COBOL

763 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: About cobol

COBOL

In the summer of 1998, St Louis Public Schools ( SLPS ) chose to convert form it's IBM System/390 mainframe to a client server environment. Not only was the SLPS affected but the Public School Retirement System ( PSRS ) was also affected since they use their mainframe system.

PSRS started looking for a solution for their processing requirements. They were debating on weather to obtain an existing package to replace their system If they did would the be able to convert it to support how they run their business, or would they have to change how they conduct business to match the new software. They were also confused as to what new equipment might have to be purchased since they currently were running on older standalone workstations without a server. The organization decided to purchase new workstations, a server, a high-speed networked laser printer and Windows/2000 workstation and server components. Due to the organizations small size they elected to hire two contract software engineers to assist in the conversion, as well as process year end systems.

The company also had to select a programming language, they decided on COBOL, the SLPS had a free copy of Micro Focus Net Express COBOL called the University Edition. It is available for schools to utilize in a classroom situation. The software was reviewed, it was decided that it would be adequate for their needs. It had features necessary to satisfy the requirements. Net Express is a Windows based product that is extremely powerful.

That mainframe COBOL code formed the basis of the conversion, The conversion consisted mostly of modifying select statements, CICS code, some program calls to mainframe support routines, 'compare' statements also had to be checked for sequence problems ensuring that a mainframe 'if' statements of 'equal to' or 'greater than' were still valid for an ASCII based environment. The company found Downloading software and data files from the mainframe relatively easy, they used a mainframe access program called “Extra!” Packed fields were unpacked on the mainframe, downloaded to the server, and repacked if necessary.

After the conversion took place the next task was to conduct year-end processing. This involved many tasks for the organizations, including; closing out of last year's business, income tax, providing information to our retirees, allowing for Open Enrollment for various insurance plans, and providing data to our actuarial firm to assist in funding and benefit decisions.

Show More
Related

  • School Year Round

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout time education has been considered a process that every so often must be improved. The education quality in the U.S. has declined over the years and people have been looking for a way to make improvements. A more recent proposal has been to go from a traditional nine-month schedule to an all year program. Supporters of year round school claim it gives the student a better education. However, the prospect of year round school is not beneficial to the taxpayers pocket, to the education a student receives, or to the people involved with the district.

    Read More

  • The Model Minority Myth Of Asian Americans

    2319 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1970, the term “model minority” was popularized by journalists, social commentators and some academics to refer to Asian Americans. The stereotype suggests that Asian Americans are more academically, economically and socially successful than any other racial minority groups, and it was achieved by overcoming disadvantages through hard work, thrift, strong family ties, and emphasizing children’s education. Contrary to this popular belief by Americans, the exaggerated praising of Asian Americans as the model minority is false. This positive image of Asian Americans as a model minority has a sinister core of believe about Asian Americans and other racial minorities in America: a view of Asian American as foreign. Since most studies on Asian children centered on their success stories and the realization of the invisible crisis that many Asian American children face is fairly recent, few studies have addressed the diverse and complex experiences of Asian American children, especially those who do not fit the model minority stereotype. This paper revisits the model minority myth and examines the impact of model minority myth on underachieving student who are failing schools. I will first present a contextualized understanding of the “model minority myth,” what is it and what does it mean to be model minority. Secondly, I will demonstrate that the myth has been inaccurate and invalid representation for many Asian American students. Then, I discuss the impact of the model minority stereotype on underachieving Asian American student schooling. I argue that the stereotype has pose a threat to the students’ advancement on school and society. In order to illustrate the impact of the model minority stereotypes on individual experiences, I r...

    Read More

  • Y2k: Should We Be Worried?

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    This computer programming language is used by many businesses' computers. COBOL handles numbers and text so that businesses can produce reports and keep track of all sorts of data. It has no idea what a date is.

    Read More

  • Should the United States' School Schedule Be Extended?

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ideally, extending the school schedule into the summer equals more learning. Because students are not dedicated to their studies, often they do not retain the information they learned over the school year during summer vacation. According to the article “Will Longer School Year Help or Hurt US Students” Smyth notes that, “Proponents argue that too much knowledge is lost while American kids wile away the summer months apart from their lessons” (Smyth). Smyth argues that students clearly do not retain their lessons over the period of their summer break. However, opponents of the extension of the school schedule say, “summer breaks are needed to provide an academic respite for students’ overwrought minds, and to provide time with family and the flexibility to travel and study favorite subjects in more depth” (Smyth). Smyth’s observation not only protests taking summer away from families but also describes summer as a time needed to rest student’s minds.

    Read More

  • Budget Analysis

    1842 Words  | 4 Pages

    The development (or iteration) of the new system was approved due to successful budgetary results over the previous two years and growth trends expected over the next two years. Additionally, ongoing maintenance on the system as problems began to arise was beginning to negatively influence production performance, and a need to iterate the system to incorporate evolving production goals was identified. The successful budget of the previous years encouraged the approval of replacing the current conversion system with a successor that promises to increase production performance while lowering the fixed costs of salaried programmers needed to maintain it.

