Definition
A high-level computer programming language developed in the late 1950s for business data processing applications. COBOL uses English-like statements to handle large volumes of records, file management, and arithmetic operations typical of administrative and commercial computing tasks.
Plain English
An older computer language written to look somewhat like plain English, designed for handling business records and paperwork-style data rather than scientific or engineering calculations.
Context Anchor
Seen in older references to aviation computer systems, airline administration, airport records, or maintenance data systems.
Derivation
From the acronym COBOL -- COmmon Business Oriented Language. The name signals what it was built for: shared (common) use across organisations, focused on business work rather than scientific computing.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots usually do not need to use Cobol, but recognizing the term prevents mistaking a software reference for an aircraft part, cockpit system, or flight procedure.
Intuition Check
Do not assume Cobol is an aircraft system or cockpit device. Here, it means a computer language used to run business-style data systems.
Example Sentence 1
Many early airline reservation and accounting systems were written in COBOL and ran on mainframe computers.
Example Sentence 2
The maintenance database still runs on COBOL routines written decades ago.