How COBOL Still Powers The Global Economy At 60 Years Old [View all]

A 60-year-old computer language powers the global economy.

Estimates as high as 80% of financial transactions use common business-oriented language, or COBOL. Now as programmers retire and fewer are joining the workforce to replace them, the future for the language is uncertain. But rumors of COBOL’s demise are nothing new.

Its death has been predicted many times. In fact, if there is one constant in the history of COBOL it may be predictions of the programming language’s death.

COBOL was created in 1959 by industry and government programmers but even then its future was uncertain.

“In less than a year there were rumors all over the industry that COBOL was dying,” said Grace Hopper, rear admiral and programmer who helped design the language in a 1981 lecture.

Read more: https://www.tpr.org/post/how-cobol-still-powers-global-economy-60-years-old