Product Description
Sams Teach Yourself COBOL in 24 Hours teaches the basics of COBOL programming in 24 step-by-step lessons. Each lesson builds on the previous one providing a solid foundation in COBOL programming concepts and techniques. Coupled with the source code and the compiler available from Fujitsu, this hands-on guide is the easiest, fastest way to begin creating standard COBOL compliant code. Business professionals and programmers from other languages will find this hands-on, task-oriented tutorial extremely useful for learning the essential features and concepts of COBOL programming. Writing a program can be a complex task. Concentrating on one development tool guides you to good results every time.There will be no programs that will not compile! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Perfect condition
I was so pleased to receive this used book in perfect condition.The CD was intact, as they described.I couldn't ask for anything more!

Very good COBOL book.
Very good introduction.They compiler is a little dated but the text is excellent.Knocked out a fairly large project after one read.The chapter on random file access is exceptional.

I really didn't want to buy this book
First off, let me say that I did not want to buy this book.No one that has ever purchased this book because they actually wanted to.It's not because it is a bad book, but because it's about COBOL.COBOL is one of the very first high-level programming languages ever invented, and back in its day (1959), I'm sure it was pretty darn amazing.Good COBOL programmers should be either revered or pitied.Today, there are better (meaning easier) languages available to developers.Why did I buy the book?Because I needed to learn COBOL for my job while we migrate data away from a COBOL based application.The book claims to be "written in a clear, easy to follow format... designed to help you learn COBOL as quickly as possible."This is good, because COBOL is probably the least clear and least easy to follow language I have used, rivaled only by RPG.

While I do recommend having some programming experience before reading this book and working with COBOL, I would say that this book does a good job of teaching the critical basics of the COBOL language.Once criticism that I have about this book is that is a cheerleader for the COBOL language.Excerpts such as this one here will make most experienced programmers shudder:

"COBOL is ideally suited to business processing.Business processing involves data collection, validation, updating, and reporting.The types of data processed are frequently numbers and amounts.No other computer language is as well equipped to excel at this type of processing."

Another example:
"As a COBOL programmer, I can testify to the fact that anyone can look at a section of a COBOL program and see exactly what is happening."

This cheerleading in the beginning of the book really obfuscates the fact that COBOL is a very complex language with an even more complex syntax that many would describe as tedious.In truth, the material presented is no where near as easy as these passages would lead the reader to believe.Coding in COBOL is actually pretty hard compared to most modern programming languages but the book does a pretty good job of explaining the language.

I recommend this book to anyone who suddenly finds themselves required to work with older business systems that rely on COBOL and you have no one to help teach you.I still stumble upon a lot of situations that the book didn't explicitly prepare me for, but it gets me by.

SAMS - Teach Yourself COBOL in 24 Hours
I TRIED to install the programs that are on the CD, and the problems began, that was about 6:00, at 9:30, I finally gave up and did an XP Restore, YES it was that bad.
During the installation a dialog box asked for the serial number on the CD. There wasn't ANY number, not on the CD, not on the CD-holder, not in the READ-MEs, NO NUMBER.
So, I did an uninstall, that didn't work.
When I rebooted, a MS NOTEPAD error occurred and about 4-5-6 programs opened and cascade-failed. The messages were "insufficient memory".
I couldn't access GOOGLE, to send an e-mail.
NOW, after an XP Restore, the PC seems to be back to normal.
I HATE THIS CD-BOOK combination.
For me, NOTHING worked.
Now that I can access GOOGLE again, I'm going to e-mail "SAMS" and RANT.
- - -
I hope you don't have the same experience as I did.
- - -
Do a System Back-up BEFORE trying to install the JUNK on the CD.
G. H. Montesano, WA

Amazon Service Continues Its Quality
The subject of the book, Sams Teach Yourself COBOL in 24 Hours, is not popular enough for even the largest of the local bookstores to carry.I found several books on COBOL at Amazon and picked the Sams book because I have experience with other titles from the Sams line.

Amazon got the book to me within a couple of days.

What else is there to say, good book backed by good service.
... Read more

Product Description
The second edition of this text on programming with structured COBOL includes coverage of sequential file processing, file sorting, the systems development process and table handling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Book!
Very clearly written and easy to understand.This book helped me a lot with the mainframe at work! ... Read more

Product Description
More enterprise code is written in COBOL than any other language. Now that COBOL is being integrated into Microsoft's .NET platform and Visual Studio.NET toolset, businesses and developers have a powerful migration path for bringing their COBOL software into the Web-enabled future. This book gives COBOL developers comprehensive guidance for writing COBOL.NET code -- and migrating existing COBOL code to the .NET platform. Long-time Windows programming expert Dr. Ronald Reeves begins with an overview of the .NET framework and Visual Studio.NET development environment written specifically for COBOL programmers. He introduces .NET's foundations for interoperability, including the Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) and .NET's extensive use of metadata. Reeves shows COBOL developers how to integrate their software with powerful Windows client interfaces using WinForms, and how to build next-generation Web applications using ASP.NET and WebForms. You'll walk step-by-step through building a COBOL based .NET Web service; providing interoperability between legacy "unmanaged" code and .NET managed code; and utilizing advanced .NET capabilities. The book includes a full chapter on COBOL.NET application design and deployment; and extensive coverage on migrating legacy systems. An accompanying CD-ROM contains all source code, plus additional example programs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Bad, Don't Purchase
This book provides no value over Fujitsu NetCOBOL. Author uses same examples. Worse, Author provides no additional usefull information.

