TIL COBOL is still being used in production

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IBM shares plummeted on Monday (23), after artificial intelligence startup Anthropic stated that its Claude Code tool can help modernize COBOL, an old programming language that runs mainly on IBM computers.

The shares fell 13%, the largest single-day percentage drop since October 2000. With the decline, the shares have accumulated a 27% drop in February, on track for the largest monthly decline since at least 1968, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Modernizing a COBOL system previously required armies of consultants who spent years mapping workflows,” but “tools like Claude Code can automate the exploration and analysis phases that consume most of the effort in COBOL modernization,” Anthropic wrote in a blog post.

Most mainframes that run COBOL are manufactured by IBM, and the sales surge has made the company the latest to face intense pressure amid fears that AI will weigh on the growth prospects of legacy companies.

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IBM shares plummeted on Monday (23), after artificial intelligence startup Anthropic stated that its Claude Code tool can help modernize COBOL, an old programming language that runs mainly on IBM computers.

The shares fell 13%, the largest single-day percentage drop since October 2000. With the decline, the shares have accumulated a 27% drop in February, on track for the largest monthly decline since at least 1968, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Modernizing a COBOL system previously required armies of consultants who spent years mapping workflows,” but “tools like Claude Code can automate the exploration and analysis phases that consume most of the effort in COBOL modernization,” Anthropic wrote in a blog post.

Most mainframes that run COBOL are manufactured by IBM, and the sales surge has made the company the latest to face intense pressure amid fears that AI will weigh on the growth prospects of legacy companies.