Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/ibm-cobol-core
In today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape, it’s easy to overlook the foundational programming languages that still power a significant portion of global business operations. COBOL, a language known for its scalability, maturity, and self-documenting nature, remains a critical tool for many enterprises. If you’re looking to delve into this powerful language, the “IBM COBOL Core” course on Coursera is an excellent starting point.
This comprehensive course offers a deep dive into the core features of COBOL, making it accessible even for those new to the language. The curriculum is thoughtfully structured, guiding learners through essential concepts with clarity and practicality.
The first module, “Numeric Usage Types, Editing, and Branching,” lays a solid groundwork. Here, you’ll learn to define compound and negated conditions, utilize condition names for clearer code, understand the use of switches within programs, and grasp the nuances of display numeric data types. This section is crucial for building a robust understanding of how COBOL handles data and program flow.
Moving on to the second module, “Structured Programming, Testing, Debugging, and Reports,” the course tackles the principles of writing maintainable and efficient code. You’ll explore the concepts of calling and called programs, understand the components of reports, and learn vital strategies for testing and debugging. Recognizing and correcting unstructured code is a key takeaway, ensuring you can write readable and manageable COBOL programs.
Finally, the third module, “Table Handling, Sorting, and Intrinsic Functions,” equips you with advanced techniques. This includes mastering table handling with practical examples of sequential searches, understanding the sort/merge process, and exploring the utility of intrinsic functions. Knowing these elements is essential for optimizing COBOL applications.
Overall, the “IBM COBOL Core” course is a well-designed and informative program. It strikes a good balance between theoretical knowledge and practical application, making COBOL approachable and its core functionalities understandable. Whether you’re looking to maintain legacy systems, transition into mainframe development, or simply expand your programming repertoire, this course comes highly recommended. It’s an investment in a skill set that continues to be highly relevant in the business world.
Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/ibm-cobol-core