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Common Language: Business Programming Languages and the Legibility of Programming
- IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
- IEEE Computer Society
- Volume 40, Number 2, April-June 2018
- pp. 17-31
- 10.1353/ahc.2018.0011
- Article
- Additional Information
Abstract:
The English-like business programming language COBOL saw widespread use from its introduction in 1960 well into the 1980s, despite being disdained by computer science academics. This article traces out decisions made during COBOL’s development, and argues that its English-like appearance was a rhetorical move designed to make the concept of code itself more legible to non-programming management at computer-using companies.