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Which Programming Skills are Obsolete?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief March 3, 2008 · 1 min read

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A friend of a friend recently moved into the big city from down south. The guy used to work for a local government office in the province as a programmer of sorts. I was sought to help out the guy get a job and I asked him his programming skill sets.

I was surprised that the one he knew were stuff I haven’t encountered in half a decade — Cobol, Pascal, etc. Are they still being used until today?

I checked out JobsDB for those terms and found the results quite surprising:

Cobol – 23 job positions in the last 30 days.
Pascal – no positions available in the last 30 days.
Fortran – 1 job position in the last 30 days.
Coldfusion – 2 job positions in the last 30 days.
PowerBuilder – 6 job positions in the last 30 days.

I thought of adding Assembly to the list but I realized a lot of people are still using it for hardware-level programming. C is out but C++ is still active. How about AS 400?

From the list above, only Pascal/TurboPascal is completely written off as non-existent. I remember Pascal as the first programming language I learned back in ’95 from a dorm mate.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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101 Comments

garryg · 13 years ago

Why is it than any question like this always comes down to a ‘C’ is best argument!
As a professional developer I use whatever language I have to in order to get the job done. Who are these people who only develop in C++, hey good luck to you but the world I’ve lived in for 30+ years doesn’t work like that!
I’ve used many languages that are now considered obsolete, but I will say there is a lot, and I mean a LOT, of real-world stuff written in VB out there. Pease don’t be lulled into believing the world revolves around ‘C’ just because some people want it to!
I’ve recently had to develop for and bug-fix programs written in VB.Net, C#.Net, ASP.Net, VB, PHP, Perl, and ASP – all of which still have a vast legacy grip on the real world…

ijojo · 15 years ago

Looking for a PB11.5 Web Form Programmer

as400pro · 15 years ago

AS/400 is not a programming language. It is an old name for still current IBM hardward. The midrange computer now called IBM I. This is the fastest transaction based database computing system in the world. It is used in any industry where there are high transactions. Wall Street, Staples, Credit Card companies, Wal-Mart, ect… You can run any other hardware, software, operating system, database, and programming language with this server. It is very fast and scalable and versatile. It is on the cutting edge of all servers.

http://www.ibm.com/systems/i

pb_soft · 16 years ago

Powerbuilder is still alive. In fact they have already released a new version of it which is PB12 last April 2010 which supports .Net of Microsoft. There is also a software of Microsoft that was made of Powerbuilder until now they are using it, and Microsoft cannot deny that. Sybase is trying to market the new version worldwide.

ijojo · 15 years ago

If you know someone willing to do PB11.5 or PB12 web form programming sideline. let them contact me.

Muffie Shannen · 16 years ago

Marlow Navigation one of the leading manning agency for seaman in the country still uses the foxpro and employees depend on those foxpro systems so much.

A lot of people say that foxpro is obsolete but on the other hand, more companies it is still relying on this system.

ohmrz · 16 years ago

RPG (Report Program Generator)which started in IBM mainframes in the 1960s… is very much alive. It is still in use in Telecoms(Digitel,PLDT etc),Retail (SM,Duty Free, Puregold, Rustans etc), Banking (Security Bank, Bank of Commerce, etc), Manufacturing (Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda etc), Insurance (AXA life etc), Logistics (DHL etc), Pharma (Wyeth, Glaxo etc), Cosmtetics (Avon)

This is one of the most higly paid skills… because of the scarcity of good talents because this is not being thought in all schools (sa adamson meron dati ewan ko ngayon)…

Though marunong ako ng ibang prog lang but i market myself as an RPG prog/analyst kc malaki ang rate compared sa ibang prog lang na alam ko.

Currently getting 7X,XXX PHP…

lowly · 17 years ago

C language is very much alive, but the programmers are getting scarce. Majority of newly grads are into java, C#, vb.net.I can see why C programmers are getting scarce(hmmn how about Assembly language programmers?). My school is into High Level programming, i think im alone in studying low level programming here at my school(self study). In fact im studying C at this moment. Once I know C, java, C++ will be at breeze when i tackle them later. My next target language to learn is assembly language.(Its part of my CS curriculum but instructors doesn’t teach us ASM instead they teach us VB6! man that sucks. Probably they dont know ASM as well. I cant blame them.) Majority of my classmates are in to Vbnet and Java. Often they criticize me for being anachronistic. hehehehe

