COBOL

According to Simon Sobisch (gnu.org, 2017), GnuCOBOL covers substantially COBOL 85, 2002, 2014 standards and X/Open COBOL and supports many extensions from IBM COBOL, MicroFocus COBOL, ACUCOBOL-GT and others.

Apart from a few reserved words, the GNU-COBOL works well with older compilers.

Be aware though, to have the highest compatibility you need to have all the reserved words, paragraphs, ... in UPPERCASE.

Installing COBOL on Ubuntu 20.04+

COBOL IDE (VS Code)

0. Either you install Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or greater on a physical machine or as a virtual machine.

1. Install Visual Studio Code from Ubuntu software.

2. Open the terminal, update the repos and install any software upgrades, your password will be asked:

    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
   

3. Install GNU-COBOL, the current version 3 and NOT version 4 (called also BETA), your password may be asked:

    sudo apt install gnucobol -y
   

Install Extensions on VS Code

1. COBOL Themes (Bitlang)

2. COBOL (Bitlang)

3. COBOL Language Dictionary - Code Spell Checker

4. COBOL Spell Checker (this extension is dependent on COBOL Language Dictionary - point 3)

5. Restart your machine (it is optional, but always do it, just to be on the safe side).

Now you are ready to start your course with Vasco Gonçalves.

Please contact him on https://digitaltran.eu/#contact to see his schedule.

Thank you.