COBOL, one of the most widely used programming languages, is celebrating its 65th anniversary. In this episode, Derek Britton, Co-Chair of the COBOL Working Group at the Open Mainframe Project, reflects on the milestone and COBOL’s continued relevance in modern technology.

Britton cites a study showing that the average person interacts with COBOL around 789 times a day, often unnoticed, through banking, insurance, and e-commerce transactions. To commemorate the anniversary, the Open Mainframe Project launched a Guest Book project, gathering insights from stakeholders to highlight COBOL’s enduring value, despite ongoing criticism. Britton also highlighted the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with COBOL to enhance mainframe applications and ongoing efforts to attract new developers through apprenticeship programs and educational initiatives.

Celebrating COBOL’s 65th anniversary

• Britton shares his journey with COBOL, starting from his university days and his involvement with Micro Focus.
• Britton emphasizes the relevance of COBOL in today’s world, highlighting its role in modern applications and transactions.
• Britton mentions a study showing that the average person interacts with COBOL 789 times a day without realizing it.

The Role of COBOL in Modern Technology

• Britton discusses the criticism COBOL has faced over the years and the establishment of the COBOL Working Group at the Open Mainframe Project.
• Britton explains the importance of celebrating COBOL’s anniversary to remind the industry of its enduring value.
• The idea of a “retirement party” for COBOL was considered, but ultimately, a birthday party was chosen to gather messages from the community.
• Britton outlines the plan to collect birthday messages from users of COBOL to celebrate its anniversary.

Guest Book Initiative for COBOL’s Anniversary

• Britton talks about the Guest Book initiative to gather perspectives from various stakeholders, including end-user organizations, consultants, educators, and technical experts.
• Britton mentions the Open Mainframe Project’s initiatives like the Global Check Initiative and the Global Training Course.
• Upcoming industry shows and the Open Mainframe Project Summit in October will feature sessions on COBOL and IT skills.
• Britton highlights the importance of telling the story of COBOL’s value and the challenges it faces.

Perspectives from the COBOL Community

• Britton shares insights from the Guest Book entries, including perspectives from end-user organizations, consultants, educators, and technical experts.
• Britton emphasizes the continued value of COBOL for organizations and the importance of teaching the language in educational institutions.
• The Guest Book project aims to provide a balanced perspective on COBOL’s current state and future prospects.
• Britton mentions the involvement of the COBOL Working Group committee in the Guest Book project.

Future of COBOL and AI Integration

• Britton discusses the potential of AI to enhance and accelerate mainframe applications, including COBOL.
• Britton highlights the interest in AI at recent industry shows and the investment being made by vendors in AI-accelerated technologies.
• The intersection of AI and COBOL is expected to bring about exciting use cases in the coming years.
• Britton believes that COBOL will continue to be part of the technological landscape despite the advancements in AI.

COBOL’s Enduring Value and Skills Challenge

• Britton explains the unique design of COBOL, which makes it ideal for data manipulation and high numeric accuracy.
• Britton traces the history of COBOL back to its inception in 1959, emphasizing its role in addressing the post-war skills challenge.
• COBOL’s simplicity and ability to be learned by non-technical personnel made it a popular choice for building IT systems.
• Despite the challenges, COBOL remains in the top 20 of popular programming languages, thanks to its enduring value.

Addressing the IT Skills Challenge

• Britton talks about the ongoing IT skills challenge and the importance of training new generations of technologists.
• The Open Mainframe Project has initiated apprenticeship programs in the US, with significant interest from potential candidates.
• Britton stresses the need for continuous training programs to ensure the long-term viability of older technologies like COBOL.
• Britton highlights the role of academia and industry collaborations in addressing the IT skills challenge.

Guest: Derek Britton (LinkedIn)
Project: Open Mainframe Project (Twitter)