Chapter 8 covers Win 2000. This is a total waste since MS .Net uses CLR which runs on 98, ME, NT, 2000, & XP. My interpretation is that Author need some additional pages.

Bottom Line: Don't purchase this book. I did & wasted [money].

really for the absent minded
Unless one is from another planet, or hasn't been reading about COBOL for a few years, there is hardly anything new in this book. All the COBOL specific material can be found FREELY at Fujitsu's website or in the Help System for the COBOL for .NET release candidate. The non COBOL stuff is either trivial (Object Model) or out of context (Windows 2000 API).
In a word, I was expecting new material and bought a compilation. ... Read more

Product Description
Based on the best-selling, COBOL text by Robert and Nancy Stern.
* Increased coverage of ILE COBOL and subfiles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Programming in COBOL for college
I purchased this book as for a college course I am taking for my Computer Information Systems degree. It was exactly what I needed, aside from some typos, it is a good book, and does the job.

Very good basic COBOL book
I first learned COBOL on an HP-3000 about 12-13 years ago.Unfortunately, I didn't use COBOL again until a few months ago, so my COBOL skills were rusty indeed when I found the need to create COBOL programs on the AS/400 I use at work.PROGRAMMING IN COBOL/400 was exactly the refresher I needed.

Although the first few chapters were primarily a review of good programming practice (use of flowcharts, pseudocode and printer spacing charts), the remainder of the book provided a good, reasonably comprehensive discussion of COBOL programming concepts.

The book is organized in a fairly straight-forward manner, starting with a look at the different divisions of a COBOL program.While I have yet to encounter a book that describes the four divisions and their sub-sections in a way that makes it easy for me to remember what is required, and in what order to place them (I tend to copy old programs, remove everything that is not used in the new program, and rewrite the Data and Procedure Divisions), this book's discussion of these constructs is as good as any, and better than many.The author introduces new concepts when discussing the Procedure Division in an effective manner, starting with the basics and gradually building towards more advanced concepts.The index is, for the most part, comprehensive and useable.The appendices at the end of the book cover topics that may be useful to some programmers, without cluttering the main text of the book with material that most AS/400 programmers do not need because they are probably already familiar with it (such as the AS/400 environment, PDM, etc.).

My gripes are mostly trivial, and should not discourage a potential buyer from purchasing this book.First, the overview of programming concepts probably would have been better in an appendix.This is very basic material, and not necessary for most AS/400 programmers to review.Second, since input and output specifications are such a large part of COBOL programming, copies of a printer spacing chart in the appendix would have been nice.The author shows the use of these spacing charts in several examples, but all have sample data filled in on them.Finally, some of the discussion appears a little dated.As I understand, this book is basically a rewrite, geared specifically towards the AS/400, of a "classic" COBOL text.Unless I am mistaken, the original source for this text was the book I used in high school to learn COBOL in the first place, and it is apparent to the reader that much of the content has been adapted to the AS/400 environment.

Nevertheless, this is a very readable text on AS/400 COBOL, and I would recommend it to an AS/400 programmer--or any other programmer, for that matter, as COBOL is a very standardized language--without hesitation.

Good book.. despite errors
A fine first book for students and those who want a reference book for COBOL/400. There are numerous errors and some info that is meant for ILE COBOL/400 rather than the COBOL/400 (such as usage of the INITIAL PROGRAMIS clause in the ENVIRONMENT DIVISION... ... Read more

Product Description
This has been the number 1 best-selling COBOL book for professional programmers since its first edition in 1979. It is the only book that shows how to design, code, test, and maintain structured COBOL programs on the IBM mainframes (or enterprise systems) that are used by the largest companies in the world. Besides COBOL, this book presents the IBM products that every mainframe programmer needs to know including TSO, ISPF, OS/390 JCL, VSAM Access Method Services, CICS, and DB2. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

don't think twice ... this is a very, very good one !
This is a very good piece of work.

The book is good for those who have already a deep background in programming but are completely new to COBOL (like me), as well as for those who are completely new to programming in general.

It is organized by task in a series of "How to ..." short sections, which provide the reader with complete information about specific topics in the matter of COBOL programming. If you like reading (like me) and not just jumping back and forth from one section to the other, this book provides a clear, well-written, consistent and enjoyable reading. If you have no time for reading the book from the beginning to the end, you can easily find the chapter you need to read, becase as I said before the "How to ..." organization effectively drives you to the things you need. However, I would anyway suggest to read the entire book because it gives a very good path for learning COBOL in a structured way.

The book provides insights about programming on IBM z/OS systems, but also gives some information about COBOL programming with regards to other platforms. However, information about COBOL on non-mainframe platforms is often provided with focus on the differences with the IBM mainframe, so this is not the best choice if you're looking for COBOL programming on .NET or other (but ... is there anyone who writes in COBOL out of a mainframe shop ?).

Last but not least, there are tons of good examples in this book. For an experienced Java programmer like me, it is quite easy to understand that these examples come from an experienced COBOL programmer, because it is made clear that only an experienced COBOL programmer can get this very "clean" code out of an "ancient" language that has only global variables, poor or no support for data types (don't tell me that PICs are data types, please) and no object orientation (yes, I know that there is also an object oriented version of COBOL ... but again, is anyone using it ?).

This reading is being for me the same as it was Bruce Eckel's "Thinking in Java" ten years ago ...

