COBOL Script: a business-oriented scripting language

This paper describes COBOL Script, a Web-oriented script language developed by Hitachi. COBOL Script includes the following features: (1) The language specifications, which consist of functions required for Web computing, are a subset of COBOL85, the most frequently used programming language in business information systems. (2) COBOL Script supports decimal arithmetic functions that have the same precision as in standard COBOL85 on mainframe computers. (3) Efficient implementation was based on analysis of the pros and cons of the COBOL processing system. Using COBOL Script, users can: (1) Process applications requiring high precision, such as account-related applications, over the Web. (2) Use a test debugger and a Coverage Function with COBOL Script for large-scale development projects. (3) Use Japanese in programs. (4) Achieve good run-time performance.