Object-Oriented COBOL
Since the 2014 version of the standard!
Function and Program Prototypes
Since the 2014 version of the standard!
Complex Error Handling
Since the 2023 version of the standard!
GDB Source-Level Debugging
Introduced with GnuCOBOL 3.2. Available for VS/CODE and VS/CODIUM as well as the command line.
Cloud-Native COBOL
GnuCOBOL asnd COBOL for GCC produce Cloud Platform native programs. Both require only a small library be available at run-time making them easy to include in light weight containers. While various applications in COBOL may use other available libraries and capabilities, only those newer functions bring in complex dependencies.
COBOL is a Modern Language
The COBOL committees of ANSI and ISO-IEC are made up of working COBOL experts who have crafted COBOL-friendly language extensions that offer most of the most modern patterns in broad use today. That makes it easier for developers to become proficient quickly and write “native COBOL” using many of the paradigms they are already comfortable with.
COBOL is also a highly standardized language. There is a core language for which there is an internationally respected formal language definition. These standards have made it possible for COBOL end-users to easily keep up with evolving hardware technologies. COBOL implementations also support inter-language facilities so COBOL programs can call or be called by C, C++, Go, Rust, and many others. This integration capability has led to many modern Web front-ends which are ultimately supported by COBOL back-ends.
Highly Portable
Open Source COBOL software is highly portable. Both GnuCOBOL and COBOL for GCC use the Gnu Compiler Collection (GCC) to convert COBOL source code into executable programs. GCC can convert COBOL to any modern platform and even many that are considered long obsolete.