Editing COBOL (section)

===Influences on other languages===
COBOL's data structures influenced subsequent programming languages. Its record and file structure influenced [[PL/I]] and [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]], and the <code>REDEFINES</code> clause was a predecessor to Pascal's variant records. Explicit file structure definitions preceded the development of [[database management systems]] and aggregated data was a significant advance over Fortran's arrays.{{sfn|Shneiderman|1985|p=349}}

<code>PICTURE</code> data declarations were incorporated into PL/I, with minor changes.

COBOL's {{code|COPY}} facility, although considered "primitive",{{sfn|Marcotty|1978b|p=274}} influenced the development of [[include directive]]s.{{sfn|Shneiderman|1985|p=349}}

The focus on portability and standardization meant programs written in COBOL could be portable and facilitated the spread of the language to a wide variety of hardware platforms and operating systems.<ref>This can be seen in:

* {{cite web|ref=none | url=http://www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/gsd/solutiondetails.do?solution=48040&expand=true&lc=en | title=Visual COBOL | publisher=[[IBM]] | work=IBM PartnerWorld | date=21 August 2013 | access-date=5 February 2014 | quote=Micro Focus Visual COBOL delivers the next generation of COBOL development and deployment for Linux x86-64, Linux for System z, AIX, HP/UX, Solaris, and Windows. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712183624/http://www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/gsd/solutiondetails.do?solution=48040 | archive-date=12 July 2014 | url-status=live}}
* {{cite web|ref=none | url=https://www.ibm.com/products/cobol-compiler-family | title=IBM COBOL Compiler Family | date=16 May 2024 | publisher=[[IBM]] | access-date=11 September 2024}}
* {{cite web|ref=none | url=https://gnucobol.sourceforge.io | title=GnuCOBOL - GNU Project | access-date=11 September 2024}}
</ref> Additionally, the well-defined division structure restricts the definition of external references to the Environment Division, which simplifies platform changes in particular.<ref name="cobol-intro">{{cite web | url=http://www.csis.ul.ie/cobol/course/COBOLIntro.htm#part1 | title=Introduction to COBOL | year=2002 | archive-date=5 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305155004/https://www.csis.ul.ie/cobol/course/COBOLIntro.htm | last=Coughlan |first=Michael}}</ref>