COBOL for the 21st Century [Paperback]

Nancy Stern (Author), Robert A. Stern (Author), James P. Ley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0471722618 | ISBN-13: 978-0471722618 | Edition: 11

COBOL . . . Still standing tall.


Just like the evergreen, the COBOL programming language has remained vibrant and full of life year after year. Today, COBOL is running a large number of the world's business data applications, and it's likely to remain a viable language in the years ahead.


Now in its 11th Edition, Nancy Stern, Robert Stern, and James Ley's COBOL for the 21st Century continues to show how to design COBOL programs that are easy to read, debug, modify, and maintain. You'll learn to write interactive programs as well as batch programs with sophisticated file processing techniques, and become familiar with valuable information processing and systems concepts.

Features
* Updated to reflect COBOL 2008, where appropriate.
* A chapter on the Report Writer Module.
* More end-of-chapter questions.
* A running case study builds on what you have learned in each chapter.
* Integrated coverage of interactive programming.
* Covers information processing and systems concepts that will help you interact with users and systems analysts when designing programs.
* Introduces programming tools such as pseudocode and hierarchy charts that make program logic more structured, modular, and top-down.
* Presents useful techniques for maintaining and modifying older "legacy" programs.
* Effective learning tools, including chapter outlines and objectives, debugging tips and exercises, critical-thinking questions, and programming assignments.
* Links to COBOL Internet resources.
* Companion Website (www.wiley.com/college/stern), featuring a syntax reference guide, data sets for all programming assignments, and all programs illustrated in the book.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

COBOL . . . Still standing tall.

Just like the evergreen, the COBOL programming language has remained vibrant and full of life year after year. Today, COBOL is running a large number of the world’s business data applications, and it’s likely to remain a viable language in the years ahead.

Now in its 11th Edition, Nancy Stern, Robert Stern, and James Ley’s COBOL for the 21st Century continues to show how to design COBOL programs that are easy to read, debug, modify, and maintain. You’ll learn to write interactive programs as well as batch programs with sophisticated file processing techniques, and become familiar with valuable information processing and systems concepts.

Features

• Updated to reflect COBOL 2008, where appropriate.
• A chapter on the Report Writer Module.
• More end-of-chapter questions.
• A running case study builds on what you have learned in each chapter.
• Integrated coverage of interactive programming.
• Covers information processing and systems concepts that will help you interact with users and systems analysts when designing programs.
• Introduces programming tools such as pseudocode and hierarchy charts that make program logic more structured, modular, and top-down.
• Presents useful techniques for maintaining and modifying older "legacy" programs.
• Effective learning tools, including chapter outlines and objectives, debugging tips and exercises, critical-thinking questions, and programming assignments.
• Links to COBOL Internet resources.
• Companion Website (www.wiley.com/college/stern), featuring a syntax reference guide, data sets for all programming assignments, and all programs illustrated in the book.

About the Author

Dr. Nancy Stern received a B.A. in mathematics from Barnard College and an M.S. in mathematics and computer science from New York University. She earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in the history of science and technology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her Ph.D. thesis on the development of Eckert-Mauchly computers has been published by the Digital Equipment Corporation. Her research on the history of electronic digital computers has been supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Stern has co-authored numerous textbooks in the computing field, including Computing in the Information Age, Structured COBOL Programming, Assembler Language Programming, Structured Flowcharting, System Analysis, Structured RPG III Programming, Turbo Basic, Microsoft Basic and The Impact of Computers on Society. She has also written many articles for ACM Computing Surveys, Datamation, Computerworld, the Annals of the History of Computing, The IEEE Spectrum, Technology and Culture and The Social Studies of Science, as well as a book on the history of computing called From ENIAC to UNIVAC. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Korean and Chinese.

Product Details

• Paperback: 832 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 11 edition (August 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471722618
• ISBN-13: 978-0471722618
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 1.1 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars COBOL for the 21st Century, January 22, 2009

By 

J. Tollefson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: COBOL for the 21st Century (Paperback)

I used this book when I took the class and found it to give helpful examples and be a pretty decent guide for the COBOL language. I graduated got a job as a Mainframe Analyst and eventually came back to the same College to teach the class at night. This gave me a different view of the book.

Pros: If you need to find something about the COBOL language this book will have it. It is very thorough

Cons: I echo one of the other reviewers and say that it does take a defensive standpoint on COBOL. Which, really shouldn't be done because it could possibly steer students away from the language & Mainframe environment when COBOL/Mainframe programmers are needed more and more as the previous generation gets closer to retirement. Secondly, some COBOL statements are used by the book and asked to be coded by the student before they're actually explained. The book does use examples that may be found in the real world... but they still don't quite feel like a business application.

Overall, its still a very thorough book and I appreciate the research and hard work that was obviously put into it... but I will probably be suggesting a switch of the textbook for the next class. I have found the Murach Mainframe books to be a bit more "real world" and they seem to break the language down a bit more and focus on what you'll need to know to start off in the Mainframe environment.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, January 27, 2012

By 

Michael Wilson (Edmond, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: COBOL for the 21st Century (Paperback)

I really like COBOL. It is a shame that it is no longer used much. For reporting programs, it is more user-friendly, than C, C++, etc.

5.0 out of 5 stars Satisifed, July 7, 2011

By 

Bookseller80 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: COBOL for the 21st Century (Paperback)

This was a very helpful book for my younger brother who's studying computer science. It has just the information he needs.