Technical Debt and Modernizing COBOL

Many large companies have COBOL applications that are the backbone of their business, but over time, they've accumulated technical debt. There's no need to start over! In this video, IBM Fellow Rosalind Radcliffe presents a roadmap to modernization utilizing tools that help with comprehensive application analysis and the refactoring. This process not only streamlines the existing COBOL codebase, but positions it for integration with contemporary technologies like AI, improving operational efficiency and unlocking latent business value.

#cobol #mainframe #zos

[kitersrefuge]

Very nice thank you! What even IT professionals do not realize is that the bulk of business logic is still running on Mainframe apps. To re-write them would be a crazy proposition. Which is why, anyone with interest in the domain would, until AGI arrives fully-fledged, have a job. Leveraging existing logic makes total sense, and your suggestion of AI in the middle peaked my interest.

[AreTwo]

I see it a bit differently. Many years ago we planned (as far as possible) to split the "Cobol" business logic of the base system into 2 types - data editing & database updating. We then planned to move as much as possible of the data editing to the input PCs with an application much smarter than a 3270, and as much as possible of the database updating into DB2 stored procedures, projecting (hoping) that finally the CICS region would finally add nothing, and could be removed. I left the project 15 years ago (retired) so don't know how close they got.

[evilroyslade]

I retired in 2004 after 35 years of programming, most of which involved COBOL business applications. The day I retired in 2004, I assumed programming would become obsolete in a few more years. I thought businesses would migrate to all customizable GENERIC business software for all business applications. I was wrong.

[josephjamesfrantz]

I keep trying to figure out how to learn COBOL with some assistance rather than just on my own and how I could get some sort of interaction with a mainframe or virtual machine or something rather than just reading and not being able to test.

I've contacted the IBM learning center a couple of times and got no responses via email and I have a few of us that would like to study together. What do you suggest is the best path forward I can't find anywhere where I can learn mainframes with a teacher full CICS COBOL and so on with a testing environment.

I did contact Murach's publishing and they're going to look for a college that is still teaching COBOL with resources but any help you could offer would be appreciated.

[bobanmilisavljevic]

Every time i hear COBOL mentioned I like to look up Grace Hopper. I love sharing a birthday with such an influential person and hope i can be even a fraction as awesome as she was
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