Blast from the Past
I needed to quickly get back up to speed to support a legacy system and found this title the solution to getting there. I'd worked with COBOL before, but that was quite some time ago. Thank goodness there is somebody keeping this knowledge alive and current.

Great COBOL tutorial
This book is written in an easy to read and understand format. A good refresher for anyone that needs it and will serve as a good future reference book. Very good simple examples.

Mainframe Programmers Reference
As a longtime mainframe programmer I have used Murach books for the times when I need a quick reminder of what COBOL statement to use and how to use it. Mike Murach has recently published a new "Mainframe COBOL" book.The Murach books feature a paired page format that has statement syntax and notes on the right hand page and detailed descriptions on the left hand page. With this format the book is useful for both the "seasoned" programmer and the newbie just getting started in writing structured COBOL programs.A new COBOL programmer can get good detailed instruction on how a structured program is designed coded and tested, the veteran can quickly access information on statement syntax and usage.

This book differs from Murach's "Structured COBOL" offering in that it has no mention of Personal or PC COBOL platforms.Those references have been replaced by chapter (17.) describing mainframe architecture, input/output devices, basic mainframe operating system features and IBM mainframe OS' that are currently used.Another new chapter (19.) gives a brief basic introduction in (AMS) Access Method Services necessary for working with VSAM files.

All in all, this book should be a good starting point for the mainframe COBOL programmer looking for a solid reference for writing batch programs.Programmers needing instruction or reference for CICS and DB2 application development should read the (also brief and basic) chapters on those subjects and then seriously consider investing in Murach's "CICS for the COBOL Programmer" and excellent "CICS Desk Reference" along with their two DB2 manuals.They also have a solid VSAM manual.

An easy-to-follow guide for anyone learning the ins and outs
The collaboration of COBOL experts Mike Murach, Anne Prince, and Raul Menendez, Murach's Mainframe COBOL is a tutorial, guide, and reference especially for anyone charged with developing or maintaining COBOL programs. Explicit examples and sample code spell out COBOL syntax in the clearest possible terms, and much of Murach's Mainframe COBOL is divided into individual sections that teach the reader how to complete any given specific task, such as "how to code select statements and FD statements" or "how to join data from two or more tables". An easy-to-follow guide for anyone learning the ins and outs of COBOL.
... Read more

Product Description
For Courses in Cobol Programming.This edition is designed to satisfy all of your COBOL needs - on multiple platforms. The textbook covers all basic COBOL elements, with additional chapters on the Year 2000 problem, structured programming and design, debugging, subprograms, table processing, sorting, screen I/O, sequential file maintenance, indexed files, and object-oriented COBOL. The third edition teaches programming as it is practiced in the real world, with programming tips that go beyond the syntactical rules of COBOL, that make programs easier to maintain and run more efficiently. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Micro to Main SHAME
I was not impressed with the book. To begin with, COBOL does not really exist anymore and finding support is near impossible. The book dropped the reader into the material as if the person had background knowledge of programming. I was so confused throughout the text. It was bad enough that my professor was frustrated and called off the programming assignments and we turned in written work (discussion type questions). If you possess a background in programming, then this book maybe for you. If you are a beginner, RUN!

One word...
Bad, this was a horrible book for cobol. Dose not give you enough information say on doing a date vaildation check. it wasn't very good. of course it didn't help that the professor wasn't that great either. (lol) any ways i didn't like it. it didn't really help me.

very good condition
book was in really good condition received in 7-8days

Great resource for beginning/intermediate Cobol programmers
This book is a great resource for the beginning or intermediate Cobol programmer. Very clear explanations and abundant examples aid understanding. The authors favor a "hands on" approach which encourages the reader to try out the concepts in each chapter. The example code is included on the CD (along with the input files for the exercises) which is a great timesaver.

The authors are careful about pointing out differences between Cobol-85 and Cobol-74 as they arise. While this may seem to be a minor point with the advent of the latest Cobol standard, it is helpful to those who work with older systems that are not fully Cobol-85 compliant.

The Fujitsu Cobol environment comes along with the book. The Fujitsu compiler is a big improvement over the DOS-based compiler and editor that came with the second edition. An appendix provides some step-by-step examples to help the reader get up to speed with the compiler.

The book is weighted more towards micro computers - if you are working in a mainframe environment, you will probably want to find additional references on JCL, CICS, etc.

The book may not be the best choice for someone who has no previous programming experience, but for readers who have some background in programming (in any language) and are interested in learning Cobol, this book & compiler set is the best resource I've seen for Cobol at this level. I strongly recommend it.

this book was terrible
If I were already a seasoned programmer, or had some type of backgound inthe languages, this book would have been a good refresher.That not beingthe case I felt like i just gave my college bookstore my hard earned $80. This text lacks focus and never goes in depth with any specific topic.Thetutorial gives you little instruction when creating a program for the firsttime.And being that most student who are beginnerprogrammers learn byexample, this book is a pathetic excuse for killing a tree.The chaptersmay not have been so bad if there were more detailed focus points as wellas "understandable" exercises after each chapter. Books likethese are a student's worst nightmare. ... Read more

Product Description
Completely updated to cover changes in Sun’s Java 2SDK, 1.3.1, Java for COBOL Programmers, 2/E uses COBOL examples toteach object-oriented principles and Java’s syntax. Written forCOBOL programmers transitioning to Java, the step-by-step examplesshow users how to convert COBOL’s structured programming intoobject-oriented concepts without assuming knowledge of C or C++. Newchapters expand the treatment of Enterprise Java technologies,including Java Database Connectivity (JDBC), Servlets and Java ServerPages (JSP), and Enterprise Java Beans (EJB).

