[NCLUG] COBOL Compiler for Linux?

[grant at amadensor.com]

> I assume they're concerned about processing overhead, compiled code speed,
> overall efficiency. I did ask the same question, but was working from home
> on Friday, so won't get an answer until Monday. We're looking at moving
> 30-year-old, incrementally updated over those 30 years, *n*-lines of
> spaghetti code from a government IBM 370 mainframe to a Linux server. Fun,
> huh?
>


My day job involves both IBM 370 and Linux.   I have played this game
before, but on a much smaller scale (only a few small applications).  
Here is the answer:

1)  If you want the code to run with out modification, including all of
the mainframe weirdness and JCL, Micro Focus is about the only answer, but
it is weird, buggy, and slow.
2)  If you want it to work and be fast, the open source ones that bounce
off C on the way are great, except for GDB.   You will have to make a few
minor changes, but the end product will be rock solid and fast.


I had the best luck with "Open COBOL".

I did have to change the file definitions in the environment division to
not use the JCL, and as far as I know there is no CICS component (only MF
has that as far as I know.)   As for performance, CPU cycles will be fine,
you will be faster on a CPU intensive process on any reasonable Linux
machine compared to even a very large mainframe, however, you will not
have the IO throughput.   If you are IO bound, you may notice a
performance hit.   If you are CPU bound, or pretty evenly bound, you will
probably notice a performance bump, at the cost of not having MTBF
measured in decades.