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COBOL

programming language with English-like syntax
Thing programming_language Q131140
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COBOL

Summary

COBOL is a programming language[1]. COBOL has Wikipedia articles in 75 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[2]

Key Facts

  • COBOL is the creator of CODASYL[3].
  • COBOL was influenced by FLOW-MATIC[4].
  • COBOL was influenced by COMTRAN[5].
  • COBOL was influenced by FACT[6].
  • COBOL's instance of is recorded as programming language[7].
  • COBOL's instance of is recorded as procedural programming language[8].
  • COBOL's instance of is recorded as imperative programming language[9].
  • COBOL's instance of is recorded as object-based language[10].
  • COBOL's commissioned by is recorded as United States Department of War[11].
  • COBOL's developer is recorded as International Organization for Standardization[12].
  • COBOL's developer is recorded as American National Standards Institute[13].
  • COBOL's designed by is recorded as Grace Hopper[14].
  • COBOL's software version identifier is recorded as 2019[15].
  • COBOL's software version identifier is recorded as ISO/IEC 1989:2023[16].
  • COBOL is used for computer programming[17].
  • COBOL is used for creating[18].
  • COBOL's Commons category is recorded as COBOL[19].
  • COBOL's country of origin is recorded as United States[20].
  • May 28, 1959 marks the founding of COBOL[21].
  • COBOL's IPA transcription is recorded as ˈkoʊbɒl[22].
  • COBOL's topic's main category is recorded as Category:COBOL[23].
  • COBOL's described at URL is recorded as https://tapor.ca/tools/486[24].
  • COBOL's described at URL is recorded as https://marketplace.sshopencloud.eu/tool-or-service/Gtm3BN[25].
  • COBOL's file extension is recorded as cbl[26].
  • COBOL's file extension is recorded as cob[27].

Body

Definition and Type

Recorded instance of include programming language[7], procedural programming language[8], imperative programming language[9], and object-based language[10].

Origins

May 28, 1959 marks the founding of COBOL[21].

Use and Application

Recorded has use include computer programming[17] and creating[18].

Movements and Schools

Acknowledged influences include FLOW-MATIC[4], a programming language[28], founded in 1955[29]; COMTRAN[5], a programming language[30], founded in 1957[31]; and FACT[6], a programming language[32], founded in 1959[33].

Why It Matters

COBOL has Wikipedia articles in 75 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[2]

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [10] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [3] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [15] ↑ . iso.org. iso.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  11. [16] ↑ . iso.org. iso.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  12. [17] ↑ . marketplace.sshopencloud.eu. marketplace.sshopencloud.eu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  13. [18] ↑ . marketplace.sshopencloud.eu. marketplace.sshopencloud.eu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  14. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [31] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [32] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [33] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). COBOL. Retrieved May 7, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/cobol
MLA “COBOL.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 7 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/cobol.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_cobol_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{COBOL}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/cobol}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-07}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): COBOL — https://4ort.xyz/entity/cobol (retrieved 2026-05-07)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 4d ago · Twofivesixbot bot · 2026-05-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Influenced by → FLOW-MATIC, COMTRAN, FACT
    De agostini id → COBOL
    Stack exchange tag → https://stackoverflow.com/tags/cobol
    Commissioned by → United States Department of War
    + 56 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-update-qualifiers:1||1|4 */ [[Property:P2347]]: 16252, mv to monolingual text names on YSO statements"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.