KEY FEATURES

*Includes step-by-step examples geared to the business and high-techexperience of COBOL programmers

* Uses COBOL coding techniques toteach Java concepts

* Discusses XML concepts from the COBOLperspective

* Completely updated, including three new chapters onJava Database Connectivity, Servlets and Java Server Pages, andEnterprise Java Beans

* Expanded coverage of important advancedJava concepts, including Collections, AWT and Swing, Streams andReaders in Java’s I/O, and Java utilities

* Companion CD-ROM(Win) includes code samples presented in the book, COBOL to Javaconversion tools, Sun’s Java 2 SDK, Version 1.3.1, Forte for JavaCommunity Edition, and other Java development software ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A nice addtion
I wouldn't use this as my only reference for java. It is more detailed than 'Cobol Programmers Swing with Java' but it is a good reference for commands that the other book doesn't have. It also shows things with slightly different examples. I haven't had time yet to go through the stuff n the CD that comes with the book.

Good starter java book when bridging from COBOL
I found this book to be much more helpful in explaining the basics than other books whose audience was former C programmers.Most people talk about OO programming as some new high-faluting process that the mainframe COBOL programmer will have great difficulty understanding.As I am in a shop that makes much use of copybooks and called subroutines, I could relate to Byrne's explanations.They took away the mystique of OO programming.

Java for Cobol Programmers
This is not a bad book for the Cobol programmers who are trying to learn Object Oriented language Java. Very good parallels between classes and Cobol subroutine. Most of the Java books are written by former C++ programmers, who do not know Cobol. But Mr. Burne trying find some common ground between Java and Cobol, to simplify learning. I gave it 4 stars, it would be nice to have some Input and Output File processing, GUI and JDBC coverages. But over all, this is much better book than Doke and Hardgrave book with similar title.

Not to bad - but could have been better.
I had heard that this was a really good book for COBOL programmers who were now learning Java. It didn't really tie the two together very well. The author obviously has not keep up with the innovation in COBOL over the last few years. COBOL for MVS has FUNCTIONs that would have made better examples in some places. After completing this book I felt that it didn't really tell may much more that the other intro to Java books I had read. And the last chapters really lost me. It jumped from entry level stuff to chapters that seemed to be taken from some technical presentation. To me the next step should have been how Java does external data I/O. After I completed this book, I found that the book that I really wanted was "Java for the COBOL Programmer (Advances in Object Technology".

Great Introduction for Cobol programmers
I found this book extremely useful.I have been a programmer for 20 years, and this is the first book I've found that explained Java in a way I could understand.I liked the way the author started with simple examples,and then kept building on them.Definitely a big help to me.The chapteron XML was interesting too. ... Read more

Product Description
Join the more than 150,000 programmers who have learned CICS using our CICS books alone. Now, our two-part CICS for the COBOL Programmer has been revised into a single volume that meets today’s need for fast-paced training. You get all the commands and features that are current today—plus, new chapters on creating web or component-based programs—in just 630, information-packed pages. You’ll start off with the basics that you need for every CICS program you write:

how to use basic mapping support (BMS) to define the screens your programs use pseudo-conversational programming...what it is, why you have to use it, and how it complicates the logic in a COBOL program

the CICS commands for terminal handling, VSAM file handling, and program control

how to design a CICS program using event-driven design so it’s easier to code, test, debug, and maintain

how and when to use temporary storage queues instead of the communication area to pass data between program executions

how to use IBM-supplied transactions like CEMT, CECI, and CEDF to simplify testing and debugging

Then, you’ll see the design and code for a complete application consisting of four interrelated CICS programs…a great way to solidify your new CICS skills.

But that’s not all. You’ll also learn about the commands and techniques you need for special purposes. Like processing VSAM files sequentially. Accessing records by an alternate index. Handling DB2 data (this chapter assumes you already know DB2, so if you need some training, please see our DB2 books on pages 5-6). Scheduling a task for execution. Using the error recovery features that come into play when a task or CICS abends. Using the intercommunication features of CICS, including Distributed Program Link and EXCI, so that resources can be shared across remote systems. Handling outdated code as you maintain older programs.

Beyond the commands and coding features, however, there are two chapters of special interest for creating new applications:

how to design and code programs in which the presentation logic (the code that handles the interaction with the user at a terminal) is separated from the business logic (the code that processes the data)…This makes it feasible to create programs with front-ends in languages like Java or Visual Basic, leaving CICS on the back-end to do what it does best: process transactions

how to design and code CICS programs for the web (probably the most compelling reason for separating the presentation logic from the business logic)

So if you’re new to CICS, you’ll learn the best development techniques as well as all the coding details for creating today’s applications. If you have some CICS experience, you’ll add to your skills in record time. Either way, you’ll gain an understanding of CICS that makes it easier handle each new programming challenge. So get your copy of Murach’s CICS for the COBOL Programmer today! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Learning CICS
This is an excellent text for beginning CICS programmers and experienced COBOL/CICS programmers.It covers the basics in an easily understandable manner and does not assume a level of knowledge that leaves the new programmer wondering what he missed.The examples provide a good start to learing by doing.I bought the book to update my programming library and found it a good review and reference

Excelent book !!
I recommend for all programmers and System Analist that needs to learn everything about COBOL CICS.

good learning tool
I bought this back when I was trying to learn CICS.It was one of the best I found.I keep it at my desk at work and my co-workers use it on a regular basis too.

