"COBOL
is quite simply the most successful language in the
history of computing because it provides the best value
proposition in information technology."
Dr Pamela Coker,
President & CEO Acucorp, Inc.
The need to adapt existing
COBOL applications to the Web tops the agenda of many
IT managers, straining their resources. Now, harnessing
the best e-learning technologies and Computer Based
Training (CBT) instructional design models, Laragh Courseware's
COBOL Year 2000
FastTrain Series allows them to develop the latent skills of in-house personnel
for more mundane tasks while creating a reservoir of
expertise within the enterprise.
"COBOL is not rocket
science," says Laragh CEO Tom O'Neill. "Most
of the work being done by highly paid professionals
is uncomplicated, repetitive, and to the experienced
programmer - extremely tedious."
To meet the need for fast,
efficient, and effective training, O'Neill believes
organizations should be employing legions of "ground
troops" - people with a solid basic training in
COBOL - to do project groundwork.
"Where it was applied
in resolving Y2K-induced staff shortages, the "boot
camp" notion worked extremely well. The idea was
to free up experienced COBOL people for strategizing
and project direction. It worked because it gave new
personnel the hands-on training and experience they
needed to perform effectively at short notice."
Laragh's e-learning series
has wide appeal. "It's a 3-CD CBT series, ranging
from introductory to advanced, and it targets new IT
graduates, computer-literate staff in key departments,
PC power-users, and anyone else with an aptitude for
programming," says O'Neill.
The COBOL Year 2000
FastTrain Series has raw recruits up and running with COBOL in a week. "Organizational
COBOL experts need only show them system specifics,"
he says. "After that, they're ready for deployment."
COBOL has retained its
status as the programming language of corporate choice
since 1957.
This is due largely to
its robust functionality, power, and flexibility. Constantly
evolving to meet the needs of dependent business systems,
COBOL 74 reinvented itself as COBOL 85/89. Now, object-oriented
COBOL 2000's support of objects, components, distributed
objects, and rapid application development brings the
future a step closer.
"COBOL is as strong
today as it was 38 years ago," says Laragh's O'Neill.
"And recent feature and functionality enhancements
mean that COBOL - more so than its 4GL competitors -
is ideally suited to applications development."
The implication? O'Neill
strongly believes that "[a]ny need we now see for
COBOL programmers is going to be that much greater in
the near future. The need for training is evident."
Laragh's e-learning courseware, delivered
on CD, is remarkably affordable. Private user licenses
are available for individuals while small enterprise
and multi-user
licenses meet the needs of small and large organizations.
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