, 3 months ago

   @KenTheCoffinDweller

   Roll out the card punch!
5. 

   JackButler said, 3 months ago

   @Pharmakeus Ubik

   IBM 1108, punch cards and Fortran IV. Sigh.
6. 

   ToborRedrum said, 3 months ago

   Been there, done that. COBOL will still be around when the sun is a burned-out lump of carbon.
7. 

   vwdualnomand said, 3 months ago

   wasn’t cobol used to submarine torpedo guidance and the moon landings? the sad thing is that some universities have it as a requirement to get a diploma in computer science.
8. 

   Clark Kent said, 3 months ago

   Aren’t they the Model T Ford of programming?
   Or would they be horse and buggy? Roman chariot?
9. 

   SeaFox10 said, 3 months ago

   At first I thought she meant Kobal! But she doesn’t watch BSG!
10. 

    StoicLion said, 3 months ago

    I would have thought Rita’s reason would have to do with the business and finance roots of COBOL. As for her stated reasons, hooray for the sideways reference to RADM Grace Hopper, the mother of Navy computing! She is on par with ADM Rickover on her influence to today’s Navy!
11. 

    sbwertz said, 3 months ago

    My husband was on the team that wrote the first ANSI standard COBOL compiler back in the 60s.
12. 

    johnzakour said, 3 months ago

    @sbwertz

    Okay that is cool. Did he know Grace? I saw her talk a couple of times. She called me “son” once.
13. 

    contralto2b said, 3 months ago

    Hey, anyone here ever program in EBCDIC (I think) for the IBM Mini computers? That was about 30 years ago. They used to use the minis in submarines.
14. 

    Digital Frog said, 3 months ago

    If they don’t do it, she’ll give them WATFOR!
15. 

    PoodleGroomer said, 3 months ago

    COBOL is a little behind on its standard libraries. I don’t think anyone has standardized calls to JAVA or .NET.
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