Rocket® COBOL

COBOL remains a cornerstone of global business operations powering 70% of the world's business transaction processing across industries such as banking, insurance, travel, retail, and government. However, running COBOL that has not been modernized – combined with outdated engineering tools and practices – can slow innovation, increase operational risk, and expose systems to today's security threats. Organizations with COBOL at their core can no longer afford to operate on outdated applications and systems or take unnecessary, expensive risks with application rewrite projects.  However, for many people, COBOL's reputation is clouded by a number of persistent myths and misunderstandings – even those familiar with COBOL may still judge it based on how it looked and operated over 30 years ago. Join us for a LinkedIn Live event on COBOL modernization without myths and outdated perception. Learn why COBOL remains vital to global businesses and how Rocket Software products enable modernizatio

COBOL remains a cornerstone of global business operations powering 70% of the world's business transaction processing across industries such as banking, insurance, travel, retail, and government. However, running COBOL that has not been modernized – combined with outdated engineering tools and practices – can slow innovation, increase operational risk, and expose systems to today's security threats. Organizations with COBOL at their core can no longer afford to operate on outdated applications and systems or take unnecessary, expensive risks with application rewrite projects.  However, for many people, COBOL's reputation is clouded by a number of persistent myths and misunderstandings – even those familiar with COBOL may still judge it based on how it looked and operated over 30 years ago. Join us for a LinkedIn Live event on COBOL modernization without myths and outdated perception. Learn why COBOL remains vital to global businesses and how Rocket Software products enable modernizatio

Hi everyone, Thanks to everyone who joined us for your activity and questions. To those who couldn't make please feel free to watch it on demand. The recording of the COBOL x GenAI Insights: Meet Rocket® Visual COBOL® 11.0 webinar is available. You can watch the recording anytime and share it with your team. Some useful materials: Webinar recording Webinar deck Rocket Visual COBOL 11.0 Documentation Supported platforms Rocket Enterprise Suite 11.0 Webinar Recording for IBM Z Application Modernization COBOL in 1 Day Course Thank you to everyone who actively participated in the quiz as well! Five winners will receive gifts from Rocket Software. The team will contact you individually: Andrew B. Joel F. Brian C. AJ A. Simon S. Please look forward to our next event: LinkedIn Live Event: COBOL Modernization Without the Myths, Sep 30, 11 a.m. ET Join us for the event on COBOL modernization: Without myths and outdated perceptions. Learn why COBOL remains vital to global businesses and how

Hi everyone, Thanks to everyone who joined us for your activity and questions. To those who couldn't make please feel free to watch it on demand.   The recording of the COBOL x GenAI Insights: Meet Rocket® Visual COBOL® 11.0 webinar is available. You can watch the recording anytime and share it with your team.   Some useful materials: Webinar recording Webinar deck Rocket Visual COBOL 11.0 Documentation Supported platforms Rocket Enterprise Suite 11.0 Webinar Recording for IBM Z Application Modernization COBOL in 1 Day Course Thank you to everyone who actively participated in the quiz as well! Five winners will receive gifts from Rocket Software. The team will contact you individually: Andrew B. Joel F. Brian C. AJ A. Simon S. Please look forward to our next event: LinkedIn Live Event: COBOL Modernization Without the Myths Sep 30, 11 a.m. ET   Join us for the event on COBOL modernization: Without myths and outdated perceptions. Learn why COBOL remains vital to global businesses

Hi everyone!   Tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET, we're bringing you the biggest Rocket Visual COBOL update of the year -- with GenAI Insights, new supported platforms, and an exclusive roadmap preview! We'll also be answering your questions about COBOL modernization, so make sure to join us.    Sign up now so you don't miss it: COBOL x GenAI Insights: Meet Rocket® Visual COBOL® 11.0 | Rocket Software   Can't join us live? No problem, we'll send you the webinar recording afterward.   See you tomorrow------------------------------Sava KovalenkoPMMRocket Software Forum Member------------------------------

Hi everyone!   Tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET, we're bringing you the biggest Rocket Visual COBOL update of the year -- with GenAI Insights, new supported platforms, and an exclusive roadmap preview! We'll also be answering your questions about COBOL modernization, so make sure to join us.    Sign up now so you don't miss it: COBOL x GenAI Insights: Meet Rocket® Visual COBOL® 11.0 | Rocket Software   Can't join us live? No problem, we'll send you the webinar recording afterward.   See you tomorrow------------------------------Sava KovalenkoPMMRocket Software Forum Member------------------------------