Excellent and full of good information
As always, Murach has provided a real working programmers text.This is a combination of the older volumes 1 and 2 with lots of new stuff thrown in.Beware - this is a full instructional text.It goes into depth on just about everything you would really want to know.I use it when I have questions as well as an instructional text for my junior staff programmers.The examples are also plentiful and well presented.Now that I do engagements on the road, I ship this text everywhere I go - wouldnt be without it as I still refer just to be sure I got it right.

For anyone wanting to learn CICS programming
Murach's CICS For The Cobol Programmer is a complete training manual for CICS so well written and presented that the novice will rapidly become proficient in designing, coding, and testing CICS programs. All the features programmers use regularly on the job are featured including those for VSAM file handling, editing input data, controlling the display of data at a terminal, DB2 data access, error processing, and debugging. Programmers are also provided with an overview of how CICS can be used for web-based applications, including the design and coding considerations involved. Murach's distinctive and "learner friendly" paired-pages style is followed throughout with the illustrations and crucial coding details for a single feature or function on the right-hand page, while the left-hand page offers extra explanation and perspective. Murach's CICS For The Cobol Programmer is a "must" for anyone wanting to learn CICS programming and operation. ... Read more

Product Description
COBOL (COmmon Business-Oriented Language) is an old-timer in a world of Java and Visual Basic upstarts. But although newer languages garner all the attention, COBOL continues to be the programming workhorse for major, long-established industries, such as banking, insurance, and utilities. COBOL For Dummies is the indispensable, practical reference for anyone charged with writing, tweaking, updating, or just double-checking COBOL code. Programming expert Arthur Griffith knows COBOL inside and out and shows you, among other things, how to Y2K-proof your mainframe or minicomputer.Plus, the bonus CD-ROM accompanying COBOL For Dummies features plenty of ready-to-use source code and Fujitsu COBOL,complete and fully functional. In addition, the CD-ROM includesDemo versions of Acucobol for Windows 3.1, 95, and NTA set of COBOL interpreters from Deskware for AIX, Linux, SunOS, Solaris, and Windows 95/NTA demo version of the Micro Focus NetExpress development environmentA bonus appendix that shows you how to write COBOL programs that generate reports with headers, footers, running totals, and subtotalsAnother bonus appendix full of diagrams to help you remember the syntax of COBOL's verbsAmazon.com Review
It's a rare Dummies book that manages to appeal to experiencedpractitioners as well as novices. COBOL for Dummies pulls itoff, explaining the intricacies of COBOL to new programmers asengagingly as it provides hints and shortcuts to seasoned COBOLprogrammers.

Griffith opens with exactly what beginners need: anoverview of the structure of COBOL programs. This elementaryinformation, which should be familiar to more experienced programmers,serves as the basis for deeper coverage in subsequent chapters. Onesection of the book explains the DATA DIVISION and all the details ofhow COBOL represents information in memory. Another portion exploresthe PROCEDURE DIVISION, telling readers how to make COBOL actually dothings with data. All the important verbs--and some arcane but usefulones---are highlighted.

This book really shines in its explanationof input and output--two commonplace routines that aren't easy to doefficiently with COBOL. Griffith, an experienced COBOL contractor, hascome up with good input, output, and sorting solutions that you canpaste into your own programs.

The CD-ROM accompanying this bookcontains, among many other things, Fujitsu COBOL development tools,which were selling for $2,500 just a few months ago. Even without thetext, this book represents a savings of 98.8 percent on the excellentFujitsu software--a blue-light special of legendary proportions. Ifyou're doing any work with COBOL, you need this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

This book is a good place to start
I picked up this book before I started my mainframe training and it was nice to have as a reference.If you have never programmed in COBOL before then this book is for you.

I have passed this book off to a fellow co-worker who is interested in learning COBOL.

This book only gives you the very basics and that is it.But I would suggest that you read this book before trying to tackle a more involved book.Also, I don't think that this book will help you code very well, but it is good for definitions and simple explanations.

Just for the Beginner
If you never had any experience with COBOL, this book is the place to start. Although it doesn't give many full programs for you to see, it does help you understand the way the language works. As I said, this is a greatbook to start learning COBOL, and you can then go on to the other books toget deeper into the language. The only problem I encountered was theFujitsu compiler is an expired version. I've been using COBOL since 1982and this book is on my shelf.

Good book, but be real
This book is well worth buying for those needing an introduction to COBOL.If you are getting it to get the Fujitsu compiler, be aware that it is the previous version and that it is available for free download from theFujitsu web site.

this book was my salvation to score on my cobol class .
from the first page i read, i thought "this is my salvation" i can actually understand what i'm reading and it makes a lot of sense!

not well organized, difficult to use
too much attempt at being funny (and not succeeding) useful information but hard to get at ... Read more

Product Description
The classic guide to programming in COBOL-updated, expanded, and even more user-friendly than before

Advanced Cobol, Third Edition

For many years, Gary Brown's classic guide to advanced COBOL has been the on-the-job reference of choice for experienced COBOL programmers internationally. Without compromising on any of the outstanding features that made it so successful, this Third Edition has been updated and expanded to reflect all the important new trends and applications in COBOL programming. Packed with dozens of concise examples illustrating language features, and featuring several complete programs, this indispensable working resource arms you with practical coverage of:
* All essential COBOL terms, concepts, and statements
* COBOL programming solutions to the Y2K problem
* Full Screen terminal support, subprograms and functions, and COBOL Report Writer
* Items in proposed new ANSI Standard
* Object-oriented COBOL
* Obsolete statements and how to work around them
* COBOL for client/server and distributed computing
* Cross-system development
* Application programming interfaces

Wiley Computer Publishing.

