Re: It will not last ...
COBOL IS DEAD! Long Live COBOL!
There are more functional lines of COBOL and Fortran working in big business today than the average kid who never used a dial telephone could possibly imagine. I do not know of a single COBOL or Fortran programmer who is currently out of work. I can't say the same for Java(script), VisBas, C++, C#, and what-have-you.
When my students ask me what other language(s) to learn, I've been suggesting COBOL, Fortran (and C) for about thirty years now. Not a month goes by that I don't get a "THANK YOU!" email from a former student, now making a real salary coding in one of them after dicking around with fad languages for a few years..
With more than a couple billion lines of code in current use (by some estimates), COBOL's not going anywhere soon. Same for Fortran and C. They might not be sexy, but they do real work, in the real world ... and that's where the big bucks are.
Remember, kiddies, the Web and associated languages are ephemeral. COBOL and Fortran (and good old C) are here to stay. Learn one or all three, and you'll be employed for life ... or, as in my case, until you decide you want to retire.
Somewhere, Admiral Grace is smiling that evil smile that only she could get away with :-)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
