Mick Howe wrote in a message to Paul Edwards:

 MH> I have recently removed all traces of DOS/Windows from my system
 MH> and now need a very CHEAP COBOL compiler for OS/2 PM so I can keep 

 PE> You can run DOS programs under OS/2.  There are two cobol compilers
 PE> that I have seen come with textbooks.  The textbooks were proscribed
 PE> by Murdoch University, Western Australia.  The cobol compilers that
 PE> came with the text books were CA-Realia (Computer Associates) and I
 PE> can't remember what the other one was.  The text books were under
 PE> $100 AUS from memory.  They both have restrictions such as you can't
 PE> compile a program more than 1000 lines long etc.  BFN.  Paul.

 MH> I was wanting to go native, I do have MS COBOL 2.2 and a
 MH> shareware compiler that I fiddle with on occasions.

A rather unusual file here for FReq (1:323/107) or download (+1 401 944 8498):

COBOL650.ZIP  181K 10-11-90  ANSI Standard 74-85 Cobol v6.50 for PC

This is a COBOL compiler which supposedly has full source code available
somewhere, so it should be portable to other environments.  There is a note
in it by the author saying that he is dying of AIDS and therefore decided
to put the compiler into the public domain for others to maintain.  Since
the file is over five years old, I presume that things have run their
course some time ago.

Unfortunately, the COBOL FAQ includes the following:

4.  Is there a free COBOL compiler ?

    Just for the record, no COBOL tools are listed in the Catalog
    of compilers, interpreters, and other language tools posted to
    comp.compilers and comp.lang.misc.  This probably means that
    there are no freely available COBOL compiler sources.

    However, several books in the booklist come with a COBOL compiler.
    See section 10 for details.


    4.1 for DOS, Windows or OS/2.

        There is a freely available COBOL compiler for DOS. It can be
        found on many archive sites, named COBOL650.ZIP. You also need
        DPATH30.ZIP Have a read through Section 8 before you start.

        It is widely rumoured that the sources for this compiler are
        available from a BBS.  This no longer appears to be the case.
        Numerous attempts have completely failed to track down the
        sources.

        There is a COBOL701.ARJ archive which contains a version of
        COBOL 6.50 with a limited number of compiles. It was an attempt
        at a full integrated development environment, including an
        editor. Unfortunately, no documentation is included.

        Also, it may be possible to run the freely available CP/M
        compiler (see 4.5) under a freely available CP/M emulator.

I had assumed that the GNU project would have a COBOL-to-C translator that
could be used in combination with gcc, much like their FORTRAN and Ada
translators. However, I cannot find any such thing.  The COBOL FAQ says:

    There is also a project running to create a COBOL to C converter
    (possibly COBOL to C++ ?) available under the GNU licence.  For more
    details, see http://rucs2.sunlab.cs.runet.edu/~msharov/cobcy/cobcy.html,
    the COBCY WWW page.

    Some people consider that it is possibly cheaper to hire someone
    to do the conversion job than to have a program produce C code
    which could be quite difficult to read and maintain.

Anyone interested in the full COBOL FAQ is welcome to FReq or download
FAQCOBOL.TXT from me; the latest posted version is dated 95-Dec-17.
 
-- Mike


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