    Read More

  • Evaluating The Cpoe Implementation Process At University Health Care System

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...takes to set up information in the system. The level of understanding would improve through partaking or getting involved and henceforth could be adapted easily. All the bits and pieces of the project would rapidly increase or grow as per the workflow process. At the end, the overall CPOE system should be able to compare the manual method with the new electronic system and tell which is best and accurate to use and also tell how much time and money will be saved when using either system. At the end of the project the team should be able to come together and discuss whether or not the project met all of the company’s needs such as if it is reliable, efficient, safe and secure and also does it save time and money. Then, if the system has more advantages than disadvantages and it is worth all of the team’s time and effort it would be best to continue with the project.

    Read More

  • Rite Aid Corporation Case Study

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hardware, software, support and maintenance costs grow each year with multiple systems in each local region running different types of software and hardware. The application and hardware support teams are larger than could be possible with one integrated solution.

    Read More

  • Longer School Days

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many opinions and studies about reforming school days. Some people are concerned that longer school days would bring more difficulties. However, there are numerous studies and practical examples that prove that we improve students’ performance by lengthening school days. Finally, the economy and our society will benefit from expanding school days.

    Read More

  • Elongation of the School Calendar

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Summer breaks, they say, are needed to provide an academic respite for students’ overwrought minds and provide time with family and the flexibility to travel and study favorite subjects in more depth” (Zhao 1). Without a long enough break or resting period children and teens will not be able to travel and study the favorite subjects more. Sports, hobbies, and extracurricular activities are ways children now express themselves. Someone has to provide the world with entertainment. By just adding hours on to the school day you are taking these activities away from students. Teens students need to sustain jobs at some point of their high school year to prepare them for the life ahead while still considering sport...

    Read More

  • Compiler

    3806 Words  | 8 Pages

    Compilers collect and reorganize (compile) all the instructions in a given set of source code to produce object code. Object code is often the same as or similar to a computer's machine code. If the object code is the same as the machine language, the computer can run the program immediately after the compiler produces its translation. If the object code is not in machine language, other programs—such as assemblers, binders, linkers, and loaders—finish the translation.

    Read More

  • Interpersonal Communication Essay

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    The purpose of this paper is not to teach you, or to show you how interpersonal communication is essential to everyday life at home or work. But, I am going to do my best to at least show you how essential communication skills are in all areas of life by using me as the example. My plan is to focus on some of the elements of interpersonal communication that we have been touching on this semester. While reading our Interpersonal Communications Book, three goals kept being highlighted that I personally wanted to accomplish by the end of course. I’m sure that by now have noticed that I keep referring to my topics as goals. The reason why I’m doing so is because I’m still on that learning curve…an ongoing process. If can recall back to all of our assignment in this course they all bring one collective point. That point is that, Interpersonal communication is an essential skill in everything that we do in life.

    Read More

  • Effective Communication

    2293 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper demonstrated how we could become more effective as communicators, and to be able to apply the four topics covered. Communication in a nutshell is the process of constructing meaning together. Our goal should be to strive to constantly improve our communication process. Most of us fall into certain habits. It's helpful to become conscious of our habits, but knowing that so you can change those habits is the critical point. Practice is the only way you will become a better communicator. As you incorporate these ideas into your life you will begin to notice an improvement in your overall communication. Sometimes, we lose site of the bigger picture. As the serenity prayer suggest, "Change the things that can be changed, accept those that cannot, and have the wisdom to know the difference.

    Read More

  • Business Process Reengineering Essay

    2726 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the 1990’s BPR was an extremely hot topic among many organisations. The markets were changing rapidly as new technologies were being introduced across

    Read More

  • The Computer Evolution

    2687 Words  | 6 Pages

    The computer evolution has been an amazing one. There have been astonishing achievements in the computer industry, which dates back almost 2000 years. The earliest existence of the computer dates back to the first century, but the electronic computer has only been around for over a half-century. Throughout the last 40 years computers have changed drastically. They have greatly impacted the American lifestyle. A computer can be found in nearly every business and one out of every two households (Hall, 156). Our Society relies critically on computers for almost all of their daily operations and processes. Only once in a lifetime will a new invention like the computer come about.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Effective Communication

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    Communication is one of the most important factors in our lives. It dictates the relationships formed with the individuals in personal and professional lives. Effective communication provides a foundation for trust and respect to grow. It also helps better understand a person and the context of the conversation. Individuals often believe that their communication skills are much better than what they actually are. Communication appears effortless; however, much of what two people discuss gets misunderstood, thus leading to conflicts and distress. To communicate effectively, one must understand the emotion behind the information being said. Knowing how to communicate effectively can improve relationships one has at home, work and in social affairs. Understanding communication skills such as; listening, non-verbal communication and managing stress can help better the relationships one has with others.

    Read More

More about COBOL

Open Document