# The COBOL programming language

One of the oldest languages alongside FORTRAN, Lisp and ALGOL, created in 1959.

The language processes information *fast*, which is why most financial transactions (about 70%) are *still* written in COBOL.

Syntax for COBOL is designed to be human-readable code, as opposed to the mathematically-based language of the time. Most languages have done more and better since then.

Its awkwardness (it doesn't do recursion) along with its general unfashionable nature make it *very* hard to find good COBOL programmers.