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Microsoft Makes Push for COBOL Migration

Posted by Cliff on from the trusting-your-legacy-code-to-.NET dept.

geoff313 writes: "It would appear that Microsoft is making a real push for the migration of existing COBOL applications to Windows and their .Net platform. Micro Focus, a company who makes COBOL migration products and last year became a member of Microsoft's Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) program, announced their Net Express with .Net product, a plug-in to Microsoft Visual Studio .Net 2003. It allows for COBOL code to be integrated and manged with other code in Visual Studio. In an interview with eWeek he declares that 'Micro Focus and Microsoft are bringing the mainframe to Windows and .Net'. This makes me wonder, are there any Open Source projects working to provide for this eventual migration? Gartner estimates that over 75% of business data is processed by an approximately 200 billions lines of COBOL, so this seems like a huge potential market to lose to Microsoft."

7 of 487 comments (clear)

  1. Just announced... by fredbox · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft Visual COBOL++.NET 2003

    Available 3rd quarter 2005. Look for Visual COBOL# in 2007.

    --
    His name was Robert Paulsen.
  2. manged?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    It allows for COBOL code to be integrated and manged with other code in Visual Studio.

    I think the correct spelling is mangled.

  3. Oh no! by Danathar · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is just going to result in the resurgance of COBOL! Not the migration away from it! BASIC was literally almost DEAD until microsoft came out with Visual Basic. What do you think this will do for COBOL!

    I DO NOT want to have to debug visual COBOL!

  4. Re:As much as I hate MS this is very smart. by Jameth · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't know, that paper clip was pretty damn innovative. I mean, who else would think to make something like that?

  5. Re:if it ain't broke, don't fix it! by azzy · · Score: 5, Funny

    If it keeps you in a job, don't fix it completely.

  6. A joke. by Mr_Icon · · Score: 5, Funny

    On the eve of the New Year 2000, an old programmer went out of his house to go to a party, but was run over by a bus before he could get there. His vision went dark, but then he saw wonderful white light and people in white clothes leaning over him.
    "Where am I?" he said.
    As soon as he spoke, everyone started cheering and congratulating each-other.
    "What is going on?" he said, amidst the brouhaha.
    "You see, this is many thousands of years after your time," told him one man in a white labcoat. "The medicine has made huge advancements, and now we are able to revive people who have died millenia ago."
    "Wow," said the old programmer, "this is really great. But why me?"
    "Well, you see, this is the year 9999 -- we are facing the Y10K problem, and your resume said that you know COBOL..."

    --
    If you open yourself to the foo, You and foo become one.
  7. heard about Object Oriented Cobol? by Jamie+Zawinski · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's called "ADD ONE TO COBOL GIVING COBOL."


    (Yes, this joke is at least 15 years old...)