Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Cobol -- yes, Cobol -- gets a bridge to Node.js


Cobol -- yes, Cobol -- gets a bridge to Node.js

Cobol and Node.js may seem like an odd pairing, but a developer has created a link between the two platforms, despite criticisms

Linking the old world of programming with the new, a Web developer from Romania has built a bridge between highly fashionable Node.js and that venerated but antiquated business programming language: Cobol.
Found on Github, the node-cobol project enables the running of Cobol code from Node.js, the popular server-side JavaScript platform. "I just thought it would be funny to create a bridge between a popular actual programming language -- Node.js -- and an old one -- Cobol," developer Ionica Bizau said in an email. "Honestly, I don't really think there is a real need, except the nostalgia that it creates especially for the Cobol programmers and people who know what Cobol is."

Friday, 7 August 2015

Cloud wars: China's deep-pocketed Alibaba takes on AWS


Cloud wars: China's deep-pocketed Alibaba takes on AWS

A $1 billion investment in the cloud sounds like a game-changer, but it's not

China's Alibaba Group Holding last week said it would invest $1 billion into its Aliyun cloud computing arm to challenge Amazon Web Services. This move kicks off what could become a global battle between the two e-commerce giants. Also, it could change the dynamics in the cloud market now dominated by AWS, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.