One of the most famous vendors who invest heavily on COBOL compilers is IBM. Apart from IBM, there are other vendors who provide compilers and Microfocus is one of them and the unique thing about microfocus is that their compilers are modern COBOL compilers which gives a feeling that you are working on modern compilers. Their COBOL compiler is often referred to Microfocus COBOL. This COBOL compiler has a lot of products and they are relatively easy to use compared to IBM or any other legacy compilers.
There are multiple versions of IBM COBOL compilers which are available today
- VS CobolII – Version 1 Release 3 and Version 1 Release 4 – This is a popular version
- COBOL/370 – Version 1 Release 1 Includes more features including Object-oriented feature
- MVS™ and VM
- OS/390 and VM
- Enterprise COBOL – COBOL latest version
Note:
There are multiple versions of Enterprise Compiler and most of them are similar and they have the almost same functionality.
The Latest release of Enterprise COBOL:
Enterprise COBOL Value Unit Edition for z/OS1 (Version 6 Release 2)
Some Mainframe programmers call it version 6 as well but you have to keep in mind that version 6 has release 1 as well as release 2.
Enterprise COBOL for Z/OS version 5(release 1 and release 2) and Enterprise Version Value Unit Edition for z/OS1(Version 5, Release 1) are still popular as well.
How to check your Version of COBOL
To check your version, follow one of these 2 steps-
Step 1 – Go to the compile Listing and you will be able to check your COBOL Version.
Step 2 – Alternatively, you can check the version in the SPOOL area. For example – Compile your program and go to SPOOL and you can check your compile listing in the SPOOL area.
Note: In this case, the version is Enterprise COBOL for Z/OS(version 4, Release 2)
