Retrocomputing

Micro Focus COBOL products

In the late seventies, the company Micro Focus created Compact Interactive Standard COBOL (CIS COBOL) for 8-bit microcomputers. Due to the extreme memory limitations, the compiler produced intermediate code, which would then be executed by the COBOL run-time system. CIS COBOL was available for several CPU architectures, such as Z80 and the 6809. In some cases it was sold under a different name. These products are also CIS COBOL: DRI Cobol 80, Microware COBOL.

When systems with bank switching memory management appeared, Micro Focus produced Level II COBOL, which introduced the concept of generated native code. L/II COBOL was available for LSI-11 Systems running under RSX-11, as well as for 8-bit and 16-bit micros.

COBOL Animator was an interactive programming and debugging tool designed to display a COBOL program's source on a CRT screen as well as enable the programmer to watch it execute. FORMS-2 was a screen formatter for use on CIS or Level II COBOL-based systems.

CIS COBOL, Level II COBOL and companion products are not sold any longer. All those have pretty much disappeared from history. This page attempts to collect the available resources.

A note on configuration of runtime interpreters
Animator Operating Guide v.1.0
Retyped from book
CIS COBOL FORMS-2 Utility Manual Version 1
CIS COBOL Language Reference Manual v. 4.2
CIS COBOL Language Reference Manual v. 4.5
Retyped from book
CIS COBOL Operating Guide For BASF 7100 Series BOS Operating System
CIS COBOL Operating Guide For Use With the CP/M Operating System
Retyped from book
CIS Cobol with Animator
Contains: CIS COBOL Operating Guide for CP/M, ANIMATOR Operating Guide, and FORMS-2 Utility Manual v. 1.3.
Configuration session for RC702 terminal
FORMS-2 Utility Manual Version 1.3
FORMS-2 Utility Manual Version 1.3 for CP/M
Retyped from book
Introduction to Level II COBOL
For CTOS workstations, May 1988
Level II COBOL Animator
Scanned document. From June 1983
Level II COBOL Installation Guide for UNIX
Level II COBOL Language Reference Manual
February 84
Level II COBOL Operating Guide for use with UNIX
Review of OS-9 CIS COBOL from 1985
"CIS COBOL would be a good teaching tool for schools unable to afford time on a machine with a full-blown COBOL compiler."
Undocumented features

Example COBOL programs

Other files

ANIMATOR_1.0-bq-3261-bc.zip (Animator for CIS COBOL 4.5)
From Acorn disk: CIS_Cobol_Program_Disc.dsd
This ANIMATOR product should work with any CIS COBOL 4.5
CIS-COBOL_4.2-ae-0422-bo.zip (CIS COBOL 4.2 software for CP/M 2.2)
Found at http://www.classiccmp.org/cpmarchives/cpm/Software/Humongous/CIS_COBOL.zip
CONFIG.COM belongs to CIS COBOL, but does not work on RUNA.COM
URN in RUNA.COM is AE/0422/BO
URN in CONFIG.COM is AA/0000/AA
Configured for ADM3A terminal
CIS-COBOL_4.4-bg-0026-bf.zip (CIS COBOL 4.4 for CP/M 2.2 on RC702 terminal)
Extracted from http://www.jbox.dk/rc702/disks.shtm.
The runtime is set up for a non-standard RC702 terminal.
CIS-COBOL_4.5-mg-0000-bg.zip (CIS COBOL 4.5 for CP/M 2.2 on ADM3A terminal)
This is from the DM374.IMD file in http://bitsavers.org/bits/CIS/CIS_COBOL.zip.
Runtime interpreter is set up for ADM3A terminal.
Config.com can adapt COBOL to any terminal.
CIS-COBOL_4.5-bq-3261-bc.zip (CIS COBOL 4.5 for CP/M 2.2 on Acorn)
The CIS COBOL 4.5 files have been extracted from an Acorn Z80 disk image with the name CIS_Cobol_Program_Disc.dsd
The run-time interpreter was adapted to Acorn Z80 CP/M, and will probably not run on anything else.
CIS-COBOL_4.5-ac-1037-bd.zip (CIS COBOL 4.5 for CP/M 2.2 on Royal Alphatronic)
Source: http://www.retroarchive.org/hardware/Royal/index.html
Contents: cobol.com cobol.i01 cobol.i02 cobol.i03 cobol.i04
Created by https://offog.org/code/dumpfloppy/
FORMS2_1.1-aa-0000-be.zip (FORMS2 Utility 1.1)
CONFIG.COM belongs to CIS cobol, but does not work on FORMS2.COM
URN in FORMS2.COM is AA/0000/BE
URN in CONFIG.COM is AA/9900/BA
Source: http://www.classiccmp.org/cpmarchives/cpm/Software/Humongous/CIS_COBOL.zip same as http://bitsavers.org/bits/CIS/CIS_COBOL.zip
FORMS2_1.3-bq-3261-bc.zip (FORMS2 Utility 1.3 for Acorn)
From Acorn disk: CIS_Cobol_Program_Disc.dsd
Matches CIS COBOL 4.5
The FORMS2.COM was adapted to Acorn Z80 CP/M, and it has
been modified to work on a generic CP/M.
Forms2.com is for the original Acorn terminal
Forms2ad.com is for an ADM3A terminal
LII-COBOL-Xenix-runtime.tar (Level II COBOL Runtime interpreter for XENIX on Altos 586)
Source: https://amaus.net/static/S100/altos/code/COBOL.IMD
LII-COBOL.zip (Level II COBOL v. 2.1)
The COBOL80 package from http://www.cpm.z80.de/binary.html. Does not work on CP/M 2.2. Probably requires CP/M 3.
LII-COBOL-CPM86.zip (Level II COBOL v.2.1 for CP/M-86)
Incomplete Level II COBOL package. Configured for RC759 and is missing the CONFIG command as well as example programs.
URN in RUN.CMD is EY/0011/GA
FEEDSTCK.TXT (Line sequential file containing early Intel products)
pi.cbl (Program to calculate mathematical constant PI to 12 decimal places)
listfeed.cbl (Program to list FEEDSTCK.TXT on screen)
liststck.cbl (Program to list contents of STOCK.IT on screen)
loadfeed.cbl (Program to load FEEDSTCK.TXT into STOCK.IT)
siev.cbl (Sieve of Eratosthenes)
stock1.cbl (Stock data entry program)
stock2.cbl (Stock data input program in which the stock records created by STOCK1 can be accessed)
tictac2.cbl (Tic Tac Toe for CIS COBOL using CRT cursor addressing)
ihanoi.cbl (Towers of Hanoi Puzzle (iterative))
hanoi.cbl (Towers of Hanoi Puzzle (recursive))

References