The advance of COVID-19 has shaken the foundations of the modern economy, and almost everyone agrees that things will never be the same once the pandemic ends. Much of that impact is being felt across the pond, with a record surge in unemployment insurance claims. But the debt is not only economic or social, but also technical. A striking example of this was recorded on April 4, when Phil Murphy, governor of New Jersey, openly asked for volunteers with COBOL knowledge to deal with their mainframes.
A Brief History of COBOL
Before we dive in, a quick look at its history: COBOL was created by the CODASYL committee in 1959, based on the Flow-Matic programming language designed by Grace Hopper herself. At the time, the Department of Defense wanted a portable programming language focused on data processing. Initially, COBOL was nothing more than a temporary solution, but the Department decided to force the hand of manufacturers, and its adoption accelerated. Its standardization came in 1968, and it has received four revisions since then... and here we are.
For many modern programmers, COBOL is like going back to the telegraph. The criticisms have multiplied over the decades, and essentially forced it to walk through fire when the famous Y2K began making its media rounds, but the truth is that COBOL never went anywhere, and it continues to be a fundamental element for the proper functioning of services in companies and government agencies alike. The latest proof of this comes as a consequence of COVID-19, the economic collapse, and massive job loss.
A Call for Volunteers
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy held a press conference on April 4, in which he highlighted that within his list of volunteers they not only need health workers, but due to the legacy systems they use, they have to add a page for people with Cobalt skills (sic). The governor did not hesitate to congratulate his team for the excellent work they are doing, but he admitted that they have mainframes more than 40 years old, that there will be many post-mortems, and that on that list will be How the hell did we get here when we literally needed Cobalt (sic) programmers?.
The Unemployment System Under Pressure
The reason is relatively simple: the unemployment insurance claims processing platform uses COBOL, and claims have increased by 1,600 percent. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported that more than 360,000 people requested financial aid, and the number continues to rise.
In summary, this is another facet of COVID-19 and its effects: overloaded systems that depend on a language more than 60 years old, and that probably won't be replaced with the argument that we are living in extraordinary circumstances or something like that.
Source: The Register
