AC> books for OS/2 but have never seen a COBOL compiler for
 AC> OS/2.  I am getting ready to take a couple COBOL classes

I've been using the Micro Focus COBOL Workbench for about 4 years now,
since OS/2 v1.2.  For a mainframe target, it's much cheaper to do as much
of the work as possible on the desktop. 

It's an expensive package though, the complete workbench is about $2500.
The IDE is feature rich, well supported, and the compiler is highly
respected. These people are helping to set the COBOL standard. Their
add-ons are also rather pricey, at $1500 a pop; for example, they have a
GUI programming API that supports multiple target platforms (OS/2, Windows
3.1, Windows NT, OSF Motif and DOS charcter-mode). 

Programmer's Paradise (800) 445-7899, has a scaled-down copy available,
retail $1250, and their price is $1099. 

Computer Associates bought the Realia product. I'm fairly certain that they
support OS/2 as a development (and target) platform. Although I have no
experience with this product, I do know that it is loved by those who use
it. Programmer's Paradise has it for $915.

I could swear that I remember seeing a COBOL compiler on a BBS somewhere
recently, but didn't look closely at it and have not been able to remember
where I saw it (probably come to me later). One would think that there is a
GNU COBOL compiler out there, isn't there a GNU version of about everything
these days? 

--- timEd/2-g1