The language programming COBOL was created in 1959 and by the 1980s it was beginning to be considered obsolete and outdated. However, there are still several software systems based on COBOL. The economic impact of the coronavirus has significantly increased the demand for COBOL programmers. Last week, for example, the governor of New Jersey asked for COBOL programmers to help solve problems related to the software that runs the state's unemployment insurance system. Based on this data, IBM decided to help the states by connecting them with experienced COBOL programmers and training a new generation of programmers.
“Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, clients are facing unprecedented circumstances,” an IBM press release states. Some states “require additional programming skills to make changes to COBOL – a language that has been reported to have approximately 220 billion lines of code in use today.”
A new online forum, co-sponsored by the Open Mainframe Project, aims to connect COBOL programmers with people who want to hire them. There are hundreds of COBOL programmers. Many of them have vast experience while others have only recently learned the programming language. All of them have submitted details to the forum.
A second forum is “attended by experienced COBOL programmers who provide free advice during the crisis. This tool will allow programmers of various levels to manage issues, learn new techniques, etc.”
IBM is also preparing a free COBOL training course. The company has posted some material on Github, though it doesn't provide a full COBOL training course. IBM's announcement says the material "will be transformed into a self-service video course with hands-on labs and tutorials available next month, via Coursera and other learning platforms."
It may not be easy to train new COBOL programmers in time to help with current problems, such as those in New Jersey. However, efforts can be made. It seems that COBOL will continue to be in the spotlight for a long time to come.