Timely. Practical. Reliable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Still Current.
I have been a programmer since April 1969. Even though I have programmed in most popular languages (c / c++ / smalltalk, java , algol, python, PL/1, many different assemblers etc), COBOL is still the MOST used language in the corporate world. As IBM says, "80% of the world's data is still on mainframes, 80% of the world's programs are still written in COBOL. I am contracting to a large corporation now, and they are having to retrain their young java programmers in how to write (NEW not legacy) COBOL applications!

With that background, I now get to the point (finally)! Buy this book. It is excellent. Also buy COBOL Unleashed; it too is invaluable.

...

Classic guide to programming in COBOL
As a C++ programmer working on a product with 2 COBOL components (2/90), I found this text to be an indispensable COBOL reference. The author classifies language constructs into essential, sometimes used, rarely used, and archaic. The text is comprehensive including reserved words, program constructs, tables, indexed files, dates, Y2000, report writer, and client-server architecture (one exception is limited coverage of CISCs transaction processing). Both PC and mainframe COBOL environments are covered. Organizing COBOL code into paragraphs, sections, subprograms, functions, and classes (object-oriented is not yet standardized) is demonstrated.

The text illustrates each COBOL feature with either a code fragment or a sample program. A well-conceived programming style for COBOL is recommended using structured programming. A coherent discussion of archaic programming styles helped me comprehend areas of our COBOL code where periods are used instead of END-IF statements.

Worth the time to read & the money
Very well put together, clear, concise.Not a beginners book by any stretch (assuming there are still people learning COBOL) ?But, its a great reference book and like the last review, it helps you remember allthe stuff you'd forgotten over the years doing COBOL. Intermediate toAdvanced level....

COBOL ESTRUCTURADO
nocesitoel software de cobol orientado a objetos. le agradezco me escriba a la brevedad posible y me envie las condiciones de pago

Useful quick-reference.
1) Positive aspects. Complete (as far as I can judge, because I never read it from cover to cover), detailed and nevertheless concise enough to be my daily quick-reference. The book covers mainframe as well as pc-Cobol. 2)Neutral aspect. Not recommendable as a course book and not recommendablefor beginners, I would say. But quite well fit to rehearse parts of Cobolknowledge that slipped away from my memory. So the title of the book isquite appropriate. 3) Negative aspect. Only one way of spacing forsubscripts is presented, without further comment. But it is the pc-Cobolway of spacing, it doesn't work that way under MVS. Which is a very slightshortcoming however, to my opinion. ... Read more

Product Description
Sams Teach Yourself COBOL in 21 Days, Third Edition, will quickly empower you to create powerful, Y2K-complient COBOL applications. Using client-proven methods, and over 20 years of COBOL programming experience, expert author Mo Budlong provides you with an understanding of the COBOL language and programming methods. Readers who have been confused by the high-end, academic style of other COBOL books and classes have had this to say about previous editions of Sams Teach Yourself COBOL in 21 Days: "A very good book. Much easier to understand than the course I took." "The 21 Days book will get you up to speed much quicker (than college classes.)" "I use Teach Yourself COBOL in 21 Days at my Learning Center for teaching COBOL programming." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent Purchase
It was an excellent purchase. Item arrived in good condition as mentioned. CD was sealed. Will recomed the seller to anyone looking for a good deal on books.

WOW... COBOL for the 21st century
I was pleasantly surprised to find that COBOL in 21 Days covered such a wide range of functions. Although I've used COBOL for years, I had not been exposed to using it for object-oriented programming or generating HTML. It's nice to see these features, but... the true power of this course lies in it's "real world" examples that systematically build into a strong foundation of COBOL knowledge. The authors ability to present code examples with clear explanations and chapter reviews enables the reader to quickly absorb the material. I was also pleased to see that the course "really" could be completed within 21 days.

This book has become required reading for new programmers at my clients site. It has also become a point of reference for the more senior programmers. If you don't already have a COBOL compiler, don't fret as the Acucobol system on the CD is all that you'll need (including runtime, debugger, utilities, etc.)

I give this book my highest recommendation for anybody wishing to become a competent COBOL programmer

WOW!!COBOL for the 21st century
I've worked with COBOL (on many platforms) over the years and am delighted to see that Mr. Budlong's course covers many new features and technologies (HTML, GUI, OOPs etc.) that I haven't been able to do in COBOL before.

More importantly, this course provides a fast-track to "COBOL competence" that is comfortably-paced and can certainly be completed within the 21-day timeframe. The code samples that drive the course provide ALL of the COBOL fundamentals necessary to begin mastery this language. Another benefit is that the samples are VERY WELL written and will help the beginner to get off to a good start by writing in clear and elegant style.

