COBOL

Abstract

COBOL (COmmon Business Orientated Language) has its origins in the early days of electronic computing when most of then work done was centred around the production of payrolls, stock lists and accounting systems. It stems from the days when all input to a computer system was via the medium of punched cards and still, even when used on microcomputer systems, retains this punched card-orientated feel. It also, when examined closely, appears to be a very verbose language using words such as ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY and DIVIDE instead of the more common mathematical symbols, although the latest versions of the language provide a way of getting around this.