kingprogrammer · 17 years ago

C is definitely not out. It’s indispensable in firmware development, low-level development and middlewares and embedded systems. And there are high-level applications being developed in C.(Check out BSAFE commercial security library. C is definitely not yet obsolete and I don’t think the language that will replace it has been invented yet. C++ and Java are very much in demand but I don’t think these are meant as replacements for C. C++, Java, C# are all high-level languages that are best used in desktop application development but these can never be a good choice for low-level development. Can you imagine writing a firmware or device driver using C# or Java? haha! That’s why C is usually the first language taught to computer majors. Once you know C (and C++) it’s quite easy to learn other languages. C/C++/Java are also the usual the required skills for entry levels/fresh graduates. Also, the reason why there are more job openings for high-level languages like C++, Java, C# here in the Philippines is because, most Software developing companies here produces high-level software applications. There are limited R&D companies here that develops firmwares and other embedded systems.

NoToVB6 · 17 years ago

VB6 sucks all the way!

I am a Java programmer but I can consider C and C++ not just P/Ls but Programmers’ Language. There would have been no Java without C/C++.

VB6 is the other way around => Non-Programmers’ Language.

It’s easier to teach Object-Oriented Programming to non-programmers than to teach them to VB6 programmers.

I have high respects for Cobol and Pascal (Delphi) but not VB6.

No offense dudes, VB6 really sucks!

erica · 17 years ago

C IS C. I don’t think it will ever be completely obsolete. It’s a tough language to kill. Lots of programming languages were based on it and I still see companies in need of C programmers.

malav · 17 years ago

he he…i m replying after 1 yr of these article published…
i m in btech 1st yr..i started my programing skills with C…
comments on this article were more informative than article itself…
i heard about Fortran,COBOL,PASCAL…but AS/400 OMG!..just heard first time…
Want to ask a question…does anyone use “Ada”???:D:D

AJ · 17 years ago

Most banks around the world are still using COBOL as their backend.. =)

dw · 18 years ago

Sybase Powerful builder is the best! but MS will kill it soon, better to transfer before getting caught..

jesus123 · 18 years ago

C is def. used quite often… I mean, only the linux kernel is about 95% C code.

at work we use C on a day to day basis.

Philippines Jobs Website · 18 years ago

What will happen to these programmers if the company decides to shift to new hardware and systems that uses newer programming languages?

guruaku · 18 years ago

ApplesH – I hope you can convince more schools because you know what? Singapore/Malaysia companies are coming here hunting for Cobol people. If during college they’re given training/course, they can already be hired by local as well as international companies!

gulag · 18 years ago

How about bourneshell? is this programming language in demand? in our university our prof. requires us to learn this.

ApplesH · 18 years ago

guruako – The program is going strong. The project I am in actually reaped the results of last year’s program which had students from La Salle, MIT etc. I don’t think COBOL will become obsolete in the near future. It will remain in the backend even if the front end has changed its face.

guruaku · 18 years ago

Cobol is very much alive. May I know what happened, ApplesH, to your lobbying Cobol in the curriculum? I also would like to see it happen. Good thing UP offered it, they are seeing the light.

Adrian · 18 years ago

C is the best and java

ash · 18 years ago

C is there and will be there whatever happens.
Cobol, Fortran, FoxPro, AS/400 will also still be there until all companies decided to upgrade their systems.
VB6 will die next to Pascal.

JC John SESE Cuneta · 18 years ago

Yep, and there is still an unending and very hot debate about C vs C++. C is here to stay.

jan2x · 18 years ago

C is definitely not out, Linux and Open source uses those languages. I’m a C++ programmer and boy oh boy c++ developers are one of the highest paid developers both here and abroad. Just saying…

orgl · 18 years ago

I believe pascal was ported into delphi visual programming.

LiNTEK · 18 years ago

BASIC (TBASIC, QBASIC, BASICA), Pascal, DBase 11/111+/IV, COBOL, C …… I’m proud that I learned and used these programming languages…..

eat1ng · 18 years ago

and yeah Cobol..Cobol was offered in UP Eng’g this semester under the guidance of IBM. The corporate world still needs highly-paid Cobol programmers.

elmer · 18 years ago

I would say BASIC..the Beginner All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. I remember during the late 80s when all compat-PCs comes with ROM BASIC.. you can write but you can’t save yay!

Derek · 18 years ago

C Will always be C whatever happens. I don’t think it’s end -of-life is nearing…

marhgil · 18 years ago

AS/400 is still alive and kicking. Our company actually has more AS/400 programmers than Java programmers. And I think, their pay is quite high because they are hard to find nowadays.

