Isn't COBOL 4GL?

4GL => 4th generation languages. I've often heard Perl described as a fourth generation language. Of course, I should've looked up the definition first.

Often abbreviated 4GL, fourth-generation languages are programming languages closer to human languages than typical high-level programming languages. Most 4GLs are used to access databases. For example, a typical 4GL command is FIND ALL RECORDS WHERE NAME IS "SMITH"

By this definition, doesn't COBOL qualify as a 4GL?

-QM

Quantum Mechanic

Comment on Isn't COBOL 4GL?

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Re: Isn't COBOL 4GL? by Elian (Parson) on Oct 21, 2003 at 19:47 UTC
Yes, yes it does. And with the screen handling features some versions have, it still does it better than many of the "4GLs" that came out of the '80s and '90s. Whether that speaks more to the deficiencies of the 4GL wave or the prescience of COBOL I'll leave to someone else to decide.	[reply]
Re: Isn't COBOL 4GL? by atcroft (Abbot) on Oct 21, 2003 at 19:54 UTC
Actually, according to their definitions, COBOL would be considered a third-generation language (as would be ForTran and BASIC, which were developed around the same time, if memory serves, as well as C/C++ and Java).	[reply]