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Why are experienced programmers so hostile toward beginners?

Calling more experienced programmers + COBOL, C# or Java?

  • It has come time for me to pick new classes and I seek advice from all you more experienced programmers! I can either start learning COBOL, C# or Java - and was wondering, which do you think would be most beneficial in the workplace? I can only learn two of these three languages.

  • Answer:

    C# and Java are very similar, so I would go with COBOL and Java. If you can learn Java you'll learn C# pretty quickly, so doing both would be pointless. I learned COBOL myself two years ago in college (actually 2 semesters worth, along with JCL) on the mainframe. It is very old by today's standards, but a lot of companies still use it for mainframe programming and is going to be in high demand sooner or later when everybody that does know it start to retire. In fact, I had the same teacher for Java and COBOL, and we did the exact same programs in each language so we can see the differences in the code structure, plus when companies are finally ready to develop newer systems based off of older COBOL systems, you'll have some idea of what is going on. COBOL isn't too hard of a language, but it's a lot different than today's programming, and you'll see why people don't like programming it anymore. So I would go with COBOL and Java.

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It really all depends on where you think you will want to work. If you're planning on working for a government agency like the department of justice or perhaps a bank, then learning COBOL could give you a leg up on the competition. A lot of their systems still use COBOL... However, if you think you'll be with a slightly more modern company who is developing new age software / applications then you're better off sticking to Java and C#.NET.

topherG

Either C# or Java. If you plan on being any sort of Computer Science or Software Engineer, you'll need one of those (undoubtedly).

C# and Java would be the best. Cobol is still being used, but mainly on mainframe computers. C# and Java are used for web development which is what you want. Java can also be used for some mobile development (Android). I'm not sure about C# and mobile. Good luck.

jackkirby

They still offer COBOL classes? You can't go wrong with either C# or Java.

sa

COBOL is still used as a mainframe for many large businesses, like Discover for example. Java communicates best with COBOL over C and its derivatives so many company's like you to know Java. So, it really depends upon what your future plans are for programming.

Joshua J

Throw COBOL out, it's antiquated. Pick Java and C#. The two are very similar, actually.

Pfo

Java. It's cross-platform. COBOL is not widely supported (though you can get support for it in Unix and Linux) while C# is specifically for microsoft oses.

jplatt39

I'd agree that Cobol and Java is the best combo - Java is cross-platform and similar enough to C# that learning both is overkill anyway. Cobol is still widely used in the mainframe world, plus is starting to spread into the desktop area as well (MicroFocus Cobol, Visual Cobol, etc.) The 2002 implementation of it added a number of features such as object-oriented support that brought it in line with newer technologies.

TheMadProfessor

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