Jason BloombergSilver badge
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Re: the discipline of using COBOL on show
Is it "the discipline of using COBOL" on show here, or simply that COBOL is so well defined and simplistic that it's easy to convert most COBOL programs to some other language?

I have written a number of transpilers to convert from one language to another. They work brilliantly so long as the source is within the transpiler's constraints. Otherwise update the transpiler or simplify the source.

It's been so long since I had to deal with COBOL the only thing I remember about it, which elicits a smile every time, is the classic -

PERFORM X UNTIL EXHAUSTED //

Roland6Silver badge
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Re: the discipline of using COBOL on show
No COBOL conversion was performed here. As the original commentant pointed out: the ability to specify a problem in a form that permits the writing of a COBOL program also permits the creation of a specification that can be I’m-lamented in a different langauge.

Remember an AI prompt is just a specification written in a way an AI code generator can parse. The writing of specifications is something Imsuspect many older programmers did and do, but many code junkies have avoided doing…