I sometimes write COBOL programs for fun. Seriously... one of the things COBOL used to require and still strongly encourages is to declare record types before procedures (the Data Division is before the Procedure Division). There's a Fred Brooks quote that goes:
"Show me your flowcharts and conceal your tables, and I shall continue
to be mystified. Show me your tables, and I won't usually need your
flowcharts; they'll be obvious."
And Peter Naur (of (E)BNF fame) suggests using the term "Dataology" instead of "Computer Science."
But COBOL isn't a great systems programming language. It's made for applications. So I sometimes re-write simple C or C++ routines / structs in COBOL to see if they're more understandable and where the dividing line between app-focused languages and system-focused languages exists.
But COBOL isn't a great systems programming language. It's made for applications. So I sometimes re-write simple C or C++ routines / structs in COBOL to see if they're more understandable and where the dividing line between app-focused languages and system-focused languages exists.