I am a professional developer and I continue programming in COBOL

In 2019, the COBOL programming language has turned 60 years old. And despite the fact that many more modern and intuitive languages ​​have appeared, COBOL continues to have a very important weight in sectors as important as banking or administration.

Maybe that’s why some developers have also chosen to specialize in COBOL. Although it has not been easy to locate them, we have spoken with two of them to tell us why they made their decision and what it is like to work for an almost eternal language.

On the way i found you

Alberto Conejero is 38 years old and has been responsible for a team of 4 people for Serbatic for 2. All of them are specialized in the COBOL programming language.

Recognize that developing your career in this language it was not something sought, but an “imposed decision”. “As a result of one of the famous mergers between banks and the overlaps between departments and organizational chart changes, the team I belonged to went from working with PL / SQL with Oracle to carrying out JCL processes and COBOL programs to feed databases in Teradata ”, he tells us.

Gregorio Arroyo, for his part, is the manager and owner of AG Informática y Servicios. In addition to managerial work, this Physics graduate since 1978 is also dedicated to maintenance and development of computer applications in COBOL for SMEs. A year after leaving college, the multinational NCR “selected me for training in Madrid, which included training and application development in COBOL,” he recalls.

Arroyo, who also had knowledge of other languages ​​such as Basic or Fortran, assures that when he saw COBOL for the first time “it seemed to me to be very strict with the code generation standards.” Something that is overcome when “one is done with them, then it is sew and sing”, he assures.

What ended up prompting him to bet on COBOL was that at that time, when he came into contact with this language, he had the appropriate training and “it was already the most common and most professional language for the development of applications for companies,” says Arroyo.

What do you have that others don’t have

When he came across COBOL, Conejero acknowledges that, at first, he did not see value for his professional career. But he attributes it to the fact that “he still did not know the technology, its history, its simplicity, speed, etc. In addition, the people who programmed in COBOL were already older and I thought that it was a technology that was going to die shortly ”.

After studying the Higher Degree Cycles of Computer Systems Administration and Computer Application Development, Alberto Conejero had received academic training in C ++ and Visual Basic and had worked for many years with SQL, JavaScript and HTML. And he has even taken several courses in C #, .NET and Java. However, Conejero assures that after that first contact and reaction when encountering COBOL, he soon realized the “potential, speed and reliability of this language”.

Meanwhile, Gregorio Arroyo admits that he has experimented with other languages ​​such as C ** or Javascript, but, in his opinion, “they don’t have the English verb programming look and feel that COBOL has”. And, in addition, he acknowledges that at his age “it is already difficult for me to switch to another form of programming.”

The best and worst of COBOL

But in addition, this professional assures that in all his professional experience “I have not encountered in COBOL with limitations that would force me to use another language. The COBOL that I use has evolved over this time, like the rest, to adapt to the technological requirements of each moment ”.

If I had to define COBOL, Alberto Conejero assures that it is “simple, fast and reliable”. Meanwhile, Arroyo values ​​that its programming method resembles the natural language in English, “in addition to the reliability and security of data management.”

On the other side of the scale, Conejero is sorry that we are facing a less visually appealing language What others. And, as Arroyo laments, another of its weaknesses is that most of the COBOL manufacturers “have been absorbed by a single supplier, which is Micro Focus, and they are expensive products”, He assures. A concentration that “forces the payment of runtime licenses for the use of applications developed in this language, which normally makes applications more expensive”.

COBOL, a language of old?

Gregorio Arroyo recognizes that COBOL is not a modern language. So much so that it is not even taught. “Those of us who remain are already from the ‘old guard’,” he says.

Conejero also acknowledges that “there are few people trained and experienced in this language, mainly among young developers who focus on other, more current languages.” But even among older professionals it is not easy to find those who have continued to have their favorite or working language in COBOL. “From what I have been able to see in the sectors in which I have worked most COBOL programmers have been ceasing to be active progressively or they have little left ”, he explains. The positive part? “The demand for professionals of this profile will probably increase.”

In addition, Conejero believes that the majority of programmers who work in other technologies or languages ​​in the banking, insurance or payment sectors, “sooner or later will come across this language, if they have not already done so”, therefore that “at the very least”, I would encourage other developers to get to know this program.

Is it well paid to be a COBOL programmer, given that there are few experts in the field? The salary “is equal to the rest of languages,” says Conejero.

Arroyo, meanwhile, believes that any application development is currently “undervalued.” “Most assume that these are almost free. A developer is undervalued and more in COBOL, because we are believed to be anchored in the twentieth century”, Complaint. The exception would be in “major companies that have and use software developed in COBOL.”

How much life does COBOL have left?

The companies that do business with COBOL have it clear: this programming language has a future. And a lot.

Alberto Conejero, for example, is convinced that COBOL has turned 60 but still has a long life ahead of it, especially because “it is linked to sectors such as banking, insurance, means of payment, etc.”. For this reason, he does not hesitate to affirm that “it may continue for at least 60 more years.”

But Arroyo is shown on the opposite side. “I believe that the future of COBOL will be residual”And that it will only last“ as long as there are applications developed in that environment ”. And that is why I would not encourage you to specialize in this language. “The market is overwhelmed by Google, Amazon … and they recommend new languages.”

What the two agree on is that COBOL is seen in many ways, less as attractive. “COBOL is perceived by many as old and out of date. But I think that being “old” does not make it less cool”, Emphasizes Conejero. “There is a phrase that is attributed to Bill Gates:” I do not know what languages ​​will be in the future, but surely COBOL will still be there. ” So I think that COBOL still has a lot to offer us ”, he emphasizes.

Photos | Wikimedia