For a long time, the idea of Cobol development was closely tied to green screens and text-based editors. But those days are gone! Modern Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) have also found their way into the Cobol world, offering developers a variety of options for efficient and convenient work.
Modern IDEs offer
Syntax Highlighting and Autocompletion: Faster and less error-prone coding thanks to colored highlighting of keywords and automatic completion of code snippets.
Integrated Debuggers: Finding and fixing code errors is easier with integrated debuggers. Step-by-step execution of code, setting breakpoints, and monitoring variables are just a few of the possibilities.
Version Control: Seamless integration of version control systems like Git enables team collaboration, change tracking, and easy rollback to previous versions.
Refactoring Tools: Automated refactoring features help improve and modernize code without changing its functionality.
Unit Tests: Modern IDEs support the writing and execution of unit tests to ensure code quality.
Popular Development Environments for Cobol
Visual Studio Code (VS Code) with Cobol Extensions: The free editor VS Code has become a popular choice for Cobol developers in recent years. Numerous extensions add Cobol-specific features to VS Code.
Eclipse with Cobol Plugins: Similar to VS Code, the Eclipse IDE can be adapted for Cobol using plugins.
Proprietary IDEs: In addition to open-source solutions, various vendors offer their own IDEs that are specifically tailored to the needs of Cobol developers.
Conclusion
Modern development environments have brought Cobol out of the corner of outdated technologies. With powerful tools and convenient features, they support developers in efficiently maintaining, modernizing, and future-proofing Cobol applications.
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