college student looking for help 1

[ednick]

Am curently a student with New Hampshire College, taking course in cobol programming through distance education. BIG MISTAKE!!! No student/instuctor interaction. Book that reads like you should already know this stuff. looking for any reference material and/or tutorials that you could point me to. Any help would be deeply appreciated.

 

[jketch55]

ednick - check out "learning cobol". i think SAMS is the<br>
publisher. should be at any "best-buy" discount store.<br>
it has the older acucobol compiler with examples and i think it has an online CD reference nanual.<br>
i have used the acucobol compiler for years, both personal and at work. also check out

http://www.acucobol.com

for more example programs you can download.<br>
good luck -- jack ketchum -- TWA-- KC,mo

 

[ednick]

Thanks for the info. I'll check them out.

 

[neildlb]

There is also some tutorials in

http://www.free-ed.net/.<br>

I have also downloaded the Fujitsu COBOL from

http://www.adtools.com

(COBOL V3 Starter Kit). They also have a reference manual in PDF format. <br>
<br>

 

[ednick]

Thanks neildlb,<br>
That's more of what I was looking for. We were made to buy, for the course, Micro Focus Personal Cobol And the text book is Structured Cobol Programming, 8th Edition. But the text reads as if you should already be a programmer. I find it to be like an algebra problem, I don't mind doing the problem if I have an explanation as to how to do it. It is first class I have taken over the net(AND LAST).<br>
Thanks for your help.

 

[catgrrl]

I took 2nd quarter COBOL online, and agree it was difficult. A lot depends upon how good the instructor's online material is, and on how willing you are to ask all the questions you feel like you shouldn't have to ask!<br>
<br>
I've used the book you're talking about (authors Stern & Stern, right?) through 3 quarters of COBOL. It's really a pretty good book, but what I started to notice is that they're really long-winded and often repeat the exact same point more than once, often in nearly the same words. It leaves you with a whole lot of extra reading to do, and can often make you think it's harder than it is! <br>
<br>
For a more succinct approach, have a look at Advanced Cobol, Third Edition, by Gary Deward Brown. It's just out this year. Don't let "Advanced" fool you; he actually explains the basic stuff as well. I like to read this book first, then look at Stern and Stern for the examples.<br>
<br>
Here are some really cool COBOL tutorials and stuff I found while poking around the Web:<br>
<br>

http://www.infocom.cqu.edu.au/Units/aut99/85242/<br>

This is a complete COBOL course from a college in Australia. The instructor has made these very nice Powerpoint Presentations of the course material. You can download them and run them on your computer. If you don't have Powerpoint there's a free Powerpoint viewer you can also download. He also has study questions and answers.<br>
<br>

http://www.infogoal.com/cbd/cbdtrn.htm<br>

This one is a massive list of COBOL resources/tutorials, etc.<br>
<br>

http://www.iwtec.com<br>

This site has a couple hundred different interactive courses, including a bunch in COBOL and other mainframe subjects. For $10.00 a month you get unlimited access. The courses are well-designed, up-to-date, and an easy way to get the basics. Well worth the money. <br>
<br>
Good Luck!<br>
catgrrl<br>
<br>

 

[dfuture]

Wow! Finally, not only have I found a web site that can help me with COBOL but I've also found someone with the sam problem(s) I'm having with my beginning COBOL experience. I attend Santa Monica College and my COBOL instructor has been pathetic in terms of his instructions to class. Plus the book required for the class, &quot;Structured COBOL Programming,&quot; by Stern & Stern acts as if the reader already knows COBOL. So I'd like to thank everybody who answered ednick's question, because you've answered mine also.
Thanks All,
dfuture [sig][/sig]