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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 27th, 2023

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  • Great question. Because of its unique spot in computing history, COBOL takes a different approach as compared to other languages like the C or Lisp families, and we’d be here forever trying to figure out which differences are good or bad. So for now I will list a few benefits that COBOL may have for a project compared to other languages:

    • COBOL is based on English, which means that while it may be a bit harder to write, it’s a little bit easier to read, which may help bring developers up to speed as a project grows in size. For example, the keyword ADD only refers to adding numbers, so there’s no ambiguity there
    • COBOL programs are split into different divisions and sections, which means that the variables, functions, I/O, and other aspects are in predictable locations and just a ctrl+F away. Combined with the above point, this means that COBOL programs are less likely to become messy over time.
    • COBOL natively supports the fixed-decimal format for numbers, which, unlike floating-point numbers, does not lose precision for very large and very small numbers. This is very useful in use cases where numbers must be very exact, like banking. Hence why the banking system still runs on COBOL.
    • In my opinion, COBOL’s message-passing model is superior to the thread-sharing model in terms of safety, which would otherwise require something like a borrow checker to stop race conditions and the like

    I hope that answered your most pressing questions.


  • Thank you for putting our project on the beginner list! Regarding the topic of the logo, I personally think that’s quite alright to acknowledge that COBOL is a weird and old language with a rich history going all the way back to Grace Hopper and even Flow-matic before her. However, the problem I have with the dinosaur imagery is that they are in fact dead because they could not adapt to the changes in their environment (besides the feathered ones of course). If you’re in the market for a mascot animal I would suggest the humble Horseshoe Crab, whose biological order spans back to the Ordovician Period but still exists today.