Gem · 18 years ago

Yes there will always be older languages that seems to be obsolete but are NOT! I worked in the MIS department of a government institution and I have been also employed in some fast-paced companies.

When I was working in those fast-paced companies, they have funds to readily upgrade IT equipment in the office. The employees are also young to easily adapt to the changing features of software.

Working in the government though is a lot different, there is not enough funds for the IT department. In fact, that goverment institution that I have been is using FOXPRO as their main database – and it is still working nicely, as long as there is a programmer around. The employees are also on their 40’s and 50’s and they really struggle when they get to learn new software (they like to use WORD FOR DOS instead.)

ApplesH · 18 years ago

Cobol programmers are one of the highest paid programmers here and abroad (at least from what i hear=)). I guess its because no one really knows it anymore. We were part of an initiative that actually encouraged colleges/universities to bring it back to their curriculum as we are having a hard time getting skilled people into the program.

JC John SESE Cuneta · 18 years ago

Actually C is very much alive, just that it is not listed on job sites, and usually is lumped with C++ or C#

You know how people think, just because C++ is called as such, they assume that it is the “new” C, which isn’t. C is one of the preferred programming language among FLOSS programmers and game developers, not C++.

I even encountered someone who said that why study C and C++ if there is a newer version C/C++ called C#? :p And this guy was a graduate of one of the Top 5 schools in terms of programming here in the Philippines.

Name, just because of the “name”, people assume.

eat1ng · 18 years ago

though pascal may not be used nowadays, there are still companies using delphi.

scientists and researchers still prefer fortran because of vast libraries available. and built-in support for complex numbers.

same thing goes for c. and i think will never be obsolete because it brings programmers close to the operating system. relatively low level languages, though requires a lot of time to learn, will always be the choice of programmers doing embedded systems.

java, vb6, etc will always attract new programmers because it takes less time to learn.

otoyreyes · 18 years ago

cobol, pascal, c and tbasic are good programming foundation and im so thankful that i learned them..

franz · 18 years ago

I still use c++, c and vb6.

svc · 18 years ago

i can’t believe their is a company out there still looking for Fortran programmer. Like whoooos gonna deal with that? lol

ayel · 18 years ago

I thought Cobol and Fortran are only words in the history of computers…haha.

issai · 18 years ago

wow cobol is still alive and kicking? how about erlang? vb6, maybe. pascal LOL. has anyone coded in lisp?

c or c++ probably will be legendary. hmmmm…

Kiven · 18 years ago

woohoo Foxpro! Clipper! xBase!

joeyboy · 18 years ago

Cobol –> and that’s not the Cobol they teach you in school. :D

Someone recently called me for a C++ developer position… @ 65K. :D

I’m a c# major. Lol!

Elliott C. Back · 18 years ago

C is out? Come on, Apple does most of its work in Objective-C, and C is still the language of choice in embedded work, drivers, operating systems, libraries of various flavours, etc…

JP Loh · 18 years ago

I was surprised to see Pascal in the list too. Did you do your homework? :)

minor · 18 years ago

yeah vb6 is still alive, im still using it hehe

Miguel · 18 years ago

I bet VB6 is still alive, despite Microsoft’s efforts to kill it.

missyosigirl · 18 years ago

our company uses cobol and powerbuilder for some of their projects…. well, i belong to the project that uses those languages haha. although we hardly modify our cobol programs anymore.

chinesemafia · 18 years ago

My company still uses AS/400. They even trained close to a hundred fresh grads at our Makati office.

spiderye · 18 years ago

pascal is phased out. no development has been made anymore on pascal. if my knowledge serves me right, pascal was not really used in software development. it was basically used to teach structural programming.

Cobol is still in demand in Japan. This is because many japanese companies had their software developed before in Cobol. Hiring is basically for maintenance. Philnits or JITSE gives COBOL as an option in the programming part of the exam.

Jon Limjap · 18 years ago

Hah, I have Cobol on my resume because of my stint in the banking industry. That and Fortran’s resilience not particularly surprising.

Powerbuilder and Coldfusion’s resilience, on the other hand, is primarily because of difficult-to-change or migrate-from legacy applications. Sometimes, businesses rely too much on the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mantra”, but usually that has a corresponding “If you can’t afford a new one, don’t replace it — just fix it” mantra.