COBOL for Beginners: The 60-Year-Old Language That Still Runs the World's Money
COBOL is older than the internet, older than the personal computer, and it still moves trillions of dollars every single day. About 80% of in-person financial transactions touch COBOL somewhere — ATM withdrawals, card payments, bank transfers, insurance claims. If you think old languages are dead, COBOL is the counterexample that will change your mind. COBOL was created in 1959 to be readable by…
COBOL, a programming language that predates the internet and personal computers by decades, remains an essential force in the financial world. An estimated 80% of in-person financial transactions, ranging from ATM withdrawals to insurance claims, are processed using COBOL. Created in 1959 with readability in mind, COBOL's code is remarkably English-like, making it accessible to non-programmers.
Its structure, divided into sections like IDENTIFICATION DIVISION, ENVIRONMENT DIVISION, DATA DIVISION, and PROCEDURE DIVISION, organizes programs in a way that mirrors the English language.
A classic example of COBOL can be seen in the following simple program:
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. HELLO-WORLD.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DISPLAY "Hello, COBOL!".
STOP RUN.
This code, though verbose by today's standards, was designed to be comprehensible to business managers in 1959. Six decades later, banks value this readability because it allows them to maintain millions of lines of COBOL code without rewriting it. Such systems, untouched by modern software practices, are notoriously difficult to replace due to the risk of introducing new bugs that could cost billions.
The scarcity of COBOL developers drives up salaries in this niche field. Despite its ancient tooling and small community, COBOL commands surprisingly high salaries. However, this language is not for everyone. COBOL developers will not find a modern package ecosystem, nor will they be able to build startups with it. The language lacks the excitement of newer, trendier programming languages, but it does offer stability and a well-paid career path for those willing to learn.
For those interested in exploring COBOL, the first step is to install GnuCOBOL and write a simple "Hello, COBOL!" program. From there, one can progress to writing batch jobs that process lists of numbers, a task for which COBOL was originally designed. This hands-on experience will quickly demonstrate why banks and financial institutions still rely on this 60-year-old language.
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