17 Jun
2026
17 Jun
'26
12:06 p.m.
On Wed, 2026-06-17 at 14:01 -0400, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote:
No, the domain for COBOL is an application domain. It
can be run on
any machine that has a compiler for it. It's true that some machines
(IBM/360, VAX) have instructions specifically designed to do the
decimal arithmetic that COBOL likes as single CISC operations
The IBM 1401 COBOL compiler produced excellent code in 1966. And you
can get a "tape" for it and run it in SimH i1401. Statements like "MOVE
A TO B." compiled into one instruction. "ADD A TO B GIVING C" compiled
into two instructions. Regardless of the number of digits in the (non-
display) picture. Display pictures resulted in one "Move Characters and
Edit" instruction. It's almost as if the 1401 was designed to run
COBOL, but it appeared one year before the DoD 60 COBOL standard. The
Burroughs 2500/3500 systems also catered for COBOL quite effectively.