>I notice that the language most used on the z, COBOL has NO >improvements related to the EC12. There are improvements for PL/1 and >C/C++. This speaks louder than anything else as to whether IBM thinks >COBOL is on its deathbed.
What it really says is that IBM is very busy re-working COBOL to allow us to better keep up with hardware changes. What you say, Clark, is always the same negativity since IBM COBOL development did not implement some suggestions of yours in 2002 when you were still working with COBOL and z/OS and coming to SHARE. IBM recognizes that COBOL is the language of z/OS and that z/OS is the platform of the future, and that is why IBM has greatly increased its investment in COBOL over the past 5 years. Re-engineering a compiler and trying to maintain compatibility is not an easy task! COBOL is one the most, if not the most, difficult languages to write a compiler for, and if we miss a compatibility detail, we know we will hear about it. To everyone else on this list, try to filter out the negativity and have some patience. If you search for COBOL and Beta on Google you will see that there is already a Beta of a new IBM z/OS COBOL compiler, and I would ask, what does THAT tell you? :-) Cheers, TomR >> COBOL is the Language of the Future! << ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
