Micro Focus launches COBOL code contest challenge

BANGALORE, INDIA: As part of its Academic Program, Micro Focus, provider of enterprise application modernisation, testing and management solutions, is launching a global COBOL code contest.

Student and community developers around the world are being challenged to design and develop a video game program using Micro Focus Visual COBOL Personal Edition, for the chance to win a cash prize of $1,000, an iPad Mini plus other great prizes, said a press release.

The winning game will also make a highlighted appearance in a future release of Visual COBOL.

Anyone who dabbles in coding, or who wants to break into code development, can take part in this competition. Contestants can create their entry based on any existing video game, like the COBOL Blitz version of Space Invaders, or invent a new game of their own. The core contest requirement is that the game must contain at least 50 percent Visual COBOL.

By downloading a copy of Visual COBOL Personal Edition - the free version of this innovative programming language - developers can build their video game using the very latest modern IDE of their choice - Visual Studio or Eclipse. Contestants are also encouraged to be creative, combining other programing languages or technologies with Visual COBOL to deliver a real game-changing experience.

The contest judging will take place between close on 17 December 2013 and 20 January 2014, with winners announced in late January, 2014. Competition entries will be judged by Micro Focus on a number of criteria including creativity, function, capability, experience and core technology requirements.

Participants can also show off their work on the COBOL Community Forum to garner support and feedback on their entries. Full terms and conditions for the contest can be found here.

Commenting on the value of the COBOL code contest, Nitin Dang, country general manager, Micro Focus - India says: "Many of our back-end infrastructures rely on certain older programming languages that are not going to be retired any time soon. It makes sense for graduates to consider learning these enterprise programming languages as this skill set is one sought after by many of today's top companies."

"As a business professional within this industry, there is more we can do to encourage academics to help guide students into learning enterprise languages such as COBOL. The COBOL code contest challenge is designed to generate excitement within the coding community and revive an interest in the language," added Dang.