Cobol, short for Common Business Oriented Language, is a programming language that was designed for business applications It was developed in the 1950s by a team of computer scientists and remains one of the most commonly used languages for business applications. Cobol is designed for readability and to enable non-programmers to understand and maintain the source code. It supports structured programming, divides tasks into modules, and provides data manipulation and files handling.
Cobol is used in many different kinds of businesses, from banking and insurance to retail, to government and manufacturing. Here are five examples of how Cobol is used in businesses today.
1. Banking: Cobol is used by financial institutions around the world to store and manage customer data and funds. This includes programs that are used to track investments, process loan applications and deposits, and manage customer accounts.
2. Insurance: Cobol is used to maintain customer records, process claims, and generate reports. It is also used to develop applications for policy administration and automated policy underwriting.
3. Retail: Cobol is used to maintain inventory and point of sale (POS) systems, and to develop custom applications for pricing, promotions, and discounts.
4. Government: Cobol is used to develop applications for payroll, benefits, and human resources management. It is also used to maintain tax records and audit trails.
5. Manufacturing: Cobol is used to develop applications for production scheduling and control, inventory control and shipping, as well as quality control. It can also be used to develop applications for tracking materials and components, and for monitoring and controlling production processes.
Overall, Cobol is an important language for businesses. It helps to make processes more efficient, and provides a secure platform for storing and managing data. It is easy to learn and easy to maintain, making it an ideal choice for a variety of applications.