COBOL in 21 Days is an important reference in my clients library and is "required reading" for all new programmers. I give this book my highest recommendation and would urge anyone wishing to become a solid COBOL Programmer to make this his/her starting point.

good book for the language
this is a good book to start learning cobol withhe starts with the basics and moves on to the more advanced topics. However it really only teaches the language itself and not the best ways to structure programsetc. Experience in programing is what is really needed. ... Read more

Product Description
This book makes it easy for you to master the essentials of DB2 programming. Written from the programmer's point of view, it focuses right from the start on what you need to know to access and process DB2 data in your application programs using embedded SQL

You'll learn: the basics of how DB2 works so you can program more easily and logically...how to design and code DB2 programs...how to use inner joins, outer joins, and unions to combine data from two or more tables...how to use column functions to extract summary data from a table...how to work with variable-length data and nulls...how to use error handling techniques and ROLLBACK to protect DB2 data...how to use locking and concurrency features so you don't tie up the whole system...how to develop DB2 programs interactively (using DB2I, a TSO facility) or in batch...how to create test data using SPUFI and QMF...and more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Very helpful reference guide.
I use this book at work all the time for projects where we are adding DB2 to old COBOL programs.I have a little bit of SQL experience, so I generally use this book as a reference.It also helps me use a varietyof DB2 features to make the queries simpler and do what I really want.

If you want to learn DB2/SQL this is a MUST HAVE
Buy this book!!! ... I wanted
to refresh my basic DB2/COBOL skills, so I ordered a copy of this book.
"DB2 for the COBOL Programmer" is written in a clear and concise fashion
which even a novice programmer can start using immediately. SQL theory and
application are presented in a way that can only be described as inspired.
Curtis Garvin and Steve Eckols have done an outstanding job taking the
reader from zero to competent professional in this book. I only wish that
more 'techie' books were written like this one (and it's companion, Part 2).

All You Need To Learn DB2
This is an excellent resource for all those baffled programmers who need to learn DB2 fast. Thos book provides clear-cut examples, syntax, and the results of the various SQL commands that are most likely to be needed byany programmer. All the basics from simple SELECT statements are coveredall the way up to ORDER BY clauses, joins and so on. A special chapter onusing SPUFI was also a big help. The emphasis here is on the COBOL languageand mainframe computers, but it is an excellent learning tool for anyone.The book teaches by example and can be finished easily within a week (Theexample programs are what make it look so big). A must-read for anyoneinterested in relationall databases. ... Read more

Product Description
Designing and Programming CICS Applications will benefita diverse audience.It introduces new users of IBM's mainframe (OS/390) to CICS features.It shows experienced users how to integrate existing mainframe systems withnewer technologies, including the Web, CORBA, Java, CICS clients, and VisualBasic; as well as how to link MQSeries and CICS.Each part of Designing and Programming CICS Applications addresses thedesign requirements for specific components and gives a step-by-step approachto developing a simple application. The book reviews the basic concepts of abusiness application and the way CICS meets these requirements. It then coversa wide range of application development technologies, including VisualAge forJava, WebSphere Studio, and Visual Basic. Users learn not only how todesignand write their programs, but also how to deploy their applications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Designing and Programming CICS Applications
The book was what I was looking for and it was delivered ahead of the projected delivery date.

The power to create, modernize, and extend CICS applications
Together with the COBOL programming language, IBM's CICS (Customer Information Control System) has formed the most common set of tools for building customer transaction applications in the world of large enterprise mainframe computing.CICS is used by 470 of the Fortune 500 companies to process 20 billion transactions a day. Written by John Horswill & Members of the CICS Development Team at IBM Hursley, Designing And Programming CICS Applications introduces new users of IBM's mainframe (OS/390) to CICS features. Experienced users will learn how to integrate existing mainframe systems with newer technologies, including the Web, CORBA, Java, CICS clients, and Visual Basic; as well as how to link MQSeries and CICS. Whether developers have thousands of terminals or a client/server environment with workstations and LANs exploiting modern technology such as graphical interfaces or multimedia, Designing And Programming CICS Applications gives them the power to create, modernize, and extend CICS applications.A CD-ROM is included.

excellent information resource on integrating CICS and web
For many companies, large or small, the mission-critical applications run in the CICS environment. The difficulty of opening up those business logicand data for access through web interface often comes from the fact thatthe mainframe programmers don't know much about the web technology whilethe new web guys usually know little about CICS. This book bridges the gapbetween the two camps, and provides step-by-step instruction on how toapply and integrate the different technologies including Java, MQSeries,etc. This book is a must-read for anyone responsible integrating CICS andweb interface. The only drawback is that this book focuses on OS/390, whilethere are many CICS applications running in other platforms such as OS/2. ... Read more

Product Description
Explains how to use COBOL/370 to develop applications and access a compiler from either a programmable workstation or a mainframe. Stresses programming and design factors of building applications, describing techniques that work. Covers non-COBOL topics including compile options, JCL and performance issues. Its unique, challenging approach and comprehensive coverage will enable programmers to write better code. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

We LOVE this book!!
This is a GREAT book for people who know COBOL and need to know the differences among the COBOL versions.This book is LOADED with programming tips.

Author comments on the book
The book was written for experienced professionals, not for novices or entry level programmers. The book does not explain basic syntax of statements or other organizational aspects of a COBOL program. I wrote the book for the professional programmer who already knows COBOL and wants to move that skill to a higher level. This includes incorporating the COBOL language with the enterprise server environment for effectiveness and efficiency, and creating extended software architectures.

To my knowledge, there are no other books that focus on the advanced techniques of COBOL in the IBM enterprise environment. This book introduces new techniques for program structure and memory management and explains the major components of optimizing programs within the IBM enterprise environment. If you are developing enterprise applications, this is the book for you. IBM has made major expansions in COBOL in recent years and this book will help you unlock those new features.

