COBOL

• Cobol

Acronym of common business-oriented language, perhaps coined by American computer scientist and aerospace engineer Bob Bemer.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkoʊbɒl/, /-bɔːl/

COBOL

1. A programming language developed in the late 1950s, especially for business applications.
   • 1973, Russell M. Armstrong, Modular Programming in COBOL‎^[1], Wiley-Interscience:

     The problem in COBOL is that, while there exists a standard COBOL, ANS (American National Standard) COBOL, no computer manufacturer offers a COBOL compiler that is both full and pure ANS.

   • 2025 February 17, David Gilbert, “No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits”, in WIRED‎^[2], archived from the original on 19 February 2025:

     Because COBOL does not have a date type, some implementations rely instead on a system whereby all dates are coded to a reference point. The most commonly used is May 20, 1875, as this was the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the Convention du Mètre.