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Murdoc419
September 29th, 2011, 03:39 PM
Hello all, I have just started a COBOL programming class and need to ask for some help. The professor is providing a COBOL program for us. He hasn't explained what exactly it is or what it is but I'm guessing it's just some sort of editor/compiler. I'm also assuming it is installed using an autorun prompt and I'm going to encounter problems using it on a Linux system.

I've only taken one other programming course so I'm not extremely familiar with programming and the tools available for programming. In my last class I simply used Gedit and terminal to write and compile all of my programs. All I remember needing was the pluggins for compiling the symbolic language. However, I recently had to reformat my drives and no longer have those pluggins. I was wondering if someone could give me the terminal command to install these pluggins.

I was also wondering if anyone would suggest some sort of programming suite for a new programmer. I know there are ones like Eclipse out there but I've never experimented with them. Does anyone think something of this nature would be beneficial to a "newbie" or am I better off sticking with Gedit/Terminal. I will post back with the name of the program the professor is providing us but he said he doesn't want to give it to us yet because "I don't want you guys fooling around with it and getting lost/confused"

Any other tips for new programmers are extremely welcome as well. Thanks for you time!

P.S. I'm running Ubuntu 11.04

sisco311
September 29th, 2011, 03:50 PM
Thread moved to Programming Talk.

dawynn
September 29th, 2011, 03:59 PM
Linux is a fantastic environment for programming in many recent languages. One can find freeware or open source compilers for a number of different languages, however my search for COBOL resources on Linux has not been fruitful.

That doesn't mean you have to give up hope. If the professor provided a compiler program, even if its meant for IBM PC platforms, you may still be able to run it. Dosbox can run just about anything built for a DOS environment, and Wine can often run Windows-based programs.

Find out what environment your professor's program is aimed at, and let us know if you encounter any issues using it in Linux.

t1497f35
September 29th, 2011, 04:00 PM
http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2010/02/cobol-hello-world-example-how-to-write-compile-and-execute-cobol-program-on-linux-os/