entering data using tab is definitely faster than moving pointer to the box, clicking and then entering the data... emulating the application on desktop is pointless ass you lose the reliability of the mainframe... you really need to work on mainframes for a long time before you realize its power...
Lots of Banks have a Mainframe based system with COBOL as their primary language.[This was the only safe and sound language available at the time].
It's not just the banks, lots of Pharma/healthcare, Retail businesses(e.g. Tesco) , insurance companies manufacturing companies have years of data on a mainframe.
They run on applications that are age old(20 to 30 years or older). These systems have been developed, modified, enhanced and messed with over years. We call such systems are organically developed systems and they have absolutely no documentation and are supported by a workforce that is nearing retirement age. these guys are the System experts.
Now you might think that as the main workforce is retiring the systems too should retire and the applications will move on to newer platforms.
Now this where the Indian work force comes in. The likes of Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and TCS have a huge workforce of people trained in COBOL and mainframes. These guys are now working with the retiring workforce and getting all the system knowledge. It is hopeless work and requires lots of sleepless nights but the money is good and indians will do it cheaper. The bank gets a huge number of contractors working in their IT dept and are happy.
This workforce may not provide the same quality of work provided by the earlier experts but they'll get the job done.
Coming to the issue of migrating the existing applications onto the newer platforms.
Imagine a bank that has hundreds of branches across the country. They have people working for them and are trained in the current setup. The banks have been developing systems to plugin [lots of internet banking software still talk to a Mainframe back end via CICS transactions(In IBM, UNISYS, FUJITSU etc. may have a different thing )] to their core mainframe. The cost and effort of replacing the core mainframe logic as well as the interfaces to all the systems with a new platform is just too huge. No CEO would take the risk.
Instead what they are now trying to do is open all new business on the newer systems and continue with the older systems.
From where i see COBOL still has a long way to go.
I am not going to shun a COBOL job simply because i do not like the language. Once you get into the business and know the institution you are working for well enough it is the domain knowledge that will get you up and not your programming skills. Programming skills come really cheap these days. India, china etc.. and even these are now facing competition from other countries where the cost of living is even lower.
Yes COBOL is a language of the past but it is still going strong and will remain so for a long time.
"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; and the realist adjusts the sails."
bang on.... I see COBOL alive and kicking millions of transactions with No.. "absolutely no" downtime...
i am 20 something... i code in cobol for a bank... its their core banking solution... a microsoft system that was to integrate with the Mainframe was unable to handle the speed with which data was posted to it...(the mainframe is 39 years old, surpring a new language on a new platform couldn'thandle it LOL... an earlier attempt to migrate the system to java failed when the new application was twice as slow with only a portion of logic.. ) we are short on good cobol developers... thankgod we have a team of folks from india who are now busy coding in cobol and earning big bucks... yes cobol is old... yes it is museum material but it does the job and combine it with mainframes... the speed and reliability is unmatchable...
Slashdot Mirror
1975 cobol code still running...
"...Don't get me started on "distributed systems" because I'll have to slap you silly. ..." lol good one...
entering data using tab is definitely faster than moving pointer to the box, clicking and then entering the data... emulating the application on desktop is pointless ass you lose the reliability of the mainframe... you really need to work on mainframes for a long time before you realize its power...
Wrong. Cobol runs on windows as well and Mainframes run C, Java etc...
Lots of Banks have a Mainframe based system with COBOL as their primary language.[This was the only safe and sound language available at the time]. It's not just the banks, lots of Pharma/healthcare, Retail businesses(e.g. Tesco) , insurance companies manufacturing companies have years of data on a mainframe. They run on applications that are age old(20 to 30 years or older). These systems have been developed, modified, enhanced and messed with over years. We call such systems are organically developed systems and they have absolutely no documentation and are supported by a workforce that is nearing retirement age. these guys are the System experts. Now you might think that as the main workforce is retiring the systems too should retire and the applications will move on to newer platforms. Now this where the Indian work force comes in. The likes of Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and TCS have a huge workforce of people trained in COBOL and mainframes. These guys are now working with the retiring workforce and getting all the system knowledge. It is hopeless work and requires lots of sleepless nights but the money is good and indians will do it cheaper. The bank gets a huge number of contractors working in their IT dept and are happy. This workforce may not provide the same quality of work provided by the earlier experts but they'll get the job done. Coming to the issue of migrating the existing applications onto the newer platforms. Imagine a bank that has hundreds of branches across the country. They have people working for them and are trained in the current setup. The banks have been developing systems to plugin [lots of internet banking software still talk to a Mainframe back end via CICS transactions(In IBM, UNISYS, FUJITSU etc. may have a different thing )] to their core mainframe. The cost and effort of replacing the core mainframe logic as well as the interfaces to all the systems with a new platform is just too huge. No CEO would take the risk. Instead what they are now trying to do is open all new business on the newer systems and continue with the older systems. From where i see COBOL still has a long way to go. I am not going to shun a COBOL job simply because i do not like the language. Once you get into the business and know the institution you are working for well enough it is the domain knowledge that will get you up and not your programming skills. Programming skills come really cheap these days. India, china etc.. and even these are now facing competition from other countries where the cost of living is even lower. Yes COBOL is a language of the past but it is still going strong and will remain so for a long time.
"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; and the realist adjusts the sails." bang on.... I see COBOL alive and kicking millions of transactions with No.. "absolutely no" downtime ...
i am 20 something... i code in cobol for a bank... its their core banking solution... a microsoft system that was to integrate with the Mainframe was unable to handle the speed with which data was posted to it...(the mainframe is 39 years old, surpring a new language on a new platform couldn'thandle it LOL... an earlier attempt to migrate the system to java failed when the new application was twice as slow with only a portion of logic .. ) we are short on good cobol developers... thankgod we have a team of folks from india who are now busy coding in cobol and earning big bucks... yes cobol is old ... yes it is museum material but it does the job and combine it with mainframes ... the speed and reliability is unmatchable...