COBOL is ‘old reliable’ in the government

Posted by Mike on Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Many federal agencies are using machines that are running software developed 25 to 35 years ago, and they’re still going strong.

These machines are using the COmmon Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) to get things done.

Invented in 1959 by Naval officer Grace Hopper, COBOL is still a prevalent force throughout the federal government.

There are still about 200 billion lines of the code in live operation, and 75 percent of business-critical applications and 90 percent of financial transactions use it.

It’s a very secure, easy-to-learn language, but it’s running into some problems now that the Obama administration has issued modernization initiatives such as the Open Government Directive.  READ MORE