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COBOL was originally conceived as a programming language for building business applications. At the time this primarily meant processing large amounts of data and transforming it into useful information (commonly known at ETL). Interest in this kind of programming waned as the personal computing revolution swept through the industry, but it is waxing with the new focus on data science and "big data". Help us caption & translate this video! http://amara.org/v/FGYp/
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In the video "What We Can Learn From COBOL," Andrew Turley, a junior lead software engineer at The Ladders, discusses the historical context, design principles, and lasting impact of the COBOL programming language. Originally conceived in 1959, COBOL was developed to address the need for a common programming language for business applications specifically focused on data processing. Here are the key points covered in his presentation: - **Origins of COBOL**: COBOL was created in response to a need identified by Mary Hawes at a conference in 1959 for a programming language that could be universally applied across different hardware platforms, breaking away from machine-specific languages. - **Development Structure**: A long-range committee was established to guide the process, with a short-term committee that ultimately designed the language, culminating in the release of the first COBOL specification in December 1959. - **Language Design Philosophy**: The primary goal was to create a language accessible to non-programmers, resembling English, promoting readability, and ensuring ease of transcription on the early teletypes. - **Separation of Concerns**: COBOL’s structure mandates a clear separation of concerns which includes divisions for identification, environment, data, and procedures, fostering better organization than many modern programming languages. - **Transformation of Programming Constructs**: Initially, COBOL used simple verbs to operate, avoiding complex functions that were deemed too challenging for non-mathematicians, leading to a language that, while easy to read, often became verbose. - **Extension Limitations**: The initial ambition for COBOL to be extensible was rolled back due to a lack of implementation; the expansion only came much later with the introduction of built-in and user-defined functions. - **Contemporary Relevancy**: Turley highlights that the core concepts of ETL (extract, transform, load) that COBOL was designed to manage are still vital today, particularly with the rise of big data and event processing. - **Comparison with Modern Languages**: He draws parallels between COBOL’s structure and modern programming frameworks, showcasing how its principles remain relevant. - **Learning from COBOL**: The video emphasizes the importance of understanding COBOL’s legacy to appreciate ongoing developments in programming languages and data processing methodologies. In conclusion, Turley encourages viewers to explore COBOL as a domain-specific language rather than a general-purpose one, understanding its contributions to data manipulation and its lessons for current programming practices. He also provides a link to resources for further reading on COBOL's history and significance.
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