Article

2020-04-06 Economy

COVID-19 Response: New Jersey Urgently Needs COBOL Programmers (Yes, You Read That Correctly)

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-04-06 02:52|| || Front Page|| [11135 views ] Top

#1 Really?
I haven't used Cobol since a class in 75.
I doubt I even have a manual tucked away.

Posted by 3dc 2020-04-06 05:54|| 2020-04-06 05:54|| Front Page Top

#2 I don't know whether to say this is unbelievable or believable.

Maybe start over? And don't dig up those clowns who put together the Obamacare website.

Posted by gorb 2020-04-06 07:03|| 2020-04-06 07:03|| Front Page Top

#3 Class in '78, used on 1 project in '81, my knowledge base has rusted to dust.

Posted by AlanC 2020-04-06 07:25|| 2020-04-06 07:25|| Front Page Top

#4 Call me when they go back to FORTRAN and I won't remember that as well

Posted by Frank G 2020-04-06 07:59|| 2020-04-06 07:59|| Front Page Top

#5 One of my best friends was a COBOL programmer for Hills Dept. Stores (late 80's - early 90's), then took that to Fidelity Investments for a good stretch. By that time I was a Visual C++ guy, so I've never had that COBOL pleasure.

Posted by Raj 2020-04-06 08:39|| 2020-04-06 08:39|| Front Page Top

#6 Some applications are so vital nobody dares to touch them. At one point the Franch postalbank had an application running on two or three layers of emulations so farid were they from even looking at it.

Posted by JFM 2020-04-06 08:46|| 2020-04-06 08:46|| Front Page Top

#7 Learned that back in 1983 at AT&T in NJ along with Model204. If you haven't heard of that one..reportedly it was used at only 2 places. The DOD and AT&T. Probably still running at both. The problem with compiled code is that if you lose the source and only have the object module running, you can't make changes unless yo have a de-compiler...don't know even if one exists.

Posted by Warthog 2020-04-06 09:32|| 2020-04-06 09:32|| Front Page Top

#8 Guessed Not Bee, not because it isn't strange but because only those who know would pull COBOL out of a hat.

Posted by swksvolFF 2020-04-06 10:02|| 2020-04-06 10:02|| Front Page Top

#9 My older son made a killing during the Y2K 'problem' because he knew both Cobol and Fortran.

I sent him this link and he responded that he's forgotten more in 20 years than he probably cares to acknowledge.

And no, he won't be going to NJ.

Posted by Mullah Richard 2020-04-06 10:11|| 2020-04-06 10:11|| Front Page Top

#10 COBOL? You've got to be kidding. What's next? Is FORTRAN going to make a comeback?

Posted by JohnQC 2020-04-06 10:24|| 2020-04-06 10:24|| Front Page Top

#11 IF....
THEN....
ELSE.....
ON THE OTHER HAND.......

Posted by Mercutio 2020-04-06 10:27|| 2020-04-06 10:27|| Front Page Top

#12 One of the greatest days ever was when Fujitsu updated their compiler on DEC to include perform until loop structure. I immediately rewrote a ton of custom ERP code to remove old school COBOL go to spaghetti loops. Could probably help but tbh it takes ages to learn custom legacy systems; hopefully they have some old timers around that can at least walk ‘newer’ programmers through the system architecture.

Otherwise they may as well start over.

Posted by bombay 2020-04-06 10:45|| 2020-04-06 10:45|| Front Page Top

#13 *Gag* "Clubfoot", err, COBOL.... The memories from college programming courses long gone.

Posted by magpie 2020-04-06 11:00|| 2020-04-06 11:00|| Front Page Top

#14 What about ALGOL? When are they going to bring it back?

Posted by Alaska Paul 2020-04-06 11:20|| 2020-04-06 11:20|| Front Page Top

#15 Up until 10-15 years ago there were a *lot* of legacy COBOL code out there. And not just accounting software but huge enterprise applications with tens of millions of lines of code. (1)

Nowdays, as someone once said, Java is the new COBOL :) In 10-20 years you grandkid may be saying “Java? You got to be kidding! What’s next? Perl?”

(1) - of course with COBOL it took tens of millions of lines of code...

Posted by CrazyFool 2020-04-06 11:47|| 2020-04-06 11:47|| Front Page Top

#16 COBOL! that's a painful memory from 1980 something

Posted by 746 2020-04-06 12:02|| 2020-04-06 12:02|| Front Page Top

#17 Yeah, you guys are resurrecting my college days Computer Science angst.

But so does CP/M and 8080 chips.

Posted by Mullah Richard 2020-04-06 13:13|| 2020-04-06 13:13|| Front Page Top

#18 Think I just recently tossed an old IBM COBOL manual. Didn't figure I'd ever need it again. Oh well, I wouldn't want to move to New Jersey anyway.

Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-04-06 13:38|| 2020-04-06 13:38|| Front Page Top

#19 Just finished a lube job on the ol' 80 column card puncher...she's all set to go.

Posted by USN, Ret. 2020-04-06 16:09|| 2020-04-06 16:09|| Front Page Top

#20 Re #14: AP Algol 60 or 68? Algol 60 was my first programming language

Posted by Rambler in Virginia 2020-04-06 16:14|| 2020-04-06 16:14|| Front Page Top

#21 If they need someone with GWBASIC skills, I'll be by the landline.

Posted by AlmostAnonymous5839 2020-04-06 17:26|| 2020-04-06 17:26|| Front Page Top

#22 I learned FORTRAN IV, then Algol, missed COBOL and SNOBOL. In 1970 I did an independent study course and made and earthwork program for designing single or dual highways, both together and splint. We got in on the early plotters, where we had pens and changes for color. At Berkeley we had a CDC 6400 mainframe computer.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2020-04-06 17:41|| 2020-04-06 17:41|| Front Page Top

#23 New-Jersey is probaly willing to pay ze Big, Big Bucks to anyone able to fix their Cobol program.

Sure you don't want to move thre?

Posted by JFM 2020-04-06 19:43|| 2020-04-06 19:43|| Front Page Top

#24 Nahhhh - they'll farm it out to China

Posted by Frank G 2020-04-06 19:56|| 2020-04-06 19:56|| Front Page Top

09:43 Mullah Richard
09:27 Warthog
09:11 Mercutio
09:07 AlmostAnonymous5839
08:52 Matt
08:24 Matt
08:20 SteveS
07:43 Procopius2k
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07:34 trailing wife
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07:30 NN2N1
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