15 lines
2.8 KiB
HTML
15 lines
2.8 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>COBOL</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../C.html" title="C"/><link rel="previous" href="coaster-toaster.html" title="coaster toaster"/><link rel="next" href="COBOL-fingers.html" title="COBOL fingers"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">COBOL</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="coaster-toaster.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">C</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="COBOL-fingers.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="COBOL"/><dt xmlns="" id="COBOL"><b>COBOL</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="pronunciation">/koh´bol/</span>, <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">n.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> [COmmon Business-Oriented Language] (Synonymous with
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<a href="../E/evil.html"><i class="glossterm">evil</i></a>.) A weak, verbose, and flabby language used by
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<a href="code-grinder.html"><i class="glossterm">code grinder</i></a>s to do boring mindless things on
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<a href="../D/dinosaur.html"><i class="glossterm">dinosaur</i></a> mainframes. Hackers believe that all COBOL
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programmers are <a href="../S/suit.html"><i class="glossterm">suit</i></a>s or
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<a href="code-grinder.html"><i class="glossterm">code grinder</i></a>s, and no self-respecting hacker will ever admit to
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having learned the language. Its very name is seldom uttered without
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ritual expressions of disgust or horror. One popular one is Edsger W.
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Dijkstra's famous observation that “<span class="quote">The use of COBOL cripples the
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mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal
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offense.</span>” (from <i class="citetitle">Selected Writings on Computing: A
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Personal Perspective</i>) See also
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<a href="../F/fear-and-loathing.html"><i class="glossterm">fear and loathing</i></a>, <a href="../S/software-rot.html"><i class="glossterm">software rot</i></a>.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="coaster-toaster.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../C.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="COBOL-fingers.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">coaster toaster </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> COBOL fingers</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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