Definition
COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) is a long-established programming language built for business, financial, and administrative processing, and it remains in production on many IBM i systems alongside RPG. IBM i shops with roots in banking, insurance, distribution, or manufacturing often have COBOL handling core financial or transactional logic that has been correct and reliable for decades.
As with RPG, the presence of COBOL is not a reason to assume a rewrite is required before AI or modernization work can happen. COBOL programs can keep running exactly as they are while APIs, integration layers, and AI tools connect to the data those programs produce.