Professional training – Mainframe & Legacy Systems
COBOL Fundamentals
COBOL Fundamentals in 6 focused hours: Program structure and the four divisions, Data description with PICTURE and Arithmetic and data movement – practical, with exercises and templates for your daily work.
- Duration
- 6 hours, one session
- Level
- Beginner
- Format
- Online or on-site
- Language
- German or English
- Certificate
- Certificate of attendance
Overview
“COBOL Fundamentals” is a compact live course in the field of Mainframe & Legacy Systems. It centres on Program structure and the four divisions, Data description with PICTURE and Arithmetic and data movement – explained with realistic examples and deepened in exercises you can transfer straight to your daily work.
Mainframes and long-established legacy applications still process business-critical transactions in banks, insurers, industry and public administration. Expertise is scarce, yet these systems must be operated, secured and modernized step by step. Our COBOL Fundamentals courses are aimed at beginners, developers and operations teams who want to master existing systems with confidence or move them into new architectures. We work hands-on in a provided lab environment with real exercises, troubleshooting and typical production tasks. The course runs online or on site, lasts one day and is offered at a fixed price per participant.
The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.
Focus areas of the course
Who is this course for?
- Developers and system programmers in mainframe environments
- Career changers and new hires for legacy operations
- Operators, administrators and security officers
- Architects and project managers for modernization programs
What you will be able to do
- You know the key topics of COBOL Fundamentals – Program structure and the four divisions, Data description with PICTURE, Arithmetic and data movement, Branching and loops with PERFORM, Reading and writing sequential files and Compiling, linking and running – and can apply them in practice.
- You understand the concepts behind COBOL Fundamentals and place them within your system landscape.
- You use COBOL Fundamentals confidently and in line with standards in daily work.
- You narrow down COBOL Fundamentals faults systematically and fix them quickly.
- You assess the risks, maintainability and modernization options of your existing systems on a sound basis.
Course outline
Module 1 Fundamentals and concepts of COBOL Fundamentals
- Key terms, architecture and placement within the mainframe and legacy landscape
- Important objects, file types and tools
- Typical enterprise use cases
- Differences from related technologies and platforms
Module 2 Focus areas: COBOL Fundamentals
- Program structure and the four divisions
- Data description with PICTURE
- Arithmetic and data movement
- Branching and loops with PERFORM
- Reading and writing sequential files
- Compiling, linking and running
Module 3 Development and configuration
- First steps with COBOL Fundamentals using working examples
- Building programs, definitions and parameters cleanly
- Accessing data and neighboring subsystems
- Conventions and standards for maintainable code
Module 4 Operations, security and performance
- Monitoring, logs and evaluating runtime data
- Permissions and hardening according to common requirements
- Spotting bottlenecks and improving run times
- Moving changes into production in a controlled way
Module 5 Troubleshooting and hands-on labs
- Systematic troubleshooting with dumps, logs and diagnostic tools
- Reproducing and fixing typical COBOL Fundamentals failure patterns
- Automating recurring tasks
- Case studies and exercises from real production scenarios
Module 6 Transfer to your daily work
- Exercise based on a realistic case
- Typical mistakes and how to avoid them
- Checklist and templates to take away
- Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning
Prerequisites
Entry-level courses require no mainframe knowledge. Advanced courses assume basics of the respective platform or language. No prior knowledge is required.
Technical requirements
Laptop with a current browser and terminal emulator; access to the mainframe or legacy lab environment for COBOL Fundamentals is provided by us.
Dates & locations
For every location we suggest a date roughly four weeks ahead. Your preferred date is always possible.
- Munich Mon, 14 December 2026 6 hrs Request
- Salzburg Wed, 16 December 2026 6 hrs Request
- Berlin Mon, 14 December 2026 6 hrs Request
- Augsburg Tue, 15 December 2026 6 hrs Request
- Hanover Fri, 11 December 2026 6 hrs Request
- Bremen Mon, 14 December 2026 6 hrs Request
- Stuttgart Tue, 15 December 2026 6 hrs Request
- Kaiserslautern Mon, 14 December 2026 6 hrs Request
- Online Wed, 16 December 2026 6 hrs Request
Frequently asked questions
Do I need prior knowledge for COBOL Fundamentals?
That depends on the level. Entry-level courses assume no mainframe experience, while advanced COBOL Fundamentals courses expect basic knowledge of the platform or language. If you are unsure, we are happy to recommend the right starting point in a short pre-call.
Do we work on a real mainframe?
For COBOL Fundamentals we provide a lab environment that you access via terminal emulator or browser. That lets you develop and configure safely and provoke failures on purpose. You do not need your own systems, but you are welcome to bring your own questions.
How much does “COBOL Fundamentals” cost?
The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 6 hours of live training with a trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.
Can I suggest my own date?
Yes. For every location we suggest a date roughly four weeks ahead. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and get back to you within one working day.
Is the course online or on-site?
Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.
Can the course be tailored to our team?
Yes. Tailor-made courses cost approx. €4,500 more, depending on the topic and by arrangement. We agree content, examples and exercises with you in advance.