Product Description

Sams Teach Yourself COBOL in 24 Hours teaches the basics of COBOL programming in 24 step-by-step lessons. Each lesson builds on the previous one providing a solid foundation in COBOL programming concepts and techniques. Coupled with the source code and the compiler available from Fujitsu, this hands-on guide is the easiest, fastest way to begin creating standard COBOL compliant code. Business professionals and programmers from other languages will find this hands-on, task-oriented tutorial extremely useful for learning the essential features and concepts of COBOL programming. Writing a program can be a complex task. Concentrating on one development tool guides you to good results every time. There will be no programs that will not compile!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #171230 in Books
• Published on: 1998-12-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

From the Back Cover
Sams Teach Yourself COBOL in 24 Hours teaches the basics of COBOL programming in 24 step-by-step lessons. Each lesson builds on the previous one providing a solid foundation in COBOL programming concepts and techniques. Coupled with the source code and the compiler available from Fujitsu, this hands-on guide is the easiest, fastest way to begin creating standard COBOL compliant code. Business professionals and programmers from other languages will find this hands-on, task-oriented tutorial extremely useful for learning the essential features and concepts of COBOL programming. Writing a program can be a complex task. Concentrating on one development tool guides you to good results every time. There will be no programs that will not compile!

About the Author
Thane Hubbell has been a COBOL programmer for 15 years. Thane possesses a working knowledge on a variety of systems, from mainframes to minis to PCs. He has designed and developed full scale systems from the initial concept or idea to the deployed product. Through his role as a flight instructor, Thane has come to understand how people learn and think in high pressure situations – like in a programming environment . Initially a self taught programmer, with later education from IBM, Thane knows what it takes to learn a programming language on your own and how to teach one.

Customer Reviews

The most complete tool for getting started with cobol.
I have been studying Cobol for about 9 months. Due to this being a "Home Study" course I have browsed several books and manuals to compliment my supplied texts. I can honestly say that "Teach Yourself Cobol in 24 Hours" by Thane Hubbell is not only the most comprehensive introduction to cobol I have found, it is also the most readable. The examples and exercises are well thought out and give many hints as to the pitfalls encountered by newcommers and helps you to avoid common mistakes and missconceptions. The chapter on Tables (Hour 12) has aided my understanding of, what is agreed by many newcommers to be, one of the most difficult concepts to grasp. I find the lighthearted but realistic approach to this subject makes learning such a dry subject much less of a chore. This book also takes you through the use of the compiler supplied on disc so not only does it teach you cobol "Theory" but you also get to put it into practice. Before using this book my experience of compiler options and environment variables was minimal to say the least.The other programs that come with the compiler allow you to create printed reports for output and user interface screens for input with such ease it is difficult to stop "examining the potential" or playing with them as my girlfriend would say. Never the less these tools take a lot of the tedious parts of coding out of the equation and allow you to concentrate on the more vital areas of your program. In conclusion I would like to say that in my humble opinion Sams,Fujitsu and Mr Hubbell have provided a complete and comprehensive tool for getting started with cobol and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Yours with immense gratitude Stu Talbot.

Very good book for little money.
I am about in half of the book and I must say it is an excellent book. The compiler is good as well, considering that it comes free with the book. The examples are very good and are based on real world problems. So you not only learn the theory but also gaining a knowledge of solving real world problems. The language the author uses is understandable to anyone who can speak English just a little (BTW, English is my second language and I did not experience any difficulties to understand what author means at all). The only minus I found was that the book almost completelly omitted the debugging, which is essential if you want to be a true programmer (in any language). However, the combination of theory, excersices and free compiler makes this book and excellent buy for any COBOL novice like myself.

This one IS worth the money.
For anyone needing an introduction into COBOL or as in my case, a review of something that they learned years ago then this book is just the ticket. Learning programming from a book is bad enough and learning from a bad book is even worse but Hubbell's book gets you up and running in short order. The compiler that comes on the CD is a tremendous aid and I installed in on a system running Windows 98 with no problems. Once you understand that COBOL programs need to be compiled, linked and then executed you should be off and running. Chapters one and two might need to be read with pen in hand but after you compile your first program you will see actual real world errors. There is also a lot of 3rd party software on the CD that I havent even looked at yet. The chapters are loaded with information but the reading is fairly straight forward. All in all, a very good buy.