I've not ventured back to VS Code for a fair while, so have some questions and things that need clarification.My understanding for searching through the community posts what when you start vs code (such as from the command line 'code . ') if an existing .cblproj file exists it is read and the compile directives used, SQL directives and copybook paths.I seem to find this isn't true. To locate my copybooks I ended up creating a cobol.dir file and used COPYPATH(C:\\MF\\COPY;C:\\MF\\CPB)I also configured tasks.json: {     "version": "2.0.0",     "tasks": [         {             "type": "COBOL-MSBuild",             "command": "C:\\\\Program Files\\\\Microsoft Visual Studio\\\\2022\\\\Enterprise\\\\MSBuild\\\\Current\\\\Bin\\\\amd64\\\\MSBuild.exe",             "buildTarget": "${workspacefolder}/MyProg.cblproj",             "problemMatcher": [                 "$COBOLMSBuild"             ],             "group": "build",             "label": "COBOL: MSBuild (Compile Current File)",            

We are in the process of converting a native application to COBOL .NET and I would like to know a couple of things Is the use of SQLDA supported in COBOL .NET? If so then do I still need to set the address of sqldata(n) to a group entry as per below and process in 64k chunks or is there a better (easier) way? 01 obj-entry.    03 obj-len     pic s9(9) comp-5.    03 obj-str      pic x(65535). Ideally I would like to utilise a type String field but, as I have learnt, you cannot use ADDRESS OF on a native managed type so hoping for alternatives Thanks------------------------------Peter Restorick------------------------------

Hi everyone, The idea that COBOL is "stuck in the past" is one of tech's most persistent myths - and one of its biggest disconnects, given how much COBOL is still actively being developed. Even those once familiar with the language can struggle to see how it fits into a modern tech stack in the age of AI. Perhaps you're one of them? There's more than a grain of truth, of course - many COBOL systems do carry the weight of their history. Real-world COBOL often contains layers from different eras, as you'd expect from software that's delivered value for decades. But to examine a few lines of code written from 1980s or earlier and conclude COBOL has no place in modern IT is like dismissing smartphones because you once used a brick-sized mobile phone in the '80s. Don't let your memory of COBOL - as it once was and when you once wrote it - cloud your judgment of what it's capable of today. And perhaps most regrettably, don't let that lead you to trade it for something that's little more tha

Software used:   Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 Version 16.11.42   Micro Focus Visual COBOL 8.0    Operating System: Windows Server 2022 Datacenter   Problem Description:   We have few Micro Focus Visual COBOL program executables running as Windows services. These .cbl programs were created using 'Console Application, COBOL' option in Visual Studio editor. The built .exes were converted to services using NSSM (Non Sucking Service Manager). Requirement now is to eliminate NSSM and create core Visual COBOL code that runs itself as Windows services without help of any third party tool. Is this feasible with a project created with 'Console Application, COBOL' options? ------------------------------Kavitha NatarajanRocket Software Forum Member------------------------------

Does anyone have any experience in how best to configure processors on virtual servers?  We have a client that upgraded their server and is now experiencing issues with some batch oriented programs (reports, updates) taking noticeably longer to run than on their old server.  Their IT guy has run tests on both old and new servers and is showing stats that in most cases the new server is returning better results.  The programs that seem to be running slower are doing a lot of reading and some rewriting and some report creation.  The IT guy is asking if it makes any difference to the AcuCobol-GT Runtime as to how he configures the processors, such as 2 CPU's with 4 cores each, versus 1 CPU with 8 cores, etc.  We do not do much multi-threading within our Cobol programs, and not at all in a few they are seeing decreased performance in, but not sure what/if any of this processor configuration on a VM matters to the Runtime either, or if it does affect it at all.  Just curious if anyone had e

I have below scenario.  Input File <<input_file.txt>> 0005abcde                                                                ====> Record1 0020abcdefghijklmnopqrst                                   =====> Record2 Each record has 2 part: Part#1          4 digit records length (ex: 0005) Part#2        Actual Data (ex: abcde) How the FD section should be defined in such case ? ------------------------------Swapnil GuptaSenior Application DeveloperPharmacy Data Management, Inc.Youngstown US------------------------------

I am trying to set a windows variable in COBOL that I will be able to read in a C# program I am calling from COBOL. "SET testvar=xx" works at a DOS prompt. However the following does not work. move "SET testvar=xx" to AFLD60CALL "C$SYSTEM" USING AFLD60, 97 END-CALL. | Called ASYNCH so no delay Any ideas would be most appreciated. Thanks, Steve  

Using Micro Focus\\Visual COBOL\\Samples\\COBOL for .NET\\Collections sample ,  which doesn't compile, and errors on the exact problem I'm trying to resolve.Visual COBOL 10 Update 6.How do I create an IF statement so based on the type I know an action to take like:        01 TableNew type System.Collections.Generic.SortedList[string, string].       01 myType object.           set myType = tablenew::GetType().           if myType is type System.Collections.Generic.SortedList[string, string]               display "Table is sorted"               *> Go do something.          else              *> Test if its a string or dictionary etc           end-ifAlso not valid:       if TableNew::GetType() = type System.Collections.Generic.SortedList[string, string]------------------------------Neil Hayes------------------------------

In Native COBOL you can have something like this:        01 MyData.           05 MyString1        Object Reference.           05 MyString2        Object Reference.           05 MyString3        Object Reference.           05 MyString4        Object Reference.           *> This is just a simplist list, there could be 100's       01 ProgramToCall        PIC X(6).       procedure division.           *> Program Names are build dynamically and called in a variable.          move "ABCDEF" to ProgramToCall          Call ProgramToCall using MyData Now moving to COBOL .NET this has to change as Object References must be on an 01 Level. All of my programs are in separate projects. All program Names  are called inside a variable All Linkages to different programs change depending on the program being called, some might not have any Object References, others my have 100's Q1. How do I simulate the same process in COBOL .NET?Q2. Can I do it without creating a project references? (Make it mo

Hi everyone, I'm Dominique, product director of Rocket ACUCOBOL products. First of all, thank you for the interest in Rocket ACUCOBOL extend 11. We're excited to see so many upgrades in progress. We're currently preparing a webinar on the modernization of ACUCOBOL applications, and we'd love to feature real customer stories. If you've been modernizing your applications and are ready to share your journey (where you started, where you are today, and what's ahead) we'd be thrilled to hear from you. If you want to share your ACUCOBOL modernization story, leave a comment in this thread or contact me directly via dsacre@rocketsoftware.com  Thank you------------------------------Dominique SacrePrincipal Product ManagerRocket Internal - All BrandsParis FR------------------------------

Serveral questions here all in regard the the RunUnit in COBOL .NET.1. In COBOL .NET you can spin up a RunUnit and do work, then suspend the RunUnit in a rununitcache (ConcurrentDictionary).A ConcurrentDictionary is stored in process, is there any way to store a suspended RunUnitin Redis or something similar?So if you are scaling out across servers you could pick up that RunUnitregardless of the server you hit via it's id or something?2. What else could I do with a RunUnit other than start, stop, dispose, SetUserData & GetUserData that might add value?3. Can you get the ID of a RunUnit inside the RunUnit? 4. Is there a limit to amount of RunUnit's you can spin up under say C# rest api? Neil ------------------------------Neil HayesSoftware Development Specialist------------------------------

Hi, What is the meaning of Loc 521? Error invoking unauthorized copy of compiler. Use count exceeded (Loc 521). Internal Compiler Error: -1 Regards, ------------------------------Juan Manuel UrraburuDirector, Information TechnologyProRM UruguayMontevideo UY------------------------------

Hi everyone, COBOL has powered the world’s economy for decades, delivering reliability and scalability. Yet myths and outdated views persist, even among those who have worked with it. Many still picture COBOL as it was 30 years ago, missing how much it has evolved. Let’s separate myth from reality and give you the facts to talk about COBOL with confidence.  Myth #1: COBOL is no longer in use. Reality: According to a Vanson Bourne survey, over 800 billion lines of COBOL code are active worldwide. While new COBOL applications are rare, existing systems are regularly maintained and expanded, adding more code each year. Myth #2: COBOL can’t integrate with new tech stacks. Reality: Rocket® COBOL integrates with JVM and .NET platforms, making it compatible with today’s languages and contemporary IT architectures like microservices. COBOL's portability has enabled enterprises to use their core business logic across every era of IT without requiring a complete rewrite. Myth #3: COBO

Hi everyone, COBOL has powered the world’s economy for decades, delivering reliability and scalability. Yet myths and outdated views persist, even among those who have worked with it. Many still picture COBOL as it was 30 years ago, missing how much it has evolved. Let’s separate myth from reality and give you the facts to talk about COBOL with confidence.  Myth #1: COBOL is no longer in use. Reality: According to a Vanson Bourne survey, over 800 billion lines of COBOL code are active worldwide. While new COBOL applications are rare, existing systems are regularly maintained and expanded, adding more code each year. Myth #2: COBOL can’t integrate with new tech stacks. Reality: Rocket® COBOL integrates with JVM and .NET platforms, making it compatible with today’s languages and contemporary IT architectures like microservices. COBOL's portability has enabled enterprises to use their core business logic across every era of IT without requiring a complete rewrite. Myth #3: COBO

Continuing with the events that arose during a migration from Net Express 5.1 to Visual Cobol 10, a file opening error occurred. There is a file with eight records opened in input mode by several processes. The event was reviewed and found that when making this call, the service crashed. The reason is unclear since, as indicated, the file only contains eight records and is invoked in input mode. The question is whether new or additional features for file management should be specified for Visual Cobol 10, since this crash and increased resource usage is very high. I appreciate your comments and/or guidance in this regard. Thank you very much.------------------------------alejandro rodriguez manceraconsulting IIOptima LATAM------------------------------

Does anybody have a sample to send emails with AcuCobol to Office365? Until now we use sonnectors/dlls like Simple MAPI, Extended MAPI, SMTP or MSMAPI After installing Office 365 it seems we have to use the Microsoft Graph API. But no one knows how to integrate this API. Best regards Martin Richter------------------------------Martin RichterCEORop It Gmbh & Co. KgGermering DE------------------------------

Hi everyone, Today's developers expect a certain toolset for any project, with Visual Studio Code being one of the most popular development tools in the world. To make it easier to attract new specialists and to streamline the development within your enterprise, we've built the Rocket ACUCOBOL-GT Extension for Visual Studio Code, bringing key Rocket AcuBench features directly into VS Code on Windows. (with Linux support coming soon) Import your existing Rocket AcuBench projects, keep your compiler settings, and continue building, editing, compiling, and debugging without missing a beat. Inside the extension, you'll find: Rocket AcuBench Project Support - Use the extension to create and edit AcuBench projects. Compile - Build projects and programs using extension functionality. Debug - Debug your generated code. Create and Edit Screens - Use the extension to create, edit, and delete screens and screen controls. Code Editing - Supports basic ACUCOBOL code editing. It's built for comp

Hi everyone, As we're preparing exciting things for you about the upcoming Rocket Visual COBOL 11.0 release, it's a great opportunity to reflect on how COBOL continues to successfully support critical systems around the world. Here are five reasons why COBOL remains ideal for enterprise-grade applications. Designed for business and built to last COBOL was purpose-built for high-volume data processing, complex reporting, and precise financial calculations. Every day, COBOL applications process nearly 200 times more transactions than all Google and YouTube searches combined. High performance and rock-solid reliability have always been hallmarks of COBOL systems. High portability: it runs just about anywhere COBOL applications written decades ago still operate seamlessly on today's platforms, from mainframes to the multicloud. Thanks to COBOL's portability, mission-critical applications have adapted across generations of technology and will continue to do so. Enterprises can reuse cor

Linux/Windows thin client; runtime 10.51 I need to display any of a series of bitmaps in a grid cell.  I am using WBITMAP-LOAD (I have also tried WBITMAP-LOAD-IMAGES) to load a .bmp file, and I get a handle to the object.  However, these bitmaps will not display in grid cells if the runtime is thin client (if not thin client, it works).  I can display the bitmaps if the grid is not active. The grid is an active-x control called #grid.  ------------------------------Ken Schwartz Lead EngineerSouthWare ApteanOpelika US------------------------------