Discuses the Different COBOL Versions
Covers how to improve coding techniques along with the differences in COBOL versions. Great for seasoned programmers too.

Good but incomplete
For the basics, this is an excellent writeup and you SHOULD have it.What is NOT covered is LE and object programming. Intrinsic functions are slighted but you can figure them out.

The author is very upfront about not covering the object extensions - I can almost forgive him.But these are the future - our top management is very object/web oriented.

I think there is a slide on the LE coverage.After we went through the Y2K conversion, our programs are loaded with language environment calls.Section 3.13 is a listing only of what should have been a great amount of detail on using LE calls and intrinsic functions.

In defense of the author I did find an example of the function used with a date (on page 384) MOVE FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE (1:8) to WS-GREGORIAN which is close to our shop standard MOVE FUNCTION CURRENT-DATE (1:14) TO WS-DATE-TIME.

New features of COBOL/390
This book is for programmers who learned OS/VS COBOL or COBOL II and arenow upgrading to COBOL/390. This is IBM's latest version of COBOL, with anemphasis on open systems and object orientation. There are a lot of newfeatures in COBOL/390 and David Shelby Kirk describes them clearly andthoroughly. ... Read more

Product Description
A hardy perennial!

Despite years of dire predictions, COBOL is still thriving. In fact, it's practically a perennial. New version of COBOL for PCs now enable you to use COBOL to develop interesting graphical user interfaces, create Web pages, and even incorporate components from other languages such as Visual Basic.

Now with COBOL FOR THE 21ST CENTURY, 10/E, you can take advantage of these exciting new developments and learn how to become a master COBOL programmer.

Features:
* Includes new integrated coverage of interactive programming.
* Shows how to design programs that area easy to read, debug, modify, and maintain.
* Covers information processing and systems concepts that will help you interact with users and systems analysts when designing programs.
* Introduces you to 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.
* Includes a student CD containing all data for all programming assignments as well as the full Practice Program from each chapter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Great teaching tool and good reference
I received this book at the beginning of a six-week programming 'bootcamp' a previous employer sent me to several years ago.The text progresses in a very systematic manner in which each lesson reinforced and expanded upon previous lessons.After completing the bootcamp, I spent a few years writing COBOL at various clients and this book is one of a few that served me very well during that time.My only complaint is that its size (800+ pages) and style made it less suited as the quick reference I then needed.

This book is not for programmers who want to study COBOL after working with object-oriented languages.
I get this book at work like main manual for all our mainframe COBOL programmers.All the mainframe COBOL people in our shop are old-timers with more then 15 years experience.This book for them is like a bible.I'm object-oriented programmer working with G4 languages almost 14 years.This book for me was like 15 years ago.So I bought for my self new-days COBOL books and was able to study this language.I keep this COBOL book on my desk in case I have to communicate with current mainframe programmers.It helps me to understand what they want and explain to them various programming situations.

Well designed book
COBOL, indeed it is still very widely used today and it is here to stay for a good while, especially with COBOL 2008 coming up.

If you have no knowledge in COBOL whatsoever, this book will be your starting point.
The thing I like about this book is how they give the many variations of how you can use a certain piece of code, like the many variations of using the EVALUATE statement.

The authors is not boring. He's straight to the point and tells you on many occasions what types of mistakes to avoid because we all know how long COBOL programs can be to debug.

There is always a different example in each chapter and as the author is adding to the example, the full program is given with sample outputs and the code is available from the CD for you to also test.

On top of that, it has colors and gridlines when needed so COBOL code is quite readable.

got what I ordered
I got what I ordered on time a the specified price.

Absolutely Horrendous Book
I use this book at my University or rather, it is the book used for the course, but we never once use it. Why might you ask? Because unlike all reviews before that said this book was great, this book is written so technically and to understand it, you have to already know something about Cobol. If you need help with a program and want to look it up in the book hoping it will help you, forget it. There is no way this book is of any help and it is so hard to understand. You are better off buying some other book instead of this one. Trust me. ... Read more

Product Description
This short book has just one purpose: to teach you everything you need to know to handle VSAM files in your COBOL programs. Concepts and terms, COBOL elements for all types of VSAM data sets, alternate indexing and dynamic access, I/O error handling, the AMS utility, JCL for running programs, VS COBOL II considerations...and nothing more!(6 chapters, 187 pages, 91 illustrations) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Still some of the best tech material out there
This book is even better than the original, which I bought over 10 years ago. Easy to understand and full of IMPORTANT information and lots of lesser-known features which I need, not the trivialities that you dont need.This really is a working programmer's desk guide.

A truly useful primer for the beginning VSAM programmer.
This book has proven its worth many times in a training programadministered by my staff.All aspects of VSAM processing have been clearlylaid out with excellent examples of each concept being used in a COBOLprogram.Since COBOL is still the reigning king of business programming,this book still retains a useful place in any mainframe programmer'slibrary and is an excellent primer for the beginning programmer. ... Read more

Product Description
Working with IMS/DB programming for the first time? This how-to book will have you writing or maintaining batch DL/I programs in a minimum of time. You'll even find out how different types of DL/I data bases are stored and accessed, so you can program more logically and efficiently for the type you're working with.( 16 chapters, 333 pages, 129 illustrations) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is the way to learn IMS
If you're an applications programmer and need to learn DL/I to extract information from IMS hierarchical databases, this is the book for you. Don't let the size fool you; you can get through it in under a fortnight.This book contains the most of what any applications programmer working inthe mainframe environment will need for all applications. ... Read more