(acronym for common business-oriented language) High-level computer-programming language, designed in the late 1950s for commercial data-processing problems; it has become the major language in this field. COBOL features powerful facilities for file handling and business arithmetic. Program instructions written in this language make extensive use of words and look very much like English sentences. This makes COBOL one of the easiest languages to learn and understand.
(Computers) A programming language, whose name is derived from: COmmon Business Oriented Language.
Acronym for Common Business-Oriented Language. A verbose, English-like compiled programming language developed between 1959 and 1961 and still in widespread use today, especially in business applications typically run on mainframes. A COBOL program consists of an Identification Division, which specifies the name of the program and contains any other documentation the programmer wants to add; an Environment Division, which specifies the computers being used and the files used in the program for input and output; a Data Division, which describes the format of the data structures used in the program; and a Procedure Division, which contains the procedures that dictate the actions of the